Well, we're getting there. Only a few bits left now. Enjoy. Istalindar.
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It had been a month since Hermione had chosen her family over Draco, and she was still feeling regrets. To be fair, chances were she'd feel them for a long time, but this, having dinner with her family, exchanging annoyed looks with Charlie about Luke and sharply telling Nassa to be patient while Luke ate…this was her life now. And she did not regret that.
"Hermione!" Draco burst into the tent, and Hermione and Charlie turned identical irritated glances on him. Luke took the opportunity to pass half his dinner to the dragon waiting outside.
"Draco, we're having dinner." Hermione said reprovingly.
"Don't you knock?" Charlie added. Draco sent him a withering glance.
"On fabric?" He asked snidely. "Hermione, you need to see this." He handed her a folded parchment and she looked at it, recognising the broken Malfoy seal immediately.
"What is it?" she asked, not moving to open it.
"It arrived today." Draco said. She frowned, immediately seeing the problem.
"How? We're unplottable."
"Not anymore." Draco said. There was a devastating pause. "Lucius' owl brought this this morning. Either someone told Lucius, or the secrecy's been raised."
"They wouldn't raise the secrecy." Charlie countered. "We've not even had personnel interviews yet."
"Then someone told Lucius." Hermione concluded. She glanced at Draco. "Is this going to be a problem?"
"Read the letter." Draco said unhelpfully. Hermione unfolded it, skimming the hated handwriting quickly.
DracoYou have been keeping quiet, though I am pleased that you managed to get yourself stationed in such a position as supervisor to the dragon reserve. Our Lord has taken an interest in the dragons and will visit with the expected entourage in three days. Be prepared to welcome him.
Lucius.
Hermione wordlessly passed the letter to Charlie, and looked to Draco. He was very pale.
"We need to evacuate." She said quietly, already making and discarding plans in her head. "All the researchers need to be absent. I'll speak with the dragons, perhaps they too can leave, if only for a while."
"You need to be well gone." Draco said flatly. "And Luke."
"He's right, Hermione. And don't argue." Charlie said. Hermione looked at them both.
"I'm not suicidal, you know. Of course I'll be gone, and Luke with me. I'll go speak with the Matriarch now and see what can be arranged." She looked at her son, who was listening intently. "Luke, with me."
"Yes mum." He said quietly, leaving his plate and going to her side, taking her hand. She nodded to her husband and Draco and disappeared from the tent.
"You didn't have to show her this." Charlie said.
"Of course I did." Draco replied sharply. "You think I'd leave her and Luke to Voldemort?"
"Would you?" Charlie asked. Draco glared.
"Has she told you what happened to her at the Manor?" Draco demanded. Charlie shrugged.
"Some."
"She was under a thrall by Lucius." Draco said. "I freed her. I am hardly going to go through the effort and risk of saving her then just to let her die now. Charlie, I know she's your wife, but we have a bond that means I will never risk her."
"What kind of bond?" Charlie asked suspiciously, stepping forward. Draco, recognising the warning signs from repeated encounters with younger Weasley's stepped back.
"The bond that comes from knowing each other's minds completely." He said quietly. "Nothing more." Charlie relaxed minimally. "Charlie, I know our families despise each other. But right now, she and Luke matter a hell of a lot more than that."
"Luke? What does he have to do with this?" Charlie asked quickly. Draco took a deep breath and said the lie Hermione wanted.
"He's my brother." Draco answered. "So he's family. And I protect my family."
"And I protect mine." Charlie said, his voice edged with threat. Draco smiled.
"Then we agree."
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"Are you sure about this?" Joe asked, looking at Hermione. She nodded.
"Quite sure."
"Sure enough to move the entire settlement? Good grief, Hermione, that'll take days!"
"We don't have days." Hermione said seriously. "We barely have enough time to grab the vital stuff like our notes and get off this mountain. Joe, Lucius said Voldemort was coming here. In three days. Which, when you take into account the time it took for the owl to fly here, is more like tomorrow, or the day after if we're very lucky."
