"Draco… Draco, please wake up," Hermione pleaded in a small, worried voice. Her hand was still pressed to his heart as he was slouched between her legs, both of them illuminated by the balls of fire suspended in the corners of the room. "Draco…"

"Mmm…" he groaned quietly.

"Draco, please."

Draco moaned again, moving his head as he began to wake. Hermione hissed through her teeth with a shaky intake of breath as his head rubbed against the cut on her chest. It was this sound that quickly brought Draco back to consciousness.

"What? What happened?" he asked, turning his head again as he tried to look at her. Hermione gritted her teeth and gently moved his head into the crook of her arm. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I think about an hour. I would have let you sleep, but… You won't stop bleeding…" Hermione looked down into his face, her eyes tearing with concern. Draco looked down at her hand that was covering his heart. Slowly, he pushed the robe away and looked down at the deep cut in his chest. It was still bleeding, but only a little.

"It's not that bad. It will stop," he assured her. His voice was rough but he tried his best to sound casual.

"But…"

"Hermione, I'm alright. I promise, it looks worse than it is," he insisted, resting his head against her. He felt awful that she was so worried but at the same time, it felt nice to have someone that cared so much about him. Hermione hissed again in pain and Draco pulled his head away from her. "What's wr-?" Draco stopped short and put his hand to his cheek. He pulled it away to find a light coating of blood on it. He sat up and turned to her, staring at her chest. Just next to her left breast, in the center of her body, was a spot on her shirt that was wet with blood. "You're bleeding too… It's from me," he realized. "Why didn't you tell me I was hurting you? Why didn't you make me move?"

"It was fine when you were just resting on me. It really didn't hurt that bad. It was just when you moved that it-."

"You should have told me!" Draco interrupted angrily.

"You're bleeding, too, and you don't seem concerned," Hermione argued defensively. "It's not bad, the scab just cracked open. You act like-"

"But you didn't cause my bleeding. You were fine until-"

"Stop," Hermione demanded. "It really is fine."

Draco fell silent but his eyes were still narrowed, switching between her face and the blood on her shirt. Finally he reached down and began pulling her shirt up. Hermione quickly grabbed a hold of it and yanked it down and out of his grasp. His eyes flashed up at her in surprise. She looked frightened, and his anger and frustration fell away instantly.

"Hermione…" Draco spoke gently and cautiously and she looked down and away in embarrassment. "Hermione, you know I'd never hurt you, right?"

"I know," she affirmed in a small voice.

"No. Not good enough. Look at me. Into my eyes," he ordered, leaning down so that his face was directly in front of hers. Her face looked up but her eyes were still downcast. Draco placed his hands on either side of her face and her eyes met his. "I need you to know with every fiber of your being. I. Will. Never. Hurt. You."

Hermione couldn't pull her eyes from his even if she wanted to. The seriousness and devotion of his words burned in his eyes. "I know."

"They won't hurt you again," he stated firmly. "Because of that Vow you made, they won't chance hurting me now and I will do anything I have to do to protect you. There's nothing more to fear. The Order said they're coming and you and I are getting out of here. No more hurt. I'll protect you. I promise." Draco's declaration was spoken with such conviction that Hermione could not help but feel emboldened by it. She tried to think of something to say but nothing came. She just stared in his eyes and nodded her head. A soft, satisfied smile tugged at the corner of Draco's lips and he let go of her face. Hermione took a deep breath, but still could not figure out what to do or say next. Her mind was still locked on his words and the intensity of his deep grey eyes.

"I won't hurt you," he softly reminded her. "Will you let me have a look at that cut?"

Hermione nodded. She was neither afraid nor embarrassed when she lifted her shirt for him. Draco's eyes immediately found the freshly torn skin. The scab that had formed over was thin. It really hadn't been that long ago since she'd gotten it. A day ago, wasn't it? Two? He couldn't remember anymore.

His eyes followed the wound's path from her left collarbone down to her right hip. The cut was just through the skin, but it was spread open about an inch at its widest. As it extended down her stomach, it became thinner - not as deep - but Draco couldn't have laid his head on a worse spot. It had only been a day or so, but it looked as though it may already be forming an infection. The skin on either side of it was red and angry. Draco examined it dejectedly. It was terrible that it had been done to her, but worse that she had to keep suffering the pain of it.

"It's going to scar badly, isn't it?" Hermione sighed despondently.

"Is that what you're worried about?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Well… kind of. Well, not really, but…" Hermione looked down and Draco helped lower her shirt. He said nothing but continued to watch her, waiting for her to continue.

"I guess I just… When we're out of here, back in the world, people aren't going to understand. Strangers will have no idea the significance of that scar, but worse… My friends will." Hermione stared off, talking almost mechanically as she envisioned what she spoke. "Things will never be the same after this."

"No one will be the same after this war. And there will be a lot of people with battle scars. You-"

"These aren't battle scars. Battle scars I could live with. Battle scars are something people laugh about. There is no pride in my scars - only shame. This. This whole thing…" Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill any second. "I can already see the looks on my friends' faces, all of their faces. I don't want them to see me like this. I don't want them to see or know what I've suffered." As soon as she finished, the dam broke and a spate of tears glided down her cheeks.

