Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do own several job applications as I go job hunting (ewwwwww!)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Because a few people wondered, Claire did not see Draco try to stop Bill. She had her back to him, and it all happened in a split second, so she didn't even realize someone was calling to Bill. She was all excited about Bill getting the portkey, so didn't register Draco's yelling, sorry about the confusion.

Dbi626: People are going to start discovering about Draco in the sequel, I think that the climax is being reached in this story and there are only a few more chapters
Rachel: Hey, I can't spell even in the day hours (that's why I have a beta!), thanks for the review, glad you liked it
Slickslytherin: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you're excited for the update.
Jess: lol, I'm glad you enthusiasm didn't run out, and see, this update was up much quicker!
Mask: yeah, but you're not Freud, you're not even the psych major, so there (smirks)
Mono: Don't worry, no romance in this story, and only pre-romance in the sequel, if I write a third, then it will be romantically centered
Meirta: lol, I love Star Trek, and so I did like reading it in a Captain Kirk voice, thanks for the review. Spock says "Happy birthday. Live long and prosper." (disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek either)
Chicklepea: Awww, I'm sorry you're sick and I hope you feel better. If not, here is a sick present for you.
Natalie: Thanks for the review, and I hope it's up early enough for you!
Gremlin: Actually, Claire was facing the other way, so she didn't see him, that would be too mean to Draco I think. Thanks for the review!
Lilith: Your wish is my command. More updates! Thanks for reviewing!
Kely5: I do indeed study psychology, (I love it!) and the sequel will mainly be about Draco trying to get along with the others (i.e. Golden Trio, so there will be Hermione, just not D/H) Thanks for reviewing!
Erre: Well, the sequel will be pre D/G, and if I write a third, it will be hard core D/G (hard core as in relationships, not physicalness cuz I don't do sex scenes) thanks for the review!

Thanks to my amazing beta for editing two chapters!

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Chapter 27

Death Eaters, pt 1

Draco stared at the spot where he had last seen Bill though his eyes were completely unfocused and his fingers were tapping out the 1-3-2-4 pattern double time. He broke out of his trance two minutes later and shut the door. His first target was the blackboard. He knocked it over with a crash and then upset a few chairs. The desk was last, and he spotted Bill's wand and pocketed it, then shoved the neatly stacked papers off the table top and scattered the contents of Bill's bag all over the floor.

He left the room, locking to door behind him with a rather powerful locking spell, but used Bill's wand to do so, just on the off-chance they started checking wands in the school. They never checked the wand of the victim. He then went straight to the teacher's wing of the school.

He didn't know what room Bill's was, but he knew that the new teachers got the rooms at the end of the hall and one of the rooms still had 'no admittance' signs from the Aurors. That had been Stevick's room.

He chose the door on the left but it was locked, and further investigation proved that the handle was made of spell-resistant brass. He knew a few choice Dark spells that would work, but he had to be inconspicuous, so he pulled off his Prefect's badge and used the pin end and a spare quill to shamelessly pick the lock.

The door swung open and Draco stepped in, immediately knowing that he had picked the right room. The room was full of pictures of the same red-haired family. They were mainly casual shots, or candid ones, but there were a couple of the family posing formally together, and of course, there were pictures of Fleur.

Draco tore his gaze from the photos and did a quick sweep of the room. The bed was made, but still rather messy, and the desk was cluttered. He spotted the trunk by the window and immediately went for it, pulling it open easily. What he was looking for was right on top, the slippery-smooth fabric of an invisibility cloak.

Draco pulled it out, shaking out the material and running his hands over it for a moment. He had never held one before and it was incredible. He shoved it in his bag and then left the room, sparing one last look at the photo in the middle of the wall and smiling slightly at all of the Weasley siblings who had their arms around each others shoulders, but then one of the twins slipped – whether accidentally or not, he couldn't tell – and brought the entire group of red-heads down in a pile of tangled limbs. The group was all laughing as they climbed to their feet.

Draco made sure to lock the door behind him before exiting the hall. He had two more stops to make.

He ran silently down to the dungeons, and stepped into the now deserted Potions room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He went straight to the potions cupboard and started pulling out the vials of what he might need, which included a blood-replenishing draught, a pain potion, a pain ointment, and a few others.

He left the room after placing a charm on the vials to keep them from cracking and put them in his bag. His last stop was his room.

