Draco slumped back against the wall, hiding like a coward under the invisibility cloak. A fight was going around in his head, and Draco felt himself moving forward and then backwards, changing direction with each thought.

He's got Ginny.

You're not supposed to be on her side.

But he could hurt her.

Who knows what could happen to you if you're caught?

It would be my fault if she's hurt. I'm supposed to save her.

No, that's Potters job.

He's no help.

Draco was growing weary from stepping forward and back, though he had to hold himself against the wall to not move closer to Ginny. Just to stroke her cheek and tell her everything is alright would be enough for him.

But she was standing way too close to her attacker, and Draco was sure she would call out or be petrified from fright if she felt a ghost under Harry's invisibility cloak, when he was standing right in front of her.

She probably already thought she was going crazy, seeing Harry when he was "dead". Draco thought he was, too, and he had walked and talked with Harry the entire way down into the dungeons.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew from his hand and landed not even a foot from Draco. Another decision to make. To grab the wand, or not to grab the wand. That is the question. Draco thought, reciting a line from a supposed muggle book. Only true wizards knew the author was a wizard, and hadn't even written the book himself. That must have been where Professor Lockhart got his ideas from.

Idiot! Why the bloody hell are you thinking about books at a time like this?

Again, Draco was inching closer to the wand, and then back away. He was watching the scene before him unfold, though it was an outer-body experience, like he was watching it on a television rather than right in front of him.

"Well, well. You've outdone yourself this time, Mr. Potter. Faking death. How...gutsy." Harry's back stiffened as the man circled his back, though he did not turn around to face his attacker head-on. He was too busy looking at Ginny, making sure she was safe. Every once in a while, Harry's eyes would dart over to where Draco stood hiding, as if he were trying to tell Ginny of his part in the saving. It didn't seem to register in her eyes.

"Ironic, kind of. You'd think Death Eaters would check if their worst enemy was dead, wouldn't you? I figured after the first time, you would have learned your lesson. Having someone with everything to gain check if I'm dead. Even a first-year could work out why that was stupid." He tut-tutted, keeping his cool even when he was practically staring death right in the face.

"Oh, Mr. Potter, I wouldn't think like that. We Death Eaters have learned our lesson, you see. And it's quite confident of you to point out that fact while we have your girlfriend bound and gagged, floating feet off the ground. And I, with the wand controlling her. What a shame." He rounded Harry for a third time, and then advanced on Ginny, who wobbled around in her bindings, screaming though it wasn't worth the effort.

Even if she could manage a sound, it still wouldn't be heard all the way on the main floor. Of course, no one was even on that floor. They were all in the common rooms, little first years drifting off to sleep and seventh-years playing exploding snap, trying to lighten the mood. Draco highly doubted any of that nonsense would help their predicament.

"How right you are. You, in fact, are the one holding the wand. And you do, in fact, have Ginny hanging there like a small rag doll. But there are two things that tell me you're not going to kill me right now." The man's face dropped down a little, but he recovered quickly, and if Draco had not been standing in front of him, he would have thought Harry's words didn't mean anything to him.

"And what would those be?" He asked politely, though there was a twinge of mocking in the man's voice.

"One, your master. Voldemort." The man turned and advanced on the boy.

"How dare you speak his name with your dirty lips." Harry shrugged it off, appearing cool as a cucumber, though Draco could see a hint of fear beneath his eyes.

"Are you finished?" He didn't wait for a reply. "As I was saying, Voldemort likes to play fair. You saw the damage he did when I was dead, the first two times I might add. Well, I believe I would get my wand back the second I stepped into the same room as him. After that, it would be as easy as the last eight times. So you're entire taking away my wand thing, bad idea." Once again, fear wound through Draco as he saw the man curdle in anger, though he seemed fine the next second.

"And two, he has obviously kept Ginny alive for a reason." Now it was Ginny's turn to cringe in fright. "He didn't know I was alive, so what would he keep her alive for? So unless you want to die, I would suspect you are not going to kill her. That leaves me with the ability to walk out of here, wand in hand, if I would like. But I won't." He tacked on the last part quickly, his eyes smiling with enthusiasm. It wasn't much, but it gave both Draco and Ginny hope.

"And why would you not take your own freedom and run?"

"I want to take Ginny home. And the others. Their parents are worried, you know." Oh, Draco knew. He had to see the families firsthand, keeping a lookout for any hint of revolt. They never did. They were too busy crying.

"Well, then I'm sorry you wasted a trip down here. The others aren't in the dungeons anymore. You see, a misshaped brick allowed all the captives to talk to each other. We couldn't have that. It may have given them hope." He snickered at the last part. How could that have happened? Draco had just brought them downstairs a few hours ago. Had they really found out about Harry when he first came?

Panic coursed through Draco. If they knew about Harry, that meant they knew of Draco's part in this plan. He already was caught. He was going to be killed anyways. There was nothing left to loose.

With that thought, Draco tore off Harry's invisibility cloak, surprising Ginny as he thought. Recognition flashed on Harry's face, though he didn't say anything. The sole true Death Eater was facing away from Draco.

"Expelliarmus!" another wand went flying across the room. Draco accio'd the two wands to him, handing one to Harry. Ginny fell with a thump behind him.

"Woops. Sorry, Ginny." She glowered at him, but otherwise didn't say--or try to say--anything. Harry ran over to her, untying the knots with his wand while running his fingers through her red, tangled hair.

"What the hell's going on?" She whispered once free. Harry took her in his arms and whispered, "I'll explain later." in her ear. She nodded and took the wand Draco was holding out to her. Now it was three to one.

"Hello, father."

thanks so much to EmeraldFire512 for helping me. I was either gonna have Lucius, Rookwood or Voldemort but I wasnt sure which 1. So thanks!! Im finishing this quickly so I can get back to my other stories. Sorry if the chapters seem short but I'm trying to pump these out b/c i don't get a lot of reviews on this story and want to get back to one that people like REALLY care about. So, if u like this a lot and don't want to see Harry die like for real just to get this story finished, plz review!!