Disclaimer~ I own only the plot. The characters are property of the wonderfully talented JKR and I only use them for my own amusement.
A.N.~ It has been a long time coming but this chapter is finally ready after about fourteen different rewrites. I hope that everything makes sense and I didn't forget to explain anything. I dislike when I read a story and there are parts that make very little sense. I like to keep the characters and places as close to JKR's ideas as possible.
The blackness that had encased Narcissa Malfoy's mind was now slowly changing into a thick fog and as she slowly started to come out of her unconscious state, she became aware of her surroundings. She was laying flat on what seemed to be a damp, musty, old mattress and she could tell that someone had used a binding curse on her since she was unable to move her arms or legs. She tried to open her eyes but they felt heavy and refused to comply with her brain's wishes, so instead she decided to use her other senses to figure out where she was. A deep breath in and all she could smell was damp, stale air and mold so thick she could practically taste it. She could hear distant scratching, most likely a rat or some other creature, crawling with in the walls, telling her that where ever she was, was old and unkempt. Seeing as there were very few places within the wizarding world that were kept in such a dismal state helped narrow down the list of places forming in her mind. Alright Cissy. Time to clear out the fog and try to remember what happened, she said to herself before trying to force her brain back in time. She remembered Pixie coming and getting her, and seeing the damage that, that horrid little elf, Sty.. Thats it! Stymie! That rotten little... oh when I get my hands... Her inner tirade was cut off as she heard the sound of approaching voices.
"Stymie, did good master?" She could hear the ungrateful little monster say.
"Oh yes Stymie. You did quite well indeed." Narcissa heard another voice say, cringing at the sound of it. She knew who the voice belonged to and also knew that if it was who she thought it was, then she was as good as dead. Antonin Dolohov had always disliked her family, especially Lucius because the Dark Lord favored him. Antonin always felt that he should have been Voldemort's right hand man and was beside himself with fury when he was made second in command to Lucius. Narcissa also knew that Antonin was in no way a stupid man. If anyone were going to figure out how the enemy found out about the Hogwarts attack, it would be him and she was one hundred percent sure that he knew Draco, the Malfoy heir and son to the Dark Lord's own appointed second in command, had betrayed them all. He was out for blood, this she was sure of, however she wasn't sure why he had waited so long. There were many times that both Narcissa and Draco had been out alone together where he could have easily disposed of them without having to worry about being caught, but now with Draco at Hogwarts it seemed that there were too many variables in the way.
"Wakey, wakey!" Narcissa was startled by a sudden slap to her face, causing her eyes to snap open. She found herself staring into the face of a man she once knew but now could hardly recognize. He still had that long, pale, twisted face but he was quite gaunt and sickly looking, most likely due to being on the run. He was covered in dirt and grime and in definite need of a shave. There were prisoners in Azkaban that looked better then he did and they were probably more sane too. Narcissa flinched inside as he roughly grabbed her face in his hand and held it tightly. "You know Narcissa, it is rude to eavesdrop on one's private conversation. I would think that someone with your superior upbringing would know that." He sneered. He let go of her and took a step backwards, his eyes lighting up in glee, his lips forming a sick, twisted smile. "Now I'm sure you are wondering why I have brought you here. What your purpose is, so to speak." He paused for a moment, raising an eyebrow at her. "Whats wrong? Cat got your tongue? Nothing to say?" Narcissa glared at him, causing a cruel sounding laugh to fall from his lips. "Ah yes. I almost forgot." He did a quick wave of his wand, a wand that Narcissa could see was not truly his, and she found that while she was still bound, she could speak again.
"Antonin? What have you done? Why am I here? Is it money you want, because if so I'm sure we can find a way to get some for you and get you out of Britain." She said trying to convince him of her willingness to help him, even though deep inside she was thinking of ways to turn his bloody arse over to the first available Auror. She watched as he chuckled heartily at her, as if she had just said the funniest thing in the world to him.