It was dinnertime and so all of the students were in the Great Hall and Draco didn't have to be discrete about dumping his bag's contents on his bed and picking out the school books he wouldn't need, and then repacking the invisibility cloak, Bill's wand, and potion vials along with bandages from his trunk.

Draco was no innocent. He knew very well what interrogation sessions often looked like with a madman like Voldemort, and those were only mild compared to what Bill must be going through.

He also knew where Bill would be, at least, he had a pretty good idea, but that was it, just an idea.

But still, he wasn't going to leave Bill in the hands of Death Eaters, and right now, he was the only one who might be able to get him out. It was funny, now that he thought about it. He hadn't even thought about the choice of rescuing Bill. He had just seen his professor disappear, and the next step his mind made was 'how am I going to rescue him?' and not 'should I rescue him?' He had changed a lot this school year; he was practically a Gryffindor.

Well, not really. If he was a Gryffindor like Potter, he would have gone straight to a teacher, told them everything that had happened and that he didn't want to be a Death Eater. Then, when they had told him to stay behind and to let the Aurors get Bill, he would have snuck out and gone anyway. No, he was still a Slytherin. He knew that him going alone would be the best chance Bill had. A group of people was way too noticeable and either the Death Eaters would kill Bill when they knew they were under attack, or they would take him to an even more secure location. Besides, explaining the story to the teachers and Order members alone would take at least three hours with all of their cross-examinations and truth spells, and Draco didn't have that much time. Neither did Bill.

Draco finished packing his bag after pocketing his unregistered wand. He had bought it from Knockturn Alley for his sixteenth birthday when he had bought his Firebolt as well but simply didn't mention it to his father, who did not need to know the fact that his sixteen year old son could now do magic outside of school. His father would have grounded him for months.

After double-checking his bag he left his dorm, nearly running straight into McGonagall.

"Mr. Malfoy," she said, casting him her usual frown, and as usual, he realized how intimidating she was. "Why are you not in the Great Hall?"

"Is dinner mandatory?" Draco asked, sneering slightly.

"No," said McGonagall, "but the debate afterwards is and it is starting any minute, so move along."

The Great Hall was drastically changed for the debate. The Head Table was removed and in its place was two podiums and behind them, chairs for the debate teams. The sixth years would debate first, answering questions given by McGonagall, and then afterwards, the seventh years would debate as well. The neutral sixth and seventh years, along with the third, fourth, and fifth years were expected to attend the debate, and so the house table were removed and rows of chairs were set up in their stead. Draco took a seat in the back and wished they would all hurry up and get started.

He had planned on going to the debate, just so no one would realize he was missing. (Rule 22: If you must go and play hero, make sure some one else gets the credit.) Well, this was a must situation, after all (Rule 4) having friendships is costly, but (Rule 19) sometimes they are a good thing. And being friends with Bill was a good thing, mostly for him since he had never really had that kind of support before, but in this case, it was a good thing for Bill too. In situations like this, being on the good side of a Death Eater's son can really pay off.

Draco sat up straighter as the lights dimmed in the Great Hall, putting the audience in almost complete darkness. The 'stage' was then lit as McGonagall stepped forward.

"Thank you all for attending. As you know, the sixth and seventh years have attended a debate class every Wednesday night for the school year in which they have discussed the major political conflicts of today's time. This was incorporated into the curriculum so that the all of you students could discuss and form your opinions, in an unbiased atmosphere without any outside pressures."

Draco felt like snorting at that comment. Most of the children who had Death Eater parents knew that their 'outside pressures' could find a way to Hogwarts if they did decide against the Dark Lord. Even if Hogwarts was safe, they still had to come home for summers.

He waited until McGonagall stepped down to sit in the teacher's row in the front of the audience. Notice it, he thought at her, notice that Bill isn't there.

McGonagall did, leaning over to whisper to Dumbledore and motioning to the empty chair where Bill should have been. Draco watched as she quietly got up and left the room as the debate started.

Draco quietly reached down and pulled on the invisibility cloak. No one else was in the back row and so no one noticed when he disappeared from sight. Now here was the fun part. He carefully got up and walked down the side aisle, staying close to the wall as he worked his way to the side door that McGonagall had left open a crack. Unfortunately, the door was in the front of the room, so he couldn't make a sound.

