Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The books, movies, and all memorabilia belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. No infringement intended.

Au/N: You people are sooo nice to me after I've fussed! Thank you guys for the kind reviews. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks people who want a ROMANCE to be UNMUSHY are just plain weird. Thanks again.

Chapter Eight. The Demon

As Lucius Malfoy collided with the floor, I couldn't help but feel shocked at what I'd done. I'd just attacked a man who could kill me with the flick of his wrist and feel no remorse…and yet, it was too damn funny to not laugh about.

I giggled as he slowly stood up, holding his backside. He heard the laugh escape my lips and whirled on me, fire in his steel gray eyes.

"You laugh now, but I doubt that you will once I've severed you from your voice box, Mudblood." Smiling widely for a fraction of a second, his arm flew above his head, wand pointed directly at me. "Draco…son…" his grin faded into an evil, ghastly stare. "Watch…and learn something."

I glanced at Draco and saw that he was paler than usual. I also noticed that his hand was in his robes, his fist clenched around something in his left pocket.

"Cruciatus!" Lucius screamed, tearing me away from any coherent thought. Instantly, pain shot through my limbs and I fell to the ground, unable to move. I screamed and felt hot tears pouring out of my eyes, but I couldn't control it. It felt as though every bone in my body was crushed; every muscle ripped to shreds. I vaguely realized that blood was dripping out of my nose.

Lucius stared at me, hatred and contempt in his eyes. He was completely mad. A wide, wicked grin was spread across his face, but his eyes had turned cold and black; very little of the steel gray was present. He reminded me of a shark with gnashing teeth and a lust for blood. My heart was pounding, but it was purely from fear, not from the intense pain that was everywhere.

Lucius flicked his wrist, and more pain rushed through my body. I screamed again until my throat hurt.

"Petrificus totalus!" a voice screamed out of nowhere. Lucius Malfoy became a rigid block, much like Neville had in first year. As Lucius's wand fell to the ground, the pain evaporated. The sudden change made my head spin; I gasped for air and closed my eyes as a few more tears rolled down my cheeks. My head lolled to one side as I felt the remainder of all throbbing and aching slip away from me.

Someone (a very nice-smelling someone) threw themselves down next to me. I felt warm hands on both sides of my face. A male voice was calling my name.

"Hermione! Hermione, look at me. I'm right here, Hermione…do you know me? Please…if you can hear me, squeeze my hand." The man slipped his hand into mine and I felt peace radiating through me. I opened my eyes and turned my head to see who'd come to my rescue.

"M—Malfoy?" I asked incredulously. His eyes grew wide for a moment, but then he squeezed them shut and pulled me against his chest. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. Too weak to fight back, I let my head rest against his pale neck. My hand was pressed tightly against his chest, and I realized that his heart was beating very fast beneath my skin. The surreal feeling of everything that just happened overwhelmed me, not to mention the fact that I never wanted to be separated from Draco Malfoy ever again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harry's foot twitch. The half-dazed feeling disappeared, and I pulled away from Draco's arms and crawled to Harry.

"Harry!" I gasped, turning his face to me with shaking hands. His eyes were closed, he was bloody, and his clothes were torn. He did not respond.

I turned to Draco.

"See if you can get anything out of Ron! Now!" I said it with enough urgency that Draco wasted no time in rushing to Ron and shaking him. I screamed, "Accio wand!" and once my wand was in hand, I wondered why the hell I hadn't summoned it before. But I realized that Lucius would've killed me before it had been safely in my grasp, and it had been much more satisfying to make direct contact with his bony face.

Holding my wand over Harry's major wounds, I muttered a healing spell; as each wound closed up, I saw more and more color return to Harry's skin. It wasn't long before I heard Ron moaning and complaining, thanks to Draco.

"Hermione?" Ron's voice asked hopefully. He must've seen that it was Draco instead, because he said, "Oh, bugger. You didn't give me mouth-to-mouth, did you?" Before Draco answered, Ron was already sitting up and wiping his mouth furiously.

Harry began to breathe steadily, and finally, as the last of the major wounds was healed, he opened his eyes and tried to sit up. I assisted him in his effort; he was very weak and groaned as I pulled him upward. He held his head in his hands and licked his lips before he saw me.

"Hermione!" he gasped, sounding relieved. I smiled, tears forming in my eyes, and threw my arms around him. I could breathe again.

"What? I don't get a hug?" Ron pouted. I looked up at his voice and saw that one arm was slung around Draco's neck. Ron looked disgusted, but Draco refused to let him stand on his own. I lifted one arm from around Harry's neck and motioned to Ron to bend down.

Draco gently set Ron down next to me, and the redhead enveloped Harry and me in a suffocating hug. My tears of joy flowed freely down my face as I realized what a miracle it was that we were all okay. I noticed that one of the party was missing.

