Hello one and all!! I now have over 1000 hits, yay!! I don't know if that's good or not, but it sure sounds good. Here we go with chapter 7. The plot's about to start going crazy, so prepare yourselves!! Lots of action and good stuff coming up. Special thanks again to Aswen and mhaj78, my faithful reviewers!! You guys are great, thanks so much for the encouraging words.

Chapter 7-Truth Revealed

Draco stormed into Dumbledore's office, avoiding the gazes of shock from both the headmaster and Hermione. Soon, however, the look of surprise on Hermione's face was replaced with happiness. She tried to hide it, but she was secretly glad that Draco was here, although it would prove to be a bit difficult for her while she finished her report.

However, Hermione took a good look at Draco's usually composed face. Anger burned in his eyes, much fiercer than she had ever seen before. His hands clenched into fists, as if ready for an attack. He snarled at the Headmaster, accusing him of some heinous crime that no one was even truly sure of.

"You!" Draco accused as he pointed a finger at Dumbledore. "What have you done with the headmaster?"

Hermione whirled around to face him. "What's wrong with you, Draco? Dumbledore is the headmaster. Who do you think is sitting in that chair?"

Draco locked his eyes with hers and managed to calm down a little at the sight of her beautiful brown orbs. "I don't know, Hermione, but he's not who we think he is. Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Hermione turned to face Dumbledore, starting to get aggravated with the ridiculousness of the situation. Draco had said some odd things before, but nothing like this. He had lost his mind this time, surely.

"Well, headmaster, who are you?" Hermione asked, her tone revealing that she was only asking the question to appease Draco's doubts.

She knew that there was nothing to worry about.

Dumbledore's blue eyes met hers in their usual emotionless stare. He had not said a word to defend himself since the exchange began. As his silence continued, Hermione's firm resolve wavered just a little.

"Well?" Draco pressured, losing his patience.

Dumbledore smirked, a sign that was uncharacteristic of the serious headmaster. He began to reach for his goblet of potion that he had been drinking so much lately, and then thought better of it, setting the drink back down again. He had not spoken the entire time, but as his eyes locked with theirs and they saw the color of red flames overtaking the blue, no words were required.

Draco gasped, shock evident on his face. "You were hiding here this entire time. Why? What does this place have that you don't already own?"

A deep, sinister voice answered. "You fail to remember, Draco, Hogwarts was once my home as well. The students here will believe anything their teachers tell them, never checking the facts for themselves, following blindly something that might very well lead to their deaths. Dumbledore could so easily brainwash them against me, and eventually create an entire army. This had to be avoided at all costs, so I took over. Now they all follow me, as blindly as they followed their so-called beloved headmaster, not even noticing the difference."

Hermione instinctively got behind Draco, her feeling of security long left her. She didn't know who this person was, but feelings of the worst foreboding were all around her now. She laced her fingers through his, desperately needing something to hold onto as her world crashed around her. She needed to know that not all things were false, not everyone would deceive her.

Not everything was a lie.

His fingers were cold, but strong as they held hers.

It was the only strength she had now.

The imposter stood up, and turned his back on them. That horrible voice rang out again, causing Hermione to cringe at the unusual amount of evil in it. "Now you will see who I truly am. Now you will see what you have been so blindly following."

Clothes and colors blended together, long silver hair slowly drifted away to become a bald head. Black was suddenly drowning this person, making their pale skin look even paler. His back straightened as the burden of old age was replaced with the sinister power of evil that has cheated death. He stretched his crooked, deathly arms, and there was no doubt in either of their minds who this person was.

"Voldemort," Hermione whispered.

Voldemort turned and looked at her as if he was just now seeing her. "You always were the bookworm, weren't you? The one with the brains. It's too bad your intelligence couldn't solve this problem, isn't it? Now the entire school will be attacked and it will be your fault. Despite your genius, you weren't able to spot the plan and stop it. How does that make you feel?"

Hermione faltered a little bit, his words having a deeper effect on her than she thought they would. She shrunk back a little more behind Draco, but still kept him in her line of vision.

Draco spoke up rather boldly, "She's not a part of this and you know it. Leave her out of it. You did this to watch me, not her."

Voldemort looked over him approvingly. "Very good, Draco. Observative, aren't you? I had to watch you, what with you being the heir to my legacy. I had to make sure there was absolutely no doubt in your mind about what path you would take, no chance for you to go over to the other side. So I told her to watch you, and she agreed, thinking I was her beloved headmaster. And now you say that you will do anything to protect her, even kill a thousand of my men? How can I trust you now?"

Draco argued back, "I stand by my promise. I'm through lying to her for your sake. I don't need your approval to take the legacy that was destined for me since birth. I will take it from you with or without your consent. The people will follow me when you are gone."

"When I'm gone?" Voldemort mocked his words. "Draco, you seem to fail to realize who you are dealing with. I will never be 'gone'. No matter how much you would like to think that you have seen the last of me, that feeling of dread will never leave you. Nothing can take it away, not even that little Mudblood for whom you have sacrificed everything."

In a flash Voldemort was beside Draco, and had Hermione in his grasp. "You!" He addressed her angrily. "You are the reason he has fallen astray! You are responsible for the ruin of my kingdom's future. You are the one who will pay."

"I am not afraid of you." Hermione said defiantly, and spit into his face.

Voldemort threw her against the wall closest to the door, she hit the floor with a loud thud. He hastily wiped her spit away from his face, disgusted that a lowlife such as her could have the nerve to treat one as perfect as he this way. There would be punishment for this. Oh yes, there would be much punishment.

"Lucius! Get her out of my sight! You know where to go." Voldemort commanded.