Luckily, the debate seemed to be rather intense, seeing as Nott was getting up to make his opening statement.

"Why should we have to argue with Mudbloods?" he asked, and the room went wild with boos, hisses, and some cheers.

Draco slipped out the door. It swung open a little bit when he passed through, but no one noticed. He broke into a run once he was sufficiently past the Great Hall, and went straight for the dungeon passageway and out the secret door. He sprinted to the edge of the grounds and then paused once he was in the forest, taking the time to catch his breath and steel himself for what he was about to do. It wasn't everyday that a Pureblood with Death Eaters for parents decided to go against everything he was taught to rescue a blood traitor and a spy. It wasn't everyday a Malfoy risked his life to save a Weasley. And it wasn't everyday that a teenager went up against Voldemort; of course, if he was Potter, it probably was every day, but for the average teenager, it was something new.

He took a few deep breaths, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth for serenity. He then cast an Apparating-silencing charm on himself (which would eliminate the Apparating crack), made sure the invisibility cloak covered everything, raised his unregistered wand, and Apparated.

He appeared on the outskirts of a wood by an abandoned castle that was once belonged to the Black family. It was actually Regulus Black's inheritance, but the unfortunate man turned rather blatantly traitorous to the Dark Lord and was killed. The castle had already been deserted many years before, and without its new owner, it was largely forgotten about.

Draco could see Death Eater scouts patrolling outside of the castle, but Draco was invisible and so walked straight past them and around to the back of the castle.

He had been here before with his father, and so he knew that the back of the castle was even more crumbling than the front. Sure enough, the back wall was only standing two feet high in some places, so he easily stepped over it.

The inside of the castle was in better condition, meaning that he actually had to travel by hallways, and he wasn't exactly sure where he was going, though he was pretty sure of two things: one, Bill would be in the dungeon, and two, the dungeons would be underneath the castle so he needed to go down.

He silently ran through the halls looking for a staircase, nearly running into a group of Death Eaters that were rounding the same bend. He pulled up shortly and pressed himself against the wall as they passed. They had their masks off and Draco recognized quite a few faces, including Claire, the perfect student teacher who had been so sweet and perfect, no one had suspected her, except him. Rule 13: There is no hole bigger in a disguise, than the role of perfection.

He waited until they passed and then followed them into what appeared to be the kitchen, where they joined even more of the cloaked followers, though their masks were discarded as they ate around a large table and laughed about their current escapades. Draco did not have a weak stomach, and he could tolerate a lot of gore, but the things that they were describing plus the smell of food caused him to feel slightly nauseas, but he stayed. Patience always pays off (rule 9) and soon enough another Death Eater came in. It was Nott, Sr.

"You," he ordered, pointing to a younger Death Eater. "Go get McNair; our lord wishes to hear the progress on the prisoner."

Draco stopped himself from frowning in worry, even though he felt a cold chill race down his spine. The emotion threw him off for a minute and he had to run to catch up to the lackey. McNair was a sick bastard who pretty much ran the 'interrogation' part of the Death Eater operation and if he was questioning Bill…

Draco frowned. He couldn't afford to be emotional right now, not when he needed to figure out how to get himself and Bill out of this place without being captured – scratch that, he just plain shouldn't be emotional at all. What the hell had happened to the Ice Prince of Slytherin? He had a feeling that he didn't want to know and quickly threw up all the emotional barriers he had, relying solely on his logic.

The lackey led him straight to the dungeons which were guarded by two Death Eaters. He even left the door open so that Draco didn't have to worry about sliding through a closing door. Draco nearly pulled up short when he reached the bottom of the stairs and for a moment, he wanted to start hexing immediately, but he stopped himself. Avoid split second decisions (rule 7) and wait and see how things play about before making your move (rule 6).

So Draco did not intervene when the 'crucio' spell was placed on Bill, but rather stole off into a corner of the room and waited, giving into the temptation of putting his hands over his ears as Bill screamed, and then choked on the blood that seemed to be welling from his throat.

"Uh, excuse me?" the lackey asked McNair.

The torturer turned to the younger member, still holding the curse on Bill.

"The-the Dark Lord wants to see you."

McNair turned back to Bill with an almost regretful expression on his face and grudgingly took off the dark curse.

