Disclaimer: I don not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 2: Prison Break
It took Hermione a moment to get her bearings when they landed. It had been a long time since she'd traveled by portkey. Ginny stumbled into her and she caught the younger girl's elbow to keep her steady. She mumbled a quick thank you and quickly moved next to Luna.
Hermione glanced around. They'd arrived in a manicured lawn next to a dark, imposing stone wall. She stared up at it, then around at Harry. He was checking their surroundings with his wand held high. When he nodded to himself, she stepped closer to him. "Now what?" she whispered.
He smiled and pulled a small blinking device from his pocket. "A little something George rigged up for me," he explained as he attached it to the wall in front of him. The blinking changed from blue to red. "You may want to step back," he added. The others had just begun to move away when he flicked his wand at it. There was a flash of light and rush of air that knocked them all off their feet. Hermione covered her head with her hands as tiny bits of stone rained down on them. The explosion was eerily silent.
After a moment she raised her head and looked around. She heard muttered curses as the others got to their feet and then a hand appeared in her face. "That was… unexpected," Draco muttered as he helped her up. She nodded fervently and glanced back at the wall, which now had a gaping hole through it.
Wordlessly, Harry slipped through and the others hurried to follow him. "Aren't you worried about alarms?" Ginny hissed ahead of her.
"Nope," Harry replied easily. "That should have bypassed them all."
"Should have?" Daphne echoed nervously as she followed Hermione through. Draco grunted nervously.
Hermione finally got a good view once they were all through. A huge three story mansion stood in front of them. The dark colors and design made it look almost like a small castle. The others stared around in awe before Harry moved to stand in front of them.
"Alright," he began," we're going to split into two groups from here." Several people opened their mouths to comment but he held up a hand for silence. "We'll all meet back here in an hour. One group will be coming with me to the top floor, the other will be going into the basement. We've received word that several prisoners might be held down there."
"Who's going with who?" Draco asked immediately. Harry narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked between Draco and Daphne.
Hermione frowned as she caught this. "Why don't Draco, Daphne and I take the basement," she suggested, staring hard at Harry.
Ginny seemed to catch on and talked over Harry as he started to argue. "Then Luna, Neville and I can go with Harry," she confirmed. He looked between them, green eyes narrowed suspiciously, then nodded tersely.
"Alright let's go," he agreed. "Remember, meet here in one hour." He turned abruptly and headed toward the house. The other three offered small smiles before following.
Hermione watched them until they disappeared around a corner, then turned to the other two. "I guess he still doesn't trust Slytherins," Daphne said wryly.
Hermione sighed heavily. "Don't worry about it, I trust you both." They seemed slightly pacified by the sentiment. "Have either of you been here before? We need to find the basement."
"I have," Draco said immediately. He started in the opposite direction of the others.
"Wait," Hermione called after him. She waved her wand in the air and produced three black bandanas. It felt strange to do spell work after all this time and she looked at her creations sadly. "I'm a little off apparently," she said as she handed them each one. "I was going for colors."
She smirked at them before tying it around her face. The others followed suit, then Draco took off his hat. He pointed his wand at it and it multiplied. He handed the other two to the girls with a chuckle. "That should help a little bit," he murmured.
"We look like muggle robbers," Daphne giggled when she caught sight of the other two.
"Yea well, it's better than being recognized," Hermione pointed out, smiling behind her makeshift mask. Her eyes met Draco's briefly and he nodded. "Ok, let's go."
Ginny held her wand in a death grip as they made their way through the maze of hallways. She felt very exposed wandering through the house, clearly visible. "Don't you have your cloak?" she whispered to Harry, who was ahead of her.
"Didn't want to risk losing it," he said distractedly. He paused at an intersection and looked down the different halls.
"That's comforting," Ginny mumbled to Neville, who chuckled softly.
"What about a disillusionment?" Luna suggested, her blue eyes following a large portrait that was watching them.
"They'll detect any spells we do inside of here," Harry replied brusquely. Luna glanced back at Ginny who gave her shoulder a quick reassuring squeeze. They rounded a corner and ended up at a small staircase. No one spoke as they ascended the two flights to the top floor. They emerged into what looked like a huge study. The walls were lined with books and knickknacks, there were several antique lamps and leather couches, and a huge desk that dominated one side.
"Stay here," Harry muttered as he started forward. He circled around the desk once, then crouched behind it.
"I'm beginning to wonder what he needed us for," Ginny growled, scowling across the room at the top of his head.