"That's hours to evacuate the entire mountain." Joe protested.
"Joe, I don't think you get me." Hermione said, bracing her arms on the table and leaning forward. "Voldemort is coming here. Do you really think he's just going to want the tour? There will be big trouble if he comes and we're still here. We need to leave, now. There's only a few of us, so if we grab our notes, we can get out of here. Only until he leaves."
"But how are we going to leave? No brooms, no port keys, and you can't physically climb down this mountain, it turns into sheer cliffs below the cloud line."
"The dragons will take us somewhere safe." Hermione said, "The Matriarch has assured me as much. But we need to leave now." Joe nodded.
"I'll call a council." Hermione stared.
"Joe! What part of 'we haven't got time' do you not understand?" she exclaimed.
"Hermione, listen to me. I understand your urgency, I do. But the others aren't going to leave unless I can convince them that this is really happening. Now, you get your dragons on standby, if you can, and I'll convince the others to leave. Once that's done it'll be a matter of minutes."
"Joe-"
"Charlie and Luke can go now." Joe said, guessing what she would say. "And get things sorted on the other side. We need you here to organise the dragons, people are going to be very nervous about this." Hermione nodded.
"Alright." Joe smiled.
"It'll be okay, Hermione. Just get your family organised and I'll get the others sorted." Hermione nodded.
"Thank you." Joe shrugged.
"Hey, I don't want to die any more than you do."
"No." Hermione sighed, she knew Charlie would be like this. "No way in hell."
"Watch it." Hermione said sharply, her gaze flicking to Luke, who stood wide-eyed, watching them. Charlie took a deep breath.
"I am not leaving you." Charlie said. Hermione met his gaze and held it.
"Charlie, please, just listen to me okay?" he nodded. "Luke needs to be well away, we both agree. And I need to be here to be a liaison between the dragons and the crew so that everything runs smoothly. Luke can't wait for me to leave to go, so you have to take him. Preferably first."
"No. If you're last to go we're second to last." Charlie argued. Hermione shook her head.
"No. I can't risk Luke being anywhere near. If timing gets tight I need to know Luke is far away and safe, with you with him to ensure that. I've spoken to Joe already, Charlie. You and Charlie will go first to pave the way. If nothing else, me sending my family will reassure the others that it's safe. I will stay behind and the last person to leave won't be me, it'll be Draco."
"Why does he get to stay?" Charlie demanded. Hermione shook her head.
"Charlie, think about this. Lucius thinks Draco is loyal. If they come while Draco is here, it'll be okay. And he'll be able to cover me if necessary. And I can't send Draco away with my son. I trust him, but I just couldn't do that."
"You'll send me though."
"Charlie! You are his father!" Hermione exclaimed. Charlie shook his head.
"No I'm not." Hermione stared at him in shock.
"Yes you are." She glanced at Luke, who was watching them. His thumb had crept his mouth, a sure sign he was unhappy with the situation.
It's okay, honey. Hermione reassured him. Everything's going to be okay.
They're coming for you again. Luke replied, sounding tearful. The bad people. Hermione shook her head, going to crouch by Luke and stroke his hair.
They're coming for the dragons. But because Draco warned us, we can move everyone away. You'll go with Daddy, and I'll come as soon as everyone is safe.
And then Uncle Draco? Luke questioned. Hermione smiled.
Yes. Then Uncle Draco.
I'm scared. Why are you and Daddy fighting? Hermione shot a look at Charlie, who was staring at them, unable to know what they were talking about.
"Daddy is worried about us." Hermione answered out loud so Charlie could hear. "That's why we're fighting. Because I want you and Daddy to be safe, and he wants me and you to be safe. That's all." She gave Charlie a warning glance, and Charlie slumped slightly, defeated. "Everything's going to be okay, Luke. I promise."