"I'll be back," he promised, stepping over to pull the spy up halfway. "Are you going to miss me?"

Bill didn't answer and McNair kicked him sharply in the ribs. Bill cried out, curling up slightly and Draco pressed his hands even tighter over his ears.

"I said, 'Are you going to miss me?'" McNair growled.

"No," Bill grounded out, but it seemed as if talking was painful to him.

McNair laughed, letting Bill drop to the floor, and left the room, the lackey hurrying after him. The door at the top of the stairs was locked and Draco slowly took in the sight of his Ancient Runes professor.

Bill was curled up on the stone ground, his clothes dirtied and stained red. His face was bruised and blood smeared, with a larger puddle of blood underneath him. That didn't look good. Draco pulled off his invisibility cloak and ran to Bill's side, touching his shoulder lightly to get his attention because the professor's eyes were closed.

Bill jerked away from him, his eyes opening and lighting on his face.

"Draco?" he managed, his voice hoarse from overuse. "What are you-?"

"What does it look like?" Draco asked, reaching out to touch the large black bruise on his jaw. It was as he suspected; the jaw was fractured. "Can you tell me what hurts the most?"

Bill weakly pushed his hands away. "Get out," he managed. "Tell Dumbledore-,"

Rule 1: Do not let anyone make your decisions for you.

"I'm not telling him shit," said Draco, now pressing on Bill's chest which made the spy bite back a yell. There were ribs broken. "The Aurors would just mess this up. I'm your best bet for getting you out of here alive."

"I don't want-," Bill cut off with a gasp as Draco ran his hands over his left leg. There was a rather large break right above his ankle. "I don't want you to get hurt," Bill finished.

"Stop talking," Draco ordered. "You've got a broken jaw." He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out the pain potion then tipped it into Bill's mouth.

Bill gagged on the taste but managed to down most of it. Draco pulled up Bill's pant leg a little and smeared the pain ointment above Bill's ankle to further minimize the pain because Bill was going to have to be able to walk on his own for the most part. He re-capped the vial and put it back in his bag.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

"Draco," Bill started.

"Bill, shut up, or I swear I will hex you," said Draco, his voice going cold and deadly serious. "I'm getting you out of here because I am the only one who has the ability to make sure you live through this. Now, if you want to see your family again and if you want to get married in the summer, you will do exactly what I say, understand?"

Bill held his gaze for a moment and then nodded.

"Good," said Draco. "Now can you stand up?"

He helped Bill to his feet, frowning at the way Bill was trembling. Now that he looked more closely, he could see that the professor looked slightly feverish. He swore silently in his mind. The usual first line of interrogations was pain potions which could lead to some very nasty side effects.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and then pulled the invisibility cloak back on him. He slid Bill's arm over his shoulder and began helping the taller man up the stairs.

Bill's shaking worsened and a couple of times they stumbled, but they managed to make it to the top. Draco moved Bill to the wall and then pulled the door open. There were two Death Eater guards that whipped around at the opening door, but Draco had already cast his curse. The two fell straight to the floor in a deep sleep that would last a good six hours, plenty of time to get out of the castle, he hoped.

Draco went back for Bill, who jumped a little when the hand came out of no where to help him.

"Sorry," Draco apologized. Rule 12: Always maintain reputations, unless you can afford to lose them, and Draco couldn't afford it just yet, so the invisibility cloak would just have to stay on. Bill seemed to realize that because he managed a slight smile.

"It's fine," he said.

Draco cast a camouflage charm on Bill and then slipped a hand around Bill's waist. Bill leaned rather heavily on him and Draco winced slightly at the physical contact as he was never one for touching. He shook off the feeling and they walked out the door.

Draco realized the instant the alarm went off he should have prepared for something like this.

"Shit," he swore, leveling a blasting hex on the door. The door burst into splinters and immediately the ear-piercing ringing was silenced. Draco mentally listed every curse word he ever learned as he and Bill quickened their pace towards the end of the hall. For Merlin's sake, it was common practice to have alarms when a prisoner left Azkaban, he should have figured the Death Eaters might have that sort of system as well.

He could hear the Death Eaters running towards them and dropped Bill behind a pile of fallen stones.

"Stay here," he told the Professor and then pressed Bill's wand into his hand.

"Draco-," Bill started, obviously preparing to tell Draco to get out, but then he stopped and sighed. "Be careful."