She felt Luna grasp her free hand lightly. "The easier this is, the better, love," she whispered. Ginny nodded grimly, although part of her was itching to start a fight, just to feel the rush of the old days. She reminded herself that she also had to worry about Luna and forced herself to remain calm.
Harry uttered a noise of triumph and straightened, holding a black box about the size of a textbook. "Alright," he said as he stuffed it into a small beaded bag, "let's get back to the others."
They turned to go and stopped dead as they nearly ran into a startled man with black hair. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to yell. "Intru-"
"Silencio!" Ginny yelled before he could finish. He glared at her and raised his wand, but a jet of red light knocked him backward and he landed in a heap at the top of the stairs.
She turned to see Harry lower his wand and smirk at her. "They know we're here now," he said quietly. "Let's go."
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Hermione whispered, glancing around uneasily. The damp, stone corridors were an unwelcome change from the cool evening air they'd come from. She shivered slightly and tried to keep her breathing shallow. It smelled like mildew and a sickly sweet, rotting smell that she couldn't quite place.
"I'm sure," Draco hissed as his shoulder slammed into a corner of wall. He growled softly as he massaged his upper arm. "I can't see a damn thing, though."
"We can't do any spells, remember?" Daphne said in a slightly nasally voice. "Or I would've done a bubblehead already. What do you think that smell is?"
"I don't think I want to know," Hermione said softly. They fell silent as they continued forward. Soon after, they reached a metal gate that blocked the passage. It was locked with a heavy padlock. "Oh, no…"
"That wasn't here before," Draco sighed irritably, running his hand along the metal grate. "We're going to have to use a spell."
"Maybe not," Daphne said, stepping forward. She produced a thin pen knife and slipped off one of her earrings. "That's the problem with wizard society," she said as she fiddled with the heavy lock. "We get so used to using magic for everything that we forget there's other ways to do things. There!" She grinned in triumph as the lock clicked and hung open. She pulled it off and set it on the floor.
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked in awe.
Daphne shrugged and grinned as she slipped her earring back on. "I read it in a muggle book." Draco stared, wide eyed and Hermione smiled.
"Good one, then." Draco said as he started forward again. As they continued, the smell got worse and the air chilled even more. Hermione began to wonder if they were going further underground. Suddenly Draco gasped softly and she froze.
She had to squint in the dim light to make out the rows of what looked like cages lining either side of the hallway. She glanced into the first cell and recoiled in horror. The corpse chained to the wall inside was too decomposed to recognize. "Hello?" she called out shakily. "Is anyone alive down here?"
She forced herself to look in each cell as she walked forward. Most were filthy but empty, thankfully. "Hello?" she called again. A soft groan sounded to her left. She rushed forward and dropped to her knees to peer into the cell. It was too dark to make out the face, but the figure huddled in the corner shifted slightly. "Someone's alive over here!" She whispered frantically. Draco and Daphne rushed over and peered in.
"I recognize her," Daphne breathed, pulling down her bandana. "Susan Bones. We were in charms club together." Her voice cracked slightly as she stared through the bars. "We'll get you out, don't worry."
Without warning, a high pitched wail sounded above them. Hermione leapt to her feet, looking around frantically. A dark figure was hurtling toward them and she attacked without thinking. "Stupefy!" The robed figure keeled over at the end of the hallway. "We've got to get everyone out, now!" she shouted.
"Alohomora," Daphne muttered before rushing into Susan's cell. Hermione ran past her, checking each cell as she went. She heard Draco open a door behind her and talk softly to someone else. She came to the last door on her side and saw a figure in rags curled in the corner, half concealed in shadow. She was about to turn away sadly when a slight twitch caught her attention. Quickly, she unlocked the cell and hurried inside.
She dropped to her knees and placed a gentle hand on a bare shoulder. The person flinched away from her and pressed closer to the wall. "It's alright," she said soothingly. "We're here to help you, no one's going to hurt you. My name's Hermione. I'm going to get you out of here."
The figure shifted and pushed dark dirty hair out of a slightly gaunt face. Wild ice blue eyes met hers briefly and the person backed away further. Hermione quickly removed the hat and bandana so the prisoner could see her face. "G- Granger?" She wheezed, watching her warily.
"Pansy?" Hermione whispered in shock. "What are you-"
"Come on!" Draco's voice called frantically. "We've got three others, so get whoever's in there and go!"