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"That's Joe gone." Draco ran up to where Hermione and the Matriarch were talking. Mitah, the Matriarch's eldest daughter, sat uneasily beside them, sweeping her giant silver tail back and worth, causing a strong wind behind them. "Hermione, you're next." Hermione nodded, turning to Mitah.
You ready?
Taking humans between is not advisable. Mitah replied. I don't know what could happen.
We've taken that risk so far, Mitah. Hermione replied. We can take it again.
You are different.
"Hermione. You have to go! They could be here any second." Draco said urgently. There were loud pops and they all froze.
Go! Hermione hissed.
Without you? The Matriarch asked.
Yes, go! Voldemort cannot find you.
Farewell. The two dragons vanished, no pop, no smoke, just vanished, leaving Hermione and Draco staring at empty space. They slowly turned, and saw the deatheaters.
Voldemort led them, flanked by Lucius, Nott, Goyle, Crabbe and Bellatrix. He gave a long, slow smile when he saw Hermione.
"Hermione." He purred. Lucius' head jerked from looking around to stare right at her. She smiled back.
"Voldemort." She nodded, slamming up her mental walls. "Long time."
"How dare you speak to the-" Lucius began, but was cut off when Voldemort raised a hand for silence.
"You've grown, my dear."
"You haven't." She replied. "What do you want?"
"I came for the dragons." Voldemort said, his voice still a low purr. "But they seem to have vanished."
"How unfortunate."
"Draco?" Voldemort turned to him. "Where are my dragons?" Draco shrugged.
"I don't know."
"Draco." Lucius snarled. "You will show the proper respect. He is your Lord!" Voldemort laughed.
"Lucius, do not be foolish." Lucius stared at Voldemort in shock. "I am no more Draco's lord than I am Hermione's. He forsake me when she did."
"What?" Lucius demanded.
"It was he who freed Hermione from your thrall. And," he looked at Hermione carefully. "It was he who fathered her son, by the same process, actually." Voldemort smiled, and Hermione went cold. Voldemort knew way too much. "Where is the boy?"
"Gone." Hermione said. She didn't try to lie and say Luke was dead, it would've been pointless. Perhaps with Lucius it might have worked, but not with Voldemort. Her best occlumency was hardly an insurmountable obstacle to one of the best legilimens in history.
"With the dragons." Voldemort said, surprised. He recovered quickly. "How…unexpected." He drawled.
"How is that possible? The dragons would have eaten him before they took him somewhere." Lucius pointed out.
"Not her son." Voldemort replied, his gaze never leaving her. "She's Dragon-Kept."
"Huh?" This was news to Hermione.
"The dragons will protect her son until she comes for him." Voldemort shook his head. "There is no point to staying here, we will not be able to find the boy. Bring them. We will return." Nott and Crabbe stepped forward, taking Hermione and Draco roughly by the arm and apparating. Voldemort looked one last time at the deserted mountain, then disappeared.
They reappeared in the familiar settings of Malfoy Manor. Strangely enough, it was reassuring to Hermione, much more so than if she had been taken to somewhere she didn't know. But this was practically home, she knew the ins and outs, could break for the front door from here, or the back door, or even the House-Elves excuse for a door in the kitchen.
It calmed her a little. She was fervently glad that Charlie and Luke had gone first.
"So." Voldemort said, seating himself on a large chair at the head of the hall. "Draco." Draco merely looked at him. Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Kneel!" He whipped out his wand and Draco was forced to his knees. "You knew she was there. And you didn't inform your father."
"I couldn't. It was an unplottable location." Draco replied reasonably. Voldemort sneered.
"Perhaps a tad more ingenuity on your part could have been helpful." He hissed. "Crucio!" Draco collapsed on the floor in a ball, eyes squeezed tightly shut.