Draco smiled at that and moved off to the middle of the hall.

The Death Eaters rounded the corner, and was met by a barrage of curses from apparently no one at all.

"It's another one of those invisible spies!" one screamed to the others and they began throwing their own curses as well.

They didn't even come close to hitting him, and Draco smirked as he completely decimated their numbers, though he knew that even more would be coming soon.

"You alright Bill?" he asked, coming over the help the spy up again.

"Fine," said Bill. "You?"

There was real concern in his eyes and voice and Draco smiled.

"'Course," he said, reaching down and pulling the teacher up.

They had almost made it outside when they hit the real obstacle. The Death Eaters were completely blocking their exit, wands drawn and ready. Draco pulled Bill down another hall before they were spotted and then stopped to think.

He knew that right now all exits would be covered to trap them inside and that even more Death Eaters would be outside the castle just in case they did manage to break free. He had watched the Death Eaters respond to similar situations when he had attended meetings over the summer. Rule 3: Know your enemy.

His fingers began tapping out the pattern as his mind whirled through all of the possibilities until he finally came to a conclusion.

"I'll be right back," he told Bill.

The professor reached out for him, but Draco dodged the hand and then walked to the edge of the wall to peer around. There were perhaps twelve Death Eaters.

He took a breath and pointed his wand at one of the masked figures.

"Imperio!" he whispered.

It was odd, controlling another person. He could feel the struggle in his mind and aimed one thought at the other presence. "Fight them!" Rule 16: If you know you are going to fail, always make sure that someone or something else will take the blame. He didn't think they could make it out, and so he was going to cast as much suspicion on everyone as he could.

He pulled back as the room erupted with spells, concentrating on that one thought. 'Fight them!' He could hear shouts and yells and a few dark curses and suddenly the link was severed, which meant that the person he was controlling was down.

"The hell was that?" one of the Death Eater's asked, fear in his voice, and that was what gave Draco an inspiration.

He silently cast a charm on himself, one to dye his hair black and turn his eyes green. It was a quick transfiguration charm that only lasted a few minutes, but it would suffice. He knew that even then he looked nothing like Harry Potter, but people's own minds are their greatest deceivers. He was going to use that against them (Rule 20).

He let the invisibility cloak fall to the floor and ran into the room, calling down hexes as he did. It took them a full ten seconds to snap out of their shock and return the fight, and by then, they didn't stand a chance. His 'imperio'ed man had taken out at least four of them, and because all Death Eaters feared Harry Potter, they made rash decisions.

He didn't escape unscathed though. A chunk of stone wall had landed on him when a curse went awry, blasting out a piece of the wall. The debris struck him on the shoulder and he would have a rather large bruise there in a few minutes and a slicing hex had caught his cheek, but it wasn't deep.

He had just finished the battle when he could feel his transfiguration fading and he smirked. When they awoke, they would tell stories about the Boy-Who-Lived using dark curses and besting all of them. Rule 21: If blame must be placed, place it on something you have no control over and make it someone else's responsibility. There was no way any one would even think of Draco being a part of the fight after that.

He went back to Bill, pulling on the invisibility cloak now that he had his grey eyes and white-blond hair back, but he didn't pull in on quick enough; Bill saw the blood on his face.

"Draco, are you alright?" he asked.

"Just a scratch," said Draco, grabbing him again and feeling concern spike through him. Bill was cold to the touch; a bit of shock setting in once his body had time to recuperate from the torture potions and the strain of the Cruciatus. "Let's keep moving."

The invisibility cloak and the camouflage charm allowed them to make it the rest of the way outside without anymore incidents, though the back entrance was guarded by two Death Eaters with more stationed around the castle. This time would have to be silent. One yell and the rest of the group would come running and it would have to be fast, because the scouts Draco saw when he first came in would be patrolling every exit frequently and checking in with the guards.

"We're going to have to run for it after this," Draco whispered to Bill.

Bill nodded and Draco quickly scanned for any alarms that might be breached if Bill went past the actual castle. Rule 18: Learn the first time. Never make the same mistake twice.

Satisfied that there were no additional traps, he sent off two spells in quick succession so that the Death Eater on the right barely had time to register the fact that his partner had just dropped unconscious before black descended on him as well.

"Now!" Draco commanded in a whisper and they jumped over the crumbled wall and were just about to start running when they ran straight into two scouts.