Hermione looked over her shoulder then back at the shivering, crouched form of Pansy Parkinson. She sat back on her heels and held a hand out to the dark haired girl. "Come on," she said gently, "We're getting you out of here."
Pansy's eyes met hers again after a moment and she tentatively placed her hand in hers. Hermione led her out to the hallway where the others were supporting three more figures. Besides Susan, she recognized Terry Boot and Lavender Brown. Pansy stumbled slightly and Hermione wrapped an arm around her waist, putting the taller girl's weight onto her shoulder. She kept a firm grip on her wand with the other.
The seven of them moved as quickly as they could but it seemed like ages before they burst out into the crisp night air. Off to the right, they could see the multicolored flashes of spells. They tried to keep low as they made their way toward the hole in the wall. Hermione had the brief thought to go help, but she knew her first duty was to the injured prisoners.
They crawled out of the hole and all but collapsed on the grass outside the wall. Hermione raised her wand and sent a wisp of silver light toward the battle. She hadn't added a message, but she knew Harry would recognize her otter patronus and understand its meaning.
Moments later, Ginny and Luna came sprinting through the hole and nearly landed on the others. Ginny was grinning madly and spun to face the wall with her wand out. Harry and Neville slid through the opening a moment later. "Reducto!" Ginny cried gleefully. The wall behind them collapsed, filling the path with rubble.
Harry glanced around wildly, then settled on Draco. Without warning, he snatched the cap from his head and pointed at it with his wand. "Portus." They all leaned in to touch it and moments later, they were gone.
Hermione stumbled and almost fell as they landed back in the small park. She looked around quickly, but it didn't look as though they'd been followed. Harry was crouched down, digging through a very familiar beaded bag. He produced a black box and began twirling his wand at it. Hermione turned away to check on the others.
Luna was crouched over Terry who was sprawled in the grass, his face screwed up in pain. "It looks like his leg was broken and healed improperly," she said matter-of-factly.
Ginny was checking over Lavender. Her bruises stood out sharply in the street light. "She's not much better, maybe we should take them to St. Mungo's."
"We can't," Harry said, not looking up. "The Death Eaters will be looking for them. Poppy and Fleur have a sick bay set up at headquarters."
"I'm alright," Susan reassured a worried looking Neville. He was studying her carefully. She had a few bruises and blood staining her clothes, but she seemed to be standing on her own alright. "I was only there for a few days." Neville frowned and abruptly pulled her into a hug. Hermione smiled at that. They had dated their last year of Hogwarts and Neville seemed extremely glad to see her again.
She heard a groan and turned to where Draco and Daphne were kneeling over Pansy as she attempted to sit up. "I'm fine," she growled to no avail. Her friends continued to fuss over her.
Harry appeared at her side and extended his hand to her. He held a dozen wands in his fist. "These were in the box," he explained. "See if you can figure out if any of them belong to these four. I'll take the rest to Ollivander."
Hermione nodded and laid them on the grass. "Could you all take a look at these, please?" she asked the group. Everyone gathered closer to study them.
"That's mine," Susan said, selecting one and fingering it lovingly. Terry smiled as he extracted his from the row. Lavender frowned then gave a pained smile as she found hers.
"This is Pansy's," Draco said over her shoulder. He picked it up and examined it.
Harry raised his head and looked over. "Pansy Parkinson?" he demanded.
Hermione turned slowly to watch as he stalked over. Draco straightened and eyed him warily. "Harry, don't-"
"What's her wand doing there?" he interrupted, attempting to snatch it from Draco who took a step back.
"She was in the prison, Harry," Hermione said softly, catching his arm.
Harry turned his scowl on her. She gestured to where Daphne was still tending the other girl and his frown deepened. "She can't come back with us."
"What? Why not?" Draco demanded, bristling.
"She's a Death eater!" Harry snapped. "I'm not putting anyone in danger because of her."
"Obviously she's not anymore if she was in that awful prison," Hermione insisted. "You didn't see it Harry…"
Harry looked between them, emerald eyes flashing. "I'm not taking her back to headquarters," he said firmly. He snatched up the remaining wands and turned away. Louder, he continued, "Those of you who need medical attention, come with me."
Neville stepped closer to them, with one arm wrapped protectively around Susan. Harry shot him a questioning look. "I'm going to take her back with me," Neville said softly. Harry nodded and turned to the others.
"You're not just going to leave Pansy here are you?" Susan whispered, watching Harry's back.
