Fifth Year, Part 3, 1996

They made it safely out of the Ministry that night with only minor injuries. Lucius had kept his word, withdrawing his fellow Death Eaters once he had the prophecy in hand. Sirius, Tonks, Kingsley, and other members of the Order of the Phoenix met Hermione and her friends in the lobby, but by the time they arrived, the only sign of the Death Eaters was the morsmordre mark floating eerily in the sky.

"Harry!" Hermione was so utterly relieved to see her best friend alive and well in the Ministry lobby that she flung herself into his arms. He hugged her back tightly before pulling back to look at her.

"Hermione, what happened? Who did this to you?" he demanded, fingertips brushing gently over the swelling on her face, making her wince slightly at the painful touch.

She'd not had time to prepare what she would say to him, how she would explain that for the first time ever, she'd let him down. She'd let Harry down. Harry, who had no one. Harry who was practically alone in the world, with the crushing weight of 'the boy who lived' resting on his shoulders. Harry who'd witnessed death and destruction and could still smile and enjoy life. She'd let him down.

Hermione looked into his bright green eyes - Lily's eyes, that's what everyone said - and promptly burst into tears. She was a terrible person. A terrible, horrible person, and if there was a hell, she was going to it.

Harry, misinterpreting her emotional outburst, immediately pulled her back into a hug and attempted to soothe her. They were interrupted by a frantic Sirius, who rushed to Harry and threw his arms around him and Hermione both.

"Kid, don't do that to me! What were you thinking, running off like that?"

"I saw you - in the Department of Mysteries. You were there, and you were hurt, and I couldn't just let you die, Sirius!" Harry insisted.

The older man's face softened. "Next time call me through the mirror before you run off half-cocked, okay? I'd never forgive myself if something bad happened to you on my watch."

"Sirius, you can't be here!" Hermione gasped, realising that Aurors would soon be swarming the building.

Sirius looked down at Hermione then.

"Who did this to you?" he asked in a low voice, one that sounded almost as furious as Harry's.

Hermione wiped her eyes, wincing again as her hand touched her bruised cheek. "It's nothing."

Harry looked at her incredulously. Sirius let go of Harry then and placed his hand gently on Hermione's neck, aligning his fingers and thumb with the purpling marks, proving to himself and Harry just what had caused the bruising on her neck.

"Who did this to you?" he repeated.

"A...a Death Eater," she stammered. She should have told Lucius to put his mask back on before attacking her. She couldn't very well claim she'd never seen the man's face if Dumbledore was able to look at her memories and see his face clear as day.

"Did you see his face? Who was it?" Harry pressed, an expression of horror on his face at the realisation that someone had choked his best friend.

"Lucius Malfoy," she admitted in a whisper.

"I'll kill him."

The words flew from Harry's mouth without a second thought, and she felt the crackle of his magic, the fury he felt.

"No, Harry, I'm fine."

"You're not fine. What did he do to you?"

"He...I got lost down there, in that maze of rooms and halls, and he found me, and he attacked me. Harry, I'm so sorry! I… I couldn't breathe, and I...he hit me, and he… he took the prophecy Harry!" she cried, hating herself for every moment her best friend stood there feeling awful for her.

Harry swallowed hard and ran his fingers through his perpetually messy hair. "Look, you always did say that you thought divination was a bunch of rot. It'll be okay. You're in one piece, and Sirius is okay, and no one died today," he said. "Let's focus on that, and then, well, maybe there's some other way we can find out what was so important about that prophecy that Voldemort wanted it so badly."

She nodded and wiped her eyes again.

"Sirius!" Kingsley Shacklebolt called to them. "The Aurors will be here any minute. You need to leave."

They turned to see their fellow Order member approach.

"Kings, you need to arrest Lucius Malfoy."

"Yes, Ron said he was here tonight, along with Bellatrix Lestrange. Did you get the names or faces of anyone else?"

"Dolohov, " Hermione said. "That was the only other name I heard, but there were at least six of them here."

"Malfoy did this to her, Kings," Harry said, gesturing to Hermione's bruised and swollen face and neck.