Draco positioned himself to her side and pulled her head onto his shoulder. "There's no shame in a single thing you've done. No one will think badly of-"

"There's no shame in what I've done but that doesn't mean there's no shame in what I've suffered. And it's not the shame so much as the pity. Every time they look at me it will be that pathetic look…"

"Don't worry about them, Hermione. The only reason they would have that look would be because they care. There are a lot worse things in the world," Draco pushed. Like having no one that cares…Draco thought briefly of all his family and 'friends' who would no longer be there for him, then about all of the people on the other side of the war. I have no one…

Hermione nodded but Draco could see that she was not convinced. He let out a sigh and put his head on top of hers. Minutes passed slowly in their silence. They were both in pain and desperate for sleep, but neither could pull their thoughts away from their potential rescue party and the hopes and fears that would come with it.

Hermione gasped and Draco's head snapped up. "What?" he panicked.

"My earring," Hermione said, placing her thumb and forefinger around it. Both sat in silent anticipation. "N…O…W…" Hermione concentrated, waiting for more but nothing more came. "Now? There was no letter before it. It's a message to everyone, but does that mean for-?" Before Hermione could finish her thought a loud explosion sounded from somewhere far off.

"That's on the grounds…" Draco proclaimed. His eyes stared straight ahead as his mind tried to calculate where the explosion took place by considering both direction and volume. Neither he nor Hermione moved a muscle as they waited for another sign.

"Hurry up! Call them now!" Nott yelled from somewhere in the distance.

"How many are there?" Avery shouted in reply.

"Enough," Nott replied.

"Kill the house-elves. Hide the cellar door," ordered Dolohov.

"On it," Mulciber answered in reply.

Hermione and Draco looked up at the ceiling as a set of footsteps entered the drawing room. They listened as a couple of spells were mumbled, followed by the swish of the tapestry and retreating footsteps. As soon as the footsteps retreated, the house fell silent.

"They're really here!" Hermione said excitedly. She looked over at Draco and her smile faltered. He looked just the opposite as she expected: he looked horrified. "Wh-what's wrong?"

"They hid the door..." he replied blankly, staring at the door at the top of the steps. "They hid the door. I always figured… I don't know. I just thought… FUCK!" Draco ran up the stairs, gritting his teeth each time his broken foot made contact with the steps, and began pounding on the door. "Let us out! Let us out! Open the door!"

"Draco?" Hermione asked nervously, slowly starting up the stairs herself.

"Fuck! It's pointless!" He shouted, slapping the door one more time before spinning away from it. "They've put up all the enchantments. No one can fucking hear us or find the fucking door when the tapestry is swung shut. DAMN IT!" Draco tugged his hair in frustration. "Why hadn't I considered this? I knew they left it undone, but of course if the enemy arrives they'll put it up." At that point Draco seemed to be just muttering angrily to himself.

"Draco…?" Hermione asked tentatively, her voice as small and high as a mouse's as she cautiously approached him.

Draco calmed his anger and looked up into Hermione's face. His eyes were hopeless and defeated. "I'm sorry," he said, his lips quivering. His eyes were on her but he looked so very far away. "I should have thought… They can't find us now," he explained finally. "That tapestry is enchanted to hide this room. The Ministry has searched our house numerous times and could never find this room… I'm sorry." Draco saw tears beginning to well in Hermione's eyes at the same time tears began to sting his own. After all their hope… "If only I had a wand!" Draco fumed. Just as soon as he finished saying it he gasped with an epiphany. "Stand back. Ignemanus!" Blue flames sprung to life in Draco's right hand. He stared at them with intense concentration as they grew in his palm. A bright, possessed look blazed in his eyes as he smeared the flames over the door. The wood caught fire instantly and Draco pulled his hand away, taking a step back and smiling as the fire grew.

"What are you doing?" Hermione panicked.

"The door's only enchanted from the outside. Once the fire burns through it, the enchantments will break," he explained.

"But not before we die!"

Draco looked at her with concerned confusion. "What do you mean?"

"That's the less complex spell, remember?" Hermione began to cough. "It's not smokeless like Bluebell Flames. We'll suffocate!"

Draco turned around and saw that the stairwell was already filling rapidly with smoke. "Fuck!" Draco too began coughing. "Get downstairs! The smoke is rising."

Hermione followed orders and retreated down into the chamber. It now seemed much smaller than it had only minutes ago. She looked back up the stairs and saw that Draco had not moved. He still stood at the top, staring at the door, coughing on the overwhelming smoke that surrounded him.

"Draco, get away from it!" Hermione demanded.

Draco began pounding on the burning door with his fists. "Help! Help! We're in here! Help! Is anyone there? Help!" He grimaced as the blue flames licked his arms. He flinched and pulled his hands back. The cloth wrapped around his left forearm had caught fire and he hastily ripped it off and began pounding on the door with just his right fist. "Help! HELP!" Draco's coughing became so intense that he could no longer speak.

"Get down here!" Hermione commanded.