Draco didn't even have time to draw his wand. He let go of Bill and punched one of the Death Eaters in the gut, bringing up his knee to break the man's nose. The man staggered back and Draco kicked out once, again connecting with the Death Eater's gut and sending the man toppling. Rule 10: Be prepared to fight in all forms of combat.

He was just turning towards the other Death Eater when a slice of fire burned across his back. He whirled around to see something gleaning in the man's hand, but now it was stained with red. He didn't let himself react to the pain, knowing that in a fight it is deadly to do so. Instead, he grabbed the arm with the knife and twisted it back, forcing the man to drop the knife. A quick kick to the ribs and a measured strike to the neck sent the man to the ground.

Hands connected with Draco's back and started to pull the cloak off. It was the Death Eater with the broken nose, but no sooner had the hands snagged the material, than the man toppled over, unconscious.

Draco whirled again to see Bill on the ground with his wand outstretched and pointing at the Death Eater.

"Thanks," said Draco, bending down to help Bill up and biting off a gasp as a flash of pain shot up from his back to his head.

"You're hurt," said Bill.

"Not as bad as you," said Draco, hauling his professor up. There were shouts and Draco looked up to see more Death Eaters running towards them, having seen the fight.

They broke into a run simultaneously, heading for the trees. They reached the shelter of the woods long before any of the shouted spells reached them, but it was a relief short lived. Draco had tried to Apparate with Bill only nothing happened.

"Shit, they set up more wards," said Draco. The Death Eaters obviously did not want them Apparating away to safety. "Can you run anymore?" he asked Bill.

"Sure," said Bill, but Draco knew it wasn't likely that the professor could last much longer; he was barely staying upright.

Draco cast his mind around for something that might aid them, and then remembered the old house in the woods a while away from here. He wondered if it was too far. Shouts behind him from the Death Eaters told him he didn't have a choice and so he grabbed Bill again and they set off.

They had run for maybe three minutes through the woods, tripping in the dark over tree roots and branches, and Draco knew that they weren't going to get much further unless something was done. By this time, a few of the more in shape Death Eaters were catching up with them quite quickly but if he could hold those few off, they might be able to make it. So he staggered to a halt, making a show of tiring out and then falling to the ground, although because he was invisible, it looked as if Bill had collapsed alone. Never reveal your strengths, for they can become powerful weapons of surprise when used properly (Rule 2).

The camouflage charm had pretty much worn off of Bill by now, and Draco made no move to re-do it. The Death Eaters had seen Bill fall, and figured he was out.

"Stay down," Draco whispered to Bill, who had hit the ground rather hard when Draco had purposefully fallen and Draco felt slightly guilty at that.

Bill was too tired to even begin to argue and nodded mutely, gasping in breaths. His teeth were ground together to keep from crying out at the pain and Draco touched his shoulder once, trying to offer some sort of comfort. He then moved behind a tree and waited.

The first few Death Eaters came within ten feet of the prone spy when there was a shouted cry of "Reicio Antepilani!"

It was a powerful spell, an ancient spell, one used during wizarding wars. The first line of Death Eaters were propelled into the air by a shockwave. The spell would have sent them thirty feet backwards had the trees not been there. As it was, they smacked into the trees with a sickening force and crumpled to the ground. He knew that would keep the Death Eaters back a distance and give them time to reach the house. Rule 14: Sometimes it's necessary to reveal strengths to be perceived as strong.

He helped Bill up for what seemed to be the millionth time that night, but this time Draco was supporting practically all of Bill's weight.

"Just a little further," Draco told him.

He may have lied slightly, but they reached the house before any of the Death Eaters did and they stumbled up the sagging steps and into the deserted home. Draco set Bill down against a wall and then set wards around the house to keep the Death Eaters out. These weren't ordinary wards, but dark ones that would take a least a few hours for a ward-breaker to get through.

Once he was sure that the wards were steady, Draco searched the house for anything they could use and happened across a few lanterns which he lit and then took back to Bill. He pulled off the invisibility cloak and knelt by his professor.

"How are you?" he asked, reaching out and putting a hand on Bill's forehead. He frowned at the heat he felt.

"Alright," Bill said, leaning weakly against the wall, his eyes half closed.