Oh Cissy. Dear, dear Cissy. I have no need for your traitorous, blood money. No, you see while the ministry may have confiscated everything I have here including my ever so faithful servant." He paused just long enough to glance at Stymie, who was overwhelmed to the point of tears by his master's words of praise, and then he continued. "However, as you know quite well, we purebloods have always been prepared for every possible scenario in our lives. Including the possibility of losing everything. I have plenty of money hidden in off shore accounts, some even in the muggle world, knowing the ministry would never think to look there." She noticed how he had sneered out the word muggle, his hatred of everything associated with them apparent in just that one word.
"Then why take me? What could you possibly stand to gain from my abduction?" She asked, her mind wandering, trying to find his possible motive. Other then the manor and money, the only other thing of true value in her life was ... Draco! He wanted Draco! After all why wouldn't one of Voldemort's darkest, most loyal minions, want to take out the boy who helped bring his end. Over my dead body, she thought. "No Antonin! You will not harm my son! My Draco will not fall for your tricks. He knows that I would rather die then see harm come to him." Narcissa was infuriated, so much so that she didn't notice the fact that the spell that was binding her was slowly wearing off due to the weak spell from his stolen wand. Antonin stared down at her, his mirth filled eyes changing into one of anger.
"I would very much love to kill your son for his traitorous act, however he has something that belongs to me and I want it back. I'm sure he will be willing to exchange it for your life." He sneered before spinning around and hurrying out of the room. "Come Stymie. We have a letter to send and guests to prepare for." Narcissa stared at the empty doorway and pondered his words. What could Draco possibly have that belongs to him? Narcissa let the thought run around in her head a bit. If Draco had stolen something from him then the ministry would have sensed it when they were acquiring his things. When dealing with confiscation cases, the ministry used a spell that would show every thing the person owned and where it was kept with in their world. Thats why many death eaters used the muggle world to house some of their more deadly and illegal items. Narcissa thought about what else he said, about having to prepare for guests, as in plural. Why would he have someone come with Draco? Unless the thing Draco has isn't a what, but a who? Now Narcissa was more then curious, she was terrified. Antonin wanted her son to trade another human life for hers? The question in her mind now being just whose life was it?
There were many things in Hermione Granger's life that she was certain of. Harry and Ron would always be her best friends no matter how angry they got at one another, Snape would always look like a creepy bat when entering any room, Dumbledore would always be the clever, powerful, yet slightly frustrating wizard that he had always been and McGonagall would continue to be the serious, stern, emotionally controlled woman that her students had grown to know. So you could probably understand Hermione's shock as she stood in her head of house's personal quarters, pressed up against said professor's bosom in an extremely tight embrace.
When Hermione had decided to go and tell Professor McGonagall her story, she had not expected the witch to react the way she had. She expected her to be angry, mortified, even shocked by what she told her, however what she didn't expect was for this woman, a woman who she had known for seven years, to crush her to her and break down and cry. Now all she could do was stand there in awe, not really sure what to say or do, and hope that she didn't run out of oxygen, since she could barely breathe from the embrace.
"You poor child. You poor, poor child." She could hear her mumbling softly against the top of her head. She felt the professor's arms loosen a bit giving her the opportunity to take a deep breath. The professor stepped back from her but kept her hands on Hermione's arms, as if to keep her from running away. Hermione looked up to see her looking down at her, her eyes watery and sad but also stern and angry. "Why did you not come to me sooner? I could have helped you. Gotten you the proper help you needed to get through this. And Madam Pomfrey. You did go to see her correct?" Much to her professor's dismay, Hermione shook her head.
"I was ashamed. I didn't want anyone to know and that included Madam Pomfrey."
"You were attacked, crucioed, violated and you didn't think to go see ... " Hermione cut her off.
"I was able to heal my cuts and bruises myself and ..."
"But there are other areas that could not have been easily healed Miss Granger. How do you know that you were not damaged internally." Hermione watched as another thought crossed the professor's mind, one that caused her to cover her mouth and contain her small gasp. "The bastard could have ... "
"I know what you are going to say, and I will admit that I hadn't even thought about it until Draco ..." Minerva's head jerked up and her eyes widened.
"What does young, Mr. Malfoy have to do with any of this?" She asked Hermione, her eyes filling with a bit of suspicion. Hermione gave her a small smile and motioned for her to sit down, which she did, and Hermione sat next to her.