Grudgingly, Draco complied, hobbling down the stairs in a coughing fit. He paced with his teeth clenched, blocking out the pain of his broken foot. The smoke was quickly filling the room. There were only minutes left. Draco stared at Hermione, his mind racing in desperation. Both of their coughs were becoming stronger as the smoke continued to thicken. "Sit down," Draco ordered.

Hermione sat on the floor as Draco continued to pace, running his hand through his hair. A noise overhead startled them and they both looked at each other as if to ask if the other had heard it.

There was someone in the house again.

"Left first," a voice shouted from far off.

Draco glared up at the burning door that was completely encased in flames. There was no possible way for him to go up there to either shout or pound. His eyes fell to the floor and upon a new hope. He bent down and picked up the metal food tray and walked halfway up the stairs before he began banging the tray against the stone wall. "HELP! Help! We're in here!" Draco's cries ceased there. The smoke in the stairwell had become too thick for him to breathe without ceaseless coughing. His coughs, however, sounded nearly as loud as his shouting and therefore helped his purpose. He looked down the stairs, still banging the tray loudly, and could hardly make out Hermione's form through the smoke. Her coughing was nearly as bad as his. "Lie down!"

Hermione laid flat on her back, her head to the side, trying to breathe what little clean air was left in the room.

"What's that noise?" a familiar voice called.

"Lupin…" Hermione smiled. Draco, becoming weaker, put forth all the energy he had into banging against the wall.

"In here!" Fred shouted.

"Blue fire?" Lupin asked curiously.

"Bluebell Flames - Hermione's specialty! She's in there!" cried Fred.

"Hermione?" Lupin shouted through the door. "If you can hear me, get away from the door!"

Draco started sliding backward down the stairs on his knees and stopped beside Hermione. "It's over…" He collapsed face-down on the floor beside her.

"Bombarda!" Lupin shouted. The door blasted in, sliding down the stairs as the smoke billowed from the room.

"Hermione?" Lupin called as he scrambled down the stairs, Fred on his heels.

"She's there!" Fred shouted.

Lupin knelt beside her and scooped her into his arms in one smooth motion. "Who's that?"

Fred turned Draco's body over to better examine the bloody and disfigured facial features. In its current state, the face was nearly unrecognizable. "Draco Malfoy."

"Leave him; the others will come for him," Lupin ordered, turning toward the stairs.

"NO! Wait!" Hermione cried through her fit of coughing. "You have to take him!"

"Hermione, we have no time to collect Death Eaters," Lupin started. "The others are-"

"NO! He's not! You have to take him!"

"Hermione," Fred yelled over the roaring noise that pulsed over the entire property. "We can't take him where we're going. The others will-"

"NO! I won't leave him!" Hermione shouted. Tears were already falling from her eyes from the sting of the smoke, but at her rescuers' refusal they increased in their intensity. "He's not them! He saved me!"

"Hermione," Lupin said forcefully.

"NO! Then put me down! I won't leave him!" she shouted, pounding Lupin's shoulder with her fist and wriggling in his arms.

"Fred, just take him!" Lupin ordered.

"But," Fred protested. "We can't take him to-"

"Just take him! I'll deal with it!" Lupin commanded urgently.

Fred obediently bent over and picked up Draco's limp body, draping him over his shoulder. Lupin nodded curtly and they both jogged up the stairs and through the deserted house.

"Lupin…" Hermione managed through coughs. "Trust Draco... Protect him… Please…"

Lupin nodded to her but Hermione knew that he didn't understand.

"He saved me, Remus… Protect him… Promise me!" Hermione demanded, her chest still burning from the smoke even in the cool night air. "Promise!"

Lupin stared down at her face as he jogged after Fred. Hermione stared up at him, her body shaking weakly as she continued to cough, her eyes pleading for his assurance.

"I promise. He'll be looked after," Lupin agreed.

"We've got her!" Fred bellowed to the world at large. Hermione saw a fox Patronus bound across the grounds, no doubt sending the message of her rescue to the other Order members. "Now?" Fred asked Lupin. Lupin nodded and Hermione felt a last cough erupt from her lungs as she felt as though her body was being squeezed through a small tube. As suddenly as the feeling began, it ended. Hermione rolled over in Lupin's arms and retched on the ground in front of them. She wiped the sick from her lips with her sleeve as she put her head back against Lupin's arm and gazed up at a manor near as grand as the Malfoy's, only with a much more welcoming feel to it. It was made of red brick, ivy climbing up its side. Its many windows were glowing warmly through the dark night. Lupin started walking them up a flagstone path with Fred right behind them, still carrying Draco over his shoulder. Hermione felt her head spinning, her chest still burning. She knew she was going to pass out but was pushing it off with all the energy she had left.

"Oh Merlin! You found her! Thank the heavens!" A small smile tugged at Hermione's lips when she recognized the voice of Mrs. Weasley bustling over to them.

"Is she alright?" Ginny cried from close behind.

Hermione looked up at Lupin. She knew she was slipping away. "You promised…"

Lupin's nod was the last thing she saw before the darkness closed in around her.