Draco didn't say anything to that but went searching around the house again and found a pump that still worked. He dug some bandages out of his bag and wet a few, then went back to Bill's side and began cleaning him up a bit so he could access the damage. He decided that Bill's face would eventually heal on its own, and although normally he would have healed Bill's broken jaw, mending bones took a lot out of him and he had to keep the wards up.

He ran his wand over the rest of Bill, a slight glow emitting from the wand whenever he encountered a broken bone. Draco hid a wince. Four ribs were broken, though they didn't seem to be causing any internal injuries, and of course, Bill's leg, which was actually a double fracture.

"Bill, I need to know what they gave you," said Draco. If Bill still had certain potions in him, it would be advisable not to give him anything else for the pain.

Bill opened his eyes, though it seemed to be a real struggle.

"Couple of potions," he said thickly.

"What kind?" asked Draco.

"One made my blood heat up," said Bill. "Another one made me cold, and the last made me see bad things."

Draco nodded. It was classic style interrogation. Subject them to extreme temperatures to get them off balance and then show them their deepest fears. It was basically a liquid Boggart, but ten times more intense. While the potions were bad, they obviously hadn't had the chance to give Bill anything that would cause a bad reaction to pain medicines, something they sometimes did to people who were going to be rescued so the act of healing the victims nearly killed them.

Draco pulled out another pain potion, and then a blood replenishing one and held them to Bill's lips so he could drink.

"You should take one too," said Bill. "Your back is bleeding."

Draco had almost forgotten about the dull ache in his back, but Bill's words reignited the flames.

"I'm fine," he said, not wanting to take the potion. Bill needed it more, besides, he had to stay alert. Rule 8: Avoid pain medications.

There were a series of shouts outside that caused Draco to peek out the window that was partially boarded up. The Death Eaters were on the perimeter of the house and were throwing hexes in their general directions, but they had no effect and were simply being absorbed into the barrier.

Voldemort appeared from the woods. Draco couldn't quite catch the conversation but he had a feeling that Voldemort was severely displeased because he cast quite a few crucios. The Death Eaters all bowed to him, placating their lord, or at least trying to. It was actually rather funny, but he noticed Bill was tensing slightly at the screams.

"They can't get in," he said to his professor. "It's warded."

He glanced back out the window to see the masses kneeling before the lord they loved, but love is weakness; weaknesses can be exploited. It is the quickest way to pain (Rule 15). And that just went to show that you really couldn't trust anyone (Rule 17), not even your lord.

Draco froze slightly. Voldemort now knew that Bill was the spy, which meant that his and Bill's delicate balance of secrets (Draco not telling Bill was a spy and Bill not telling that Draco was a genius) was suddenly no longer balanced. Bill could tell anyone he wanted to about Draco and there would be no consequences on him.

Draco looked at Bill. The professor was looking a little bit better and he was pushing himself higher up against the wall. He seemed to be realizing for the first time that he was out of the dungeons. He turned to Draco with one of his wide smiles.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

Draco looked at him a little warily, but he nodded and then stifled a yawn. Rule 5: Late night activities cause a lack of awareness. Use only when necessary.

"What's next?" asked Bill.

Draco shrugged. "Stay here until the Aurors arrive," he said, already thinking out a new plan.

"The Aurors are coming?" asked Bill, surprised. "Did you alert them?"

"Not yet," said Draco.

He realized that he was being rather vague and that Bill was looking at him a little funny, and he suddenly felt bad for what he was about to do, but he didn't feel bad enough to change his mind. Rule 17: Don't trust anyone, and his logic was telling him that the rule applied to everyone. He still felt guilty though, so he tried to make up for it.

"Are you feeling alright?" Draco asked.

"Can't complain, all things considering," said Bill. "Little cold though."

Draco transfigured a clean bandage into a thick, white blanket and helped Bill wrap it around himself.

"Better?" he asked.

Bill nodded. "Thanks."

That only made him feel worse, so he stood abruptly and walked to the window, looking out again.

"How are you going to call the Aurors?" asked Bill.

"The Dark Mark," said Draco. "I'm going to launch one." He pulled out his wand, fingering the smooth wood as he turned it over idly in his fingers.

"Bill," he said suddenly.

"Yeah?" asked Bill.

"I'm sorry," said Draco. He whirled around to the professor and pointed his wand at Bill's head.