"Lucius? What?" Draco asked, stunned. He frantically looked around for a sign of his cursed father, but none could be found.

Draco tried to rush to her side before the shadow abducted her, but he was too late. Before he could even blink an eye, she was gone from his sight, leaving his hammering heart as the only evidence that she had ever been there.

"Well, Draco, was it worth it?" Voldemort asked from behind him, his words carrying an immense weight.

Draco answered, not looking at him, "I would do the same thing if given another chance. I love her."

Voldemort cringed, almost as if such pure passion for another individual dealt him a physical blow. "Ah, do not speak to me about disgusting things such as love. You do not know what love is, Draco Malfoy. You will never know. It will be best to just forget her."

"Where is she?" Draco asked, ignoring his words.

"The only place where any non-pureblood is dealt with. You know it well, I'm sure." Voldemort said, enjoying the weight that his words carried.

"He wouldn't…" Draco trailed off, trying not to imagine the horrible things that would happen to Hermione in that god-forsaken place.

"He knew that you would not follow." Voldemort said simply, daring him to go and prove him wrong. "He wanted you to have no distractions in your quest to become the Dark Lord."

"I must save her." Draco said simply, ignoring his words of becoming the Dark Lord.

Voldemort looked shocked. "You would give up the most powerful position in the world for the sake of a mudblood? You would throw it all away?"

Draco looked him in the eye, surprising him with the amount of strength he saw there.

"I made a promise."

He started to leave, but then turned back to face Voldemort one more time. "I will be back to claim my position. Don't go anywhere."

With that, he walked out the door, determined to save the one girl who meant everything to him.

XXXXXXXX

Draco stormed through the castle, ignoring startled glances of students. The hallways that were once so familiar to him seemed like a jail, just something that was keeping him away from Hermione. He shoved past surprised students, refusing to let any of them slow him down, knowing that every second could mean life or death.

He took a corner too fast and collided with a shock of long, red hair. His wand flew out of his robes, landing a few feet away from his hand. The girl's papers flew about the hallway like confetti, but there was nothing celebratory about it.

"Ow!" The girl protested.

Draco swore under his breath, he had to get his wand and get out.

"Draco?" The girl asked, breaking through his frantic thoughts. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"No time, no time," Draco muttered like a madman. He spotted his wand, lunged for it like it was his last lifeline, and was on his feet and out of her sight before she could make anything of the encounter.

"Ginny, are you alright? What happened?" Harry asked as he appeared by her side from the throng of students.

"Malfoy just took me out like a bludger! He sure seemed panicked about something." Ginny stated, gathering up the papers that were scattered about.

"Probably just some Death Eater meeting," Harry muttered. Despite Draco's attempts to be on good terms with him, a week of politeness didn't make up for years of sin.

"No, he looked scared, like he was about to lose something he cared about." Ginny's eyes grew wide for a moment, as if realization had dawned upon her. She tried to cover it up, but Harry knew her too well.

"What? What do you know?" Harry prompted.

Ginny shook her head, convinced that such an atrocious act couldn't possibly happen in any place other than her worst nightmares. "Nothing, Harry, nothing." She said quietly, trying to convince herself that her own words were true.

"Things sure have been strange lately. Draco in the infirmary from a dementor attack, Hermione in the infirmary from an "accident", Dumbledore barely showing his face, even to me… it makes me think that something is going on." Harry thought absently.

"Well, maybe we should talk to Dumbledore. I'm sure you'll feel better once you realize that nothing is wrong." Ginny offered. Even as she said the words, she couldn't stop her voice from shaking.

She knew something was wrong.

But she would never admit it.

"You're probably right. I just can't shake this feeling. I'm sure Dumbledore knows what's going on." Harry offered, also trying to sound certain to make Ginny feel safer.

They proceeded to Dumbledore's office, their thoughts blurred, neither one of them knowing what to expect.

All too soon, the entrance loomed before them.

Harry turned and locked his eyes with hers, and she didn't like the look she saw there.

"I want you to stay here." Harry commanded.

"What? Why?" Ginny argued.

"Because if it's something terribly serious, which I hope it's not, then Dumbledore will want to speak to me alone. You understand, right?" Harry asked, trying to not treat her like a child although he knew she would take it that way anyways.

Ginny lowered her voice, glancing at the entrance. "Harry, I don't have a good feeling about this. Maybe… maybe you shouldn't go in alone."

Harry looked confused and surprised. "Why? It's only Dumbledore."

Ginny laughed weakly, although it wasn't very convincing. "Right, you're right. You're always right. I'm just being paranoid. You're telling me everything later, right?" She asked.

Harry laughed. "Of course, of course."

Before Ginny could stop herself, she blurted out, "Promise me you'll come back."

Harry asked, "Ginny, what is wrong? You're not normally like this. What is going on?"

Ginny sighed, "I don't know. Just please, promise me. I need to be sure."

Harry complied, "Alright, I promise. I'll be back, don't worry. You haven't seen the last of Harry Potter!"

A brave smile spread across her face at his words as he stepped into the entrance, muttering the password on his way.

Ginny watched him until she could see no more of him.

Harry knocked on the big, wooden doors. "Professor Dumbledore, do you have a moment?" He asked through the closed doors.

No response came, but the doors swung open. Harry stepped into the office with a little bit of uneasiness. He couldn't see the Headmaster, all he could see was the back of the chair that he usually sat in. That was strange, he thought, Dumbledore never turned his back on students.

"Harry Potter," a sinister voice called out.

A deathly cold chill ran down Harry's spine.

"At last you have come."

Fiery red eyes met his, and all the breath escaped his lungs.