"Long story short, Draco found me that night. He came into the common room and found me there. I was a complete wreck and he did try to go get help, including Madam Pomfrey, but I wouldn't let him. He is the one who brought up the fact that pregnancy was a possibility, however he knew a spell that can prevent pregnancy up to twenty-four hours after ... well you know." Minerva nodded.
"Yes. I know the spell. Most all pure-blooded males are taught it. That way they can have their fun but not worry about a less then worthy female carrying their heir. Disgusting, really." Minerva took a deep breath. "So Mr. Malfoy was of help to you?" Hermione nodded.
"In more ways then one. He has been there for me through all of this and has helped me when ever he can. He took care of me that night, made sure I ate, and felt safe. He has even slept in a chair by my bed on the nights when I've woken from terrible nightmares." Minerva looked surprised but at the same time she wasn't shocked by it. Everyone had noticed the closeness that had developed between the two, however everyone thought it was due to their positions as heads and the fact that they had to live within close proximity of one another.
"While I am saddened by what happened to you and the fact that you felt the need to keep it hidden from us, I am glad that you have had someone to help you." Minerva said. She opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted by the sound of a small pop and the appearance of a small house elf carrying a tray of tea and scones. The elf placed it on the table in front of them before smiling and popping back out. "My evening tea. Would you care for some?" Hermione nodded and watched as she poured them each a cup and handed her one. Hermione watched her take a small sip before she spoke again. "I must assume that the reason you are coming to me now is because you know of the recent muggle murders." Hermione nodded.
"Yes. It seems that Draco and Blaise over heard something that was being discussed at the Christmas party and they felt that I should come forward, since the person who is doing this, is most likely the same one who attacked me."
"So Mr. Zabini also knows what happened?" Hermione could see that her professor was shocked that another Slytherin knew about what had happened to her but her friends did not. Hermione nodded.
"Yes. It seems that I yell out when I have nightmares and he was visiting Draco one evening when I had one. He put two and two together and figured it out on his own."
"I see." Minerva said placing her tea cup down on the table. "Are there any other people that know."
"Yes professor. Mrs. Weasley knows. She was able to understand my situation so I felt comfortable speaking with her. She promised me that she wouldn't tell anyone else though so its just the three of them who know, and of course my attacker."
"Well then, while I will agree with you that the person causing these murders is most likely one in the same, we do not know who it is. You said that your attacker was wearing a mask and that you couldn't see who it was."
"True, but it seems that Draco performed more then one spell on me that night." At this Minerva narrowed her eyes.
"And exactly what other spell did Mr. Malfoy use on you?"
"ALIO APERIO." Hermione heard a loud gasp come from the professor's throat.
"How in the world does he know how to do that spell? Some of our most powerful wizards can not perform that spell properly. The wand movements alone are quite tricky and must be done quickly and precise. There are very few who have been licensed to use it. In fact I find it odd that he was able to use it and that Albus, let alone the ministry, wasn't alerted to its use." Hermione just shrugged, not knowing the answer and to be honest, not caring. "Was he successful?" Hermione gave a quick nod before replying.
"Yes professor. We know who the person was that attacked me. It was ... " Hermione was cut off by a silvery phoenix entering the room. Hermione knew that this was the headmaster's patronus long before his voice erupted from it.
"Minerva. Meet me in front of the head's dormitory as quickly as possible. There has been an incident." The moment she heard these words Hermione was up and out the portrait running towards her dorm. All she could think about was Draco and what could have possibly happened in the amount of time she was gone. As she turned down the hallway that led to the dorm, she could see the headmaster standing in front of their portrait. Hearing their approaching foot steps, Dumbledore turned and looked their way. "Minerva. Miss Granger. How are you both this evening?" Hermione just stared at him.
"We are fine Albus, but considering the urgency of your patronus, I don't think now is the time for pleasantries. What is happening?"
"It seems that Narcissa Malfoy was abducted from the manor a few hours ago." Both Hermione and Minerva gasped.
"But how Albus? Malfoy Manor has the best security wards in the entire wizarding world. You can't even get onto the grounds without having, or accompanying someone with, Malfoy blood running through their veins."