"Of course not," Hermione said brusquely. "She can stay with us."
She glanced at Harry and watched him stuff the wands back into the black box. She caught a glimpse of parchment before he sealed it and stuffed it roughly into the small bag and out of sight. "Alright then," he said, turning back to the group. "You two can come with me for now, I'll take you to a safe house." He gestured to Lavender and Terry who moved uncertainly toward him. He grasped each of them by the upper arm. "Thank you all for your help." With that, he turned and all three disappeared with a loud crack.
Everyone stood in awkward silence for a moment. Ginny was the first to speak. "Well, if that's all the excitement for tonight I think we'll call it a night," she said with forced cheer. "Can you all make it alright?" They nodded and Ginny smiled and caught Luna's hand. Everyone watched until they disappeared around the side of the building.
Draco looked around and groaned dramatically. "That bloody prat ruined my hat, I forgot."
Daphne chuckled and removed her own. "You made extras," she reminded him as she shoved it unceremoniously onto his head. He yelped in surprise and flailed to pull it off again.
Hermione smiled at their antics, then turned to Pansy. She was sitting on the ground still, her expression blank as her eyes followed them. She shivered and Hermione removed her jacket and held it out. Pansy stared between it and her before wordlessly taking it and slipping it on. "Can you stand?" Hermione asked softly, crouching beside her.
Pansy's eyes darted to her for a moment and narrowed. "Yea," she grumbled as she struggled up. She swayed slightly on her feet and Hermione held up a hand to catch her, just in case. "I'm fine, Granger," she snapped, glaring at the shorter girl.
Hermione sighed softly and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I was just trying to help," she said stiffly.
"Well, I don't need help," Pansy insisted, stumbling forward. Hermione decided to stay beside her anyway as they made their way back to their building. They parted ways with Susan and Neville at the elevator and the four of them returned to their flat.
As soon as they were inside, Draco raised his wand and stalked from room to room. Daphne helped a disgruntled Pansy over to the couch and Hermione trudged into the kitchen. She'd just set a pot of tea to boil when Draco emerged in the doorway. He stowed his wand in his pocket and crossed his arms across his chest, watching her.
"What's up, Drake?" she asked as she pulled out four mismatched tea cups.
He sighed and sat heavily at their small table. "I just have a bad feeling about all this," he admitted. He crossed his arms on the table and rested his chin on them, still watching her.
She turned away from the stove to lean against the counter. "What do you mean?" He shrugged moodily as his gaze drifted to the doorway of the living room. She lowered her voice slightly as she followed his gaze. "You think there will be consequences from tonight."
He sighed softly. "I don't know, I just wish I knew what he was after in there." He scowled again. "That bloody- the nerve of him asking for our help and then…" He sat up, agitated.
Hermione moved around to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's an old prejudice, Drake, he just needs more time to see past the Slytherin part of you."
Draco sighed and returned his chin to his arms. "I got over mine and they were a lot bloody more ingrained than school houses." She patted his shoulder again. There was nothing else to say at the moment. The kettle chirped in the beginnings of a shrill whistle and she rushed over to lift it off the burner.
"Hermione?" Daphne called tentatively, poking her head through the door. She turned toward the dark haired girl. "Could you come help me? I don't know very much about muggle healing."
She turned to Draco who stood up. "Go ahead, I'll finish this up." He took the kettle from her and shooed her away.
She stepped into the living room and found Pansy leaning back on the couch glaring at the far wall. Hermione knelt in front of her, inspecting the cuts and bruises adorning her face. A deeper cut ran down the side of her neck and disappeared under her ragged shirt. Hermione sighed to herself. "Let's get you cleaned up first, then we can see how bad these are."
Daphne immediately jumped up and a moment later, the bath could be heard running. Pansy tried to glance over her shoulder and grimaced in pain. "Try to stay still," Hermione ordered gently, "At least until we've got you patched up." Ice blue eyes watched her warily for a moment. "What?" she asked, trying to keep her tone even.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
Hermione couldn't help but smile at the question. "A lot has changed since school, I guess," she replied with an easy shrug.
"I noticed," she said with a ghost of her trademark smirk. Then it faded and her eyes took on a far away look. "Not everything, though," she continued softly.
Daphne appeared behind her and shot a questioning look over the back of the couch. "Come on," Hermione said, offering a hand to the other girl, "Let's get you cleaned up." With minimal protest, Pansy stood and obediently followed her.