"Let's get you back to the school and to Madam Pomfrey," Shacklebolt said gently. "Were you hit with a curse?"

She shook her head as Harry spoke up again. "He HIT her. He tried to choke her to death, Kings. He can't get away with this. He should be arrested. Hermione can press charges for what he did!"

Oh God. No, no, no! That wasn't what she wanted! She didn't come this far to protect Lucius from Voldemort's wrath only to have him end up in Azkaban!

"Harry, there's no point," she said softly.

"No… no point? Pardon my language but what the fuck is wrong with you?" he spat.

"Look, I want him to pay for this as much as you do, but it's Malfoy, Harry. We both know that by the time I give a statement to an Auror and someone goes looking for him, he'll be safely at home with an airtight alibi," she pointed out.

Kingsley looked at them both with sympathy. "She's right, Harry. The Aurors will investigate the break in and what I'm told is a lot of damage in the Department of Mysteries, but I have no doubt that Malfoy will have a solid alibi for tonight.

"So he just gets away with this?" Harry exploded.

"No, he doesn't. He gets put under surveillance, and we do what we can to track his movements and build a case," Kingsley replied. "And Sirius, you really do need to leave. I can't help you if you get arrested again because you're caught here tonight."

Sirius and Harry said their goodbyes, and Hermione wrapped her arms around herself and took a steadying breath. She'd done it. She'd kept everyone safe tonight. Eventually she'd have to face Dumbledore whenever he returned to the school or at some point over the summer at Grimmauld Place, but she was done for tonight.

~oOo~

In the days following the incident in the Department of Mysteries, Hermione scoured the newspaper for stories about the break in. Not a single one mentioned Lucius Malfoy. Harry, Ron, and the others were outraged by this, but Hermione had to admit that she was impressed at how deftly he'd managed to keep his name from being tainted by the whole affair.

She'd not heard from him since then, but then, she hadn't expected to either. She hoped her actions had been enough to keep him from being tortured or killed by Voldemort. She wasn't sure about the tortured part, but the younger Malfoy was still his normal, spoiled, obnoxious self, so that surely meant Lucius was alive and well.

She was furious to later find out from Harry that Dumbledore had known the contents of the prophecy for years and only chose to disclose it to him because Harry now knew the prophecy existed. She was still reasonably convinced that divination was rubbish, but she knew the prophecy weighed heavily on Harry, the idea that he'd have to be the one to kill Voldemort. It wouldn't be enough to just defeat him in a duel as Dumbledore had done with Grindelwald.

Her own conversation with Dumbledore regarding the battle had been stressful. She was incredibly thankful to Lucius for constructing a vivid and violent memory for her to call upon when meeting with the headmaster. She felt a slight twinge in her head during their conversation, as she gave her version of the events to him. Had she not been told he was a legilimens, she might not have even noticed the intrusion into her thoughts. She focused solely on Harry's emotions leading up to the battle, the destruction in the hall of prophecies, the violent attack from Lucius and her tearful conversation with Harry and Sirius afterward.

Dumbledore's eyes did not twinkle at her when he spoke, which had her on edge, but he thanked her for her time and dismissed her. When she escaped his office, she ducked into the girls' bathroom to splash cold water on her face and try to relax from the strain of their conversation. She felt nauseated at the intrusion into her thoughts. Her mind was sacred to her. It was what set her apart from others, what allowed her to scratch and claw her way to top marks at Hogwarts and what would hopefully propel her into a respectable and successful career, provided the light triumphed in the coming war.

He'd invaded her mind, without her consent. It was unforgivable. How many times had he done that before? To her? To Harry? To others? It was mental rape, and she never would have known he was doing it had Lucius not warned her. Dumbledore didn't know it, but that was the day he lost Hermione Granger as an ally.

~oOo~

So, Hermione's actions in the Department of Mysteries, while morally questionable, have saved Sirius's life. She doesn't know that, of course, but she believes she's done the right thing. And what does Lucius think about her actions? We'll get more of him - and of him interacting with Hermione - soon!

This is the last chapter I'm able to post until the weekend, as I'm traveling for work the rest of the week. I hope you enjoy it!

-Elle