"Stop it." Hermione said. She was feeling very strange…the resignation from the Manor had returned. But it seemed tougher this time, more assertive. She wasn't going to scream or cry, but she damn well wasn't going to watch this, either. Lucius slapped her and she glared at him. "I said, stop it." Voldemort stopped, looking at her.
"Very well." He said. "Crucio." Immediate pain spread through her body like fire, ripping her muscles apart, every nerve screaming. She fell first to her knees, and then flat out on the floor, convulsing as all her muscles spasmed. She tasted blood in her mouth, she must have bitten her tongue. Her eyes rolled back in her sockets in pain, the very fluid in the eyeball seeming to burn. "Finite incantem." The pain vanished, and Hermione took a second to make sure everything was still attached and still worked, then slowly clambered to her feet.
"That is a morsel of the pain I could give you." Voldemort hissed. "Your rebellion has been amusing, but enough is enough." He turned to Draco, who had risen to his knees. "Draco. Your excuse is paltry. Another managed to inform us of its location. Annabelle!" A deatheater stepped forward, and pushed her hood back, revealing Diane. Hermione blanched.
"Di? But you were the one being the most careful about it."
"Always the quiet ones." Annabelle sneered.
"Hardly." Hermione snorted. Annabelle glared.
"Silence." Voldemort said softly, and Annabelle immediately fell back. "I must say, Hermione, I'm impressed with you. Escaping the thrall, escaping Lucius…though neither would have been possible without young Draco's help." Voldemort smiled. "Crucio." Hermione tensed, expecting pain, but instead saw Draco fall to the floor again from where he had been rising, contorting in pain.
"Stop it." Hermione said, stepping between Voldemort and Draco. "What do you want? If this is about revenge then there isn't any point. If this is about making an example of us…there isn't any point. In fact, everything about this is pointless."
"Sending your head back to your precious Potter would not be pointless, I don't think." Voldemort said smoothly. Hermione shrugged.
"Harry would be upset, you're right. But I'm nothing to him now compared to then. I've not said a word to him in over six years, Voldemort. I've not seen him and he's not seen me. Last time we spoke I sided with my husband, and Harry, as far as I know, is still angry at me for just that. So what is it you want?"
There was utter silence. In fact, the room had been silent since Hermione had said his name.
"How dare you speak my name." Voldemort thundered, rising. Hermione didn't flinch. Dragons were still scarier.
"It's a name." She said flatly. "You haven't answered my question."
"Crucio." This time it was her that felt the pain, like her muscle was being ripped from her bone and her skin was peeling off in strips.
But suddenly…it didn't matter.
Trust her to have an epiphany now, when every nerve was on fire. This didn't matter. Pain was secondary. Hell, even death didn't matter all that much. Because all it was was a change, like growing up. It was more like growing out. So death didn't matter, and neither did pain, so…what was she afraid of? Especially since Charlie and Luke were far away.
It appeared the epiphany had followed the conclusion, because she hadn't been afraid of Voldemort at all before anyway. So she tried something, something she would never have considering trying before. She pushed away the feelings of pain, disconnected herself from her sensory neurons, and slowly rose to her feet.
The deatheaters gasped.
"Enough." She said flatly, and Voldemort stared at her, open shock plain to see on his face. He must have been surprised, to let his guard down like that. She reached down and hauled Draco to his feet and he stood beside her, wavering. She reached out gently to his mind and shared her epiphany with him, and after a dubious second, he straightened as well. Even if he didn't believe her, he was pretending he did.
"What in Merlin's name…" A deatheater breathed. Voldemort lashed out instantly.
"Avada Kedava!" The deatheater in question fell down dead.
"Death isn't something to be afraid of." Hermione said clearly. "And pain will pass, and can be controlled until it does." She smiled. "I do not fear you, Voldemort, nor do I fear your followers. You can Crucio me all you like, when I pass out I'll be free from you anyway. And when I wake up, I will still live. And even if you kill me…we've all seen ghosts. You cannot stop me." She smiled and repeated herself.
"You cannot stop me."
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