"Draco? Where—"

I turned around to find that Draco Malfoy and his father's stiff body had disappeared entirely. In their place stood a single man, wrapped from head to foot in black robes. As he pulled the hood away from his face, I gasped in complete horror.

"You!" Harry screamed, his jaw locking into place as he reached for his wand.

"Shut up, Potter. I haven't come for you…not yet. I've an order, you see…one that simply cannot be interfered with."

"What the hell are you doing here? We thought you were dead!" Harry demanded, somewhat confusedly.

"You'll know soon enough, Potter. And I wouldn't do that if I were you." With a flick of his wrist, the newcomer extracted Harry's wand from Harry's own pocket and tossed it across the room—where it slid out of sight beneath a sofa.

A wicked smile curled up at the familiar man's lips. I still couldn't bring it upon myself to breathe.

"As I was saying, I've not come for you, Potter. It's not your time. However, there is a matter of great importance that my master finds absolutely irresistible and is very curious about." I saw his eyes glance toward me, and I wondered what on earth he was talking about. "So, without further delay, I'll be taking the Mudblood with me, if you don't mind." In the blink of an eye, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulled me next to him, and began to apparate. I could hear Harry's and Ron's screams as pressure pushed against my ears and confusion, fear, and hatred coursed through me. I struggled against my enemy, but he held me firmly against him, and I could not move.

Within seconds, my feet found a solid surface. As soon as I recognized that I was in a huge, luxurious dining room, Snape, my attacker, dropped me to my knees. I groaned as my elbows and knees collided hard with the cold tile beneath me. Snape chuckled cruelly and spoke to someone in the room.

"Master…I've brought you the Mudblood, as you requested. Potter and Weasley have no idea where we are. Lucius has been immobilized, but we have recovered him and his son, and we will have him resuscitated shortly. Will there be anything else, my lord?" I stared at the floor, afraid to look up and see who it was that was speaking.

"Yes…" a chilling, snakelike voice whispered. I took a deep breath and raised my head to seek out the speaker. My heart nearly stopped altogether from shock as a decayed, ghostly face loomed right before mine. I screamed and stumbled backward, crawling away on my hands and knees. I couldn't stand; my legs were numb and useless.

But no matter how far or how fast I crawled, the demon-like creature's long, bony fingers found their way into my hair. I felt his hands curling into it, and then yanking it back. I bit my lip as pain attacked my scalp; I raised up on my knees as he held me in place by my hair.

"Miss Granger…so nice to meet you. I've heard so many things…" he said. His breath reeked of a smell I couldn't place, but that was familiar. As he grinned at me, I realized what the smell was, because red stains coated his teeth; I'd smelt the blood on his breath, and I did not doubt that it was human.

"Ah! And look who's come to join us for the meal this evening?" The demon averted his eyes to someone else; he allowed me to turn my head minimally so I could see. Draco stood in the door, escorted by two other Death Eaters. When he caught sight of me, his mouth opened slightly, but he quickly changed his expression to one of cold indifference. We both apparently understood how vital it was for the both of us to act entirely hateful to the other.

"Master…" Draco said, falling to his knees before the creature and bowing. He glanced sideways at me, but he made no move to stand until the demon holding my hair threw me aside. For the second time, my face hit the floor and I felt my lip burst. Blood trickled down my chin, and I tried to wipe it away.

"Stand," said the beast to Draco. Draco did so, but he looked afraid.

"Master, I can explain--"

"Oh, you don't have to explain anything at all, I assure you…I'll have you prove your loyalty to me in a much more adequate fashion…"

Voldemort. He was standing before me, gazing at me, evil intent clear in his eyes. But it couldn't be! Harry had killed him; I'd seen it with my own eyes. It was impossible…a trick. But the pain I was feeling was terrifyingly real.

"I've heard of a rather interesting circumstance involving you and this woman, Malfoy. It seems you two have grown quite close since you came to work for Miss Granger, my trusted apprentice. Normally, I would applaud you in your efforts to deceive her and gain information…but the way they speak of the emotion with which you look at her…makes me…doubt you."

Malfoy turned even paler and I thought he was going to be sick. I felt much the same, myself.

"But…I'm going to let you prove your devotion to me, as I said before. So…show me, apprentice," Voldemort demanded, motioning to me coolly. "End her life…and yours will be spared. Easy enough for a man who's lying about loving her, don't you think?"

Oh God, I thought. I'm…I'm going to die. Draco is going to kill me. It's over. It's really, really over this time. I closed my eyes and thought of something warm, like the sun…or summer…or Draco's skin.

Then, as music to my ears, came the desperate, resigned, but very clear:

"I can't."

End Chapter

Like it? Love it? Can't stand anymore of it? Lemme know in a review! Please forgive grammatical errors and such; I wrote this on a sugar high!