------------------------------------------

Bill firmly believed he was in hell. Never before had he hurt so much. The potion that caused his blood to boil had only been the beginning. The three Death Eaters had left and McNair had come in, introducing himself with a prolonged bout of the Cruciatus that had left Bill unconscious and he was roused by a booted foot ruthlessly pounding on his flesh. He had felt a rib crack and break from the ministrations.

Then he had been given a potion that slowly turned his bones into ice, not the numb cold, but the piercing cold that made him shake so badly he couldn't even curl up for warmth. Then, once that had worn off, it had been back to the Cruciatus accompanied by physical beatings where McNair would chain him upright and repeatedly punch or kick him. Two more ribs had given under that pressure and his entire chest was covered in black and blue marks.

The last potion had been the worst. He had seen his entire family slaughtered before his eyes while he screamed and begged. Ginny was the last to go and Bill had seen her raped and beaten before her throat was slit.

Afterwards, he had been beaten again where his jaw was broken by a powerful backhand, and his leg was smashed by a booted foot stomping on it repeatedly. Then he was slammed into a wall where his last rib was broken, subjected to the Cruciatus yet again until he coughed up blood because his throat was so overused and then McNair had left, and then Draco had come.

Bill honestly thought he was seeing things when he had first seen the kid, but then he had realized that there was no way he would have thought up such a crazy idea. Even now, leaning against the wall of an abandoned house with Draco right next to him, he could hardly believe it. The kid had no reason to rescue him as Claire hadn't even noticed the shout from Draco as he tried to stop Bill from taking page. Draco had done his part by trying to warn him. Bill had obviously impacted the kid more than he thought and was strangely touched that the kid liked him so much that he would risk his life to save his own.

He tensed when he heard the screams outside the window, knowing that only one thing can make a person scream like that and he didn't wish the Cruciatus on anyone.

"They can't get in," said Draco, and Bill looked up to see that Draco was looking at him, concern visible in his eyes. "It's warded."

Bill watched as Draco turned back to the window, and suddenly Draco's mask descended, as if he was hit by an unpleasant thought. Bill frowned at that, something wasn't right with Draco. He pushed that thought from his mind. Of course things weren't right, Draco had just saved his life and nearly gotten killed in the process. He glanced at Draco's back where he could see a tear in his shirt and a nasty gash, though it didn't appear to be too deep.

He shook his head in amazement. He was really out of there; he could hardly believe it. He pushed himself up a bit and turned back to Draco.

"Thank you," he said, completely grateful for his life.

Draco shot him a look he couldn't categorize, one that put him back on edge. He had a bad feeling.

"What's next?" he asked, wanting to get Draco to tell him what was going on.

Draco shrugged vaguely. "Stay here until the Aurors arrive."

"The Aurors are coming?" asked Bill, surprised. "Did you alert them?"

"Not yet," said Draco, even more obscurely.

Bill shot him a funny look and immediately Draco was trying to side track him.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked.

The Draco Malfoy that Bill knew would not ask that question twice, but he answered.

"Can't complain, all things considering," said Bill. "Little cold though."

Draco actually transfigured a clean bandage into a thick, white blanket and even helped Bill wrap it around himself.

"Better?" he asked and right then, Bill knew that he was right to worry. Something was very off.

He nodded. "Thanks."

Draco stood abruptly and walked to window, looking out again.

"How are you going to call the Aurors?" asked Bill, slipping his wand out of his pocket and held it by his leg out of sight.

"The Dark Mark," said Draco. "I'm going to launch one." He pulled out his wand and Bill watched as he turned it over idly in his fingers.

"Bill," he said suddenly.

"Yeah?" asked Bill, bracing himself.

"I'm sorry," said Draco. He whirled around to the professor and pointed his wand at Bill's head.

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Ohhhhhhhh, another cliff hanger! Oh, I am evil jumps up and down grinning gleefully and clapping hands So, if you are anxious to know exactly what it is Draco is going to do to poor Bill, leave a review! (you have to realize that I take sadistic pleasure in cliff hangers, they really give you sense of power)

BTW: Reicio is Latin for 'to throw back' or 'to drive back' and antepilani in Latin means 'front line soldiers', so the curse I made up is basically 'to throw back the front line of soldiers'. I figured that it sounds like something used in a war, and something Draco would know about.