"I'm not quite sure yet but once we get inside we will find out." He replied, turning to the portrait and saying the password. As the portrait swung open all they could hear was the sound of yelling and crashing. Hermione ran into the common room but came to a shocked halt at what she saw. Andromeda was over in the kitchenette area trying to keep a small, very distraught, house elf from trying to hit herself over the head with a frying pan, while Blaise and Professor Snape were trying to hold down an out of control Draco who was throwing things and screaming. Hermione watched as Draco threw Blaise off of himself and in the process elbowed Snape in the face causing him to crash into the wall behind him.
"WHERE THE BLOODY HELL IS MY MOTHER!" He bellowed running in a blind fury towards Dumbledore. Hermione watched as Draco suddenly stopped and fell to the floor, stiff as a board. Hermione looked at him in shock, realizing that the headmaster had just petrified Draco both silently and without his wand. Seeing Draco stuck on the floor, unable to move, held there against his will, brought back the feelings she felt when Dolohov did it to her.
"Let him go!" She screamed, running over and kneeling down next to him. She looked up at the headmaster and repeated herself. "Let him go headmaster. He does not deserve this, he is just upset!"
"Hes a little more then upset Miss Granger." Professor Snape replied as Hermione watched him get up off the floor and walk over to where his wand was laying. She noticed that both his and Blaise's wands were carelessly tossed on the floor, most likely from the scuffle, which would explain why they hadn't used their wands to stop him. Hermione gave him a furious glare.
"Of course he is! His mother is missing and he deserves the right to vent his frustrations." She said to him before turning back to Dumbledore. "Let him go." The headmaster gave a small nod and suddenly Hermione found herself once again in a tight embrace, only this time she more the welcomed it as she was the one now comforting him.
"Shes gone Granger. Shes all I have left and someone stole her from me." He mumbled into her hair. Hermione stroked his head, taking in how soft and fine it felt underneath her fingers.
"We will find her Draco, I know we will, but you must stay calm. Alright?" Draco pulled back and stared down at her for a moment before giving her a small nod.
"Fine." He stood up and pulled her up with him. He then apologized to everyone for his behavior before walking over to the small elf who was still trying her very best to hurt herself in any possible way. He knelt down in front of the elf and took her hand in his. "Pixie! Look at me Pixie. I order you to stop trying to hurt yourself and look at me." Pixie stopped jerking around and looked up at her master, her big purple eyes wide and filled with tears.
"Pixie must punish herself. Pixie was very bad, very bad. Pixie should have known better, should have known it was a trick. Evil little thing he is . Pixie knew, but no I still got the missus and brought her home. Now the evil man has her and its all Pixie's fault." The little elf let out a large sob before once again trying to hurt herself by slamming her head in a cabinet door.
"Enough Pixie!" Draco yelled at her and pulled her over to the couch and sat her on it. Hermione hurried over and sat next to the distraught creature and took her hand.
"Pixie." She said rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. "You said something about an evil little thing. Who were you speaking of?" Pixie watched the young girl's thumb rub circles on the back of her hand. She was not used to someone other then her masters being kind to her. She liked this girl.
"Stymie, miss." She replied. Hermione noticed Draco looked confused.
"Stymie? Who in the bloody hell is Stymie?"
"He is a new house elf that your mother acquired. It seems that while the ministry was confiscating the assets of all the known death eaters that have been captured or gone missing, they also rounded up all their house elves. A large portion of them were sent to St. Mungos and here in Hogwarts, however there were still many left without homes, so the ministry let the public know and your mother went and acquired a few." Andromeda answered walking into the room and sitting in one of the chairs. Pixie nodded.
"Yes. The missus got Stymie, Quiggle, and Bibbly. Quiggle and Bibbly are very good, very good indeed, but Stymie is evil. He not like being taken away! He not like the missus. He bring evil man into manor. Bibbly saw. Bibbly tell Pixie, but it was too late."
Draco, who had been pacing back and forth came to an immediate halt at this information.
"You mean Stymie apparated the man into the manor?" Pixie nodded. Draco looked over at his godfather for any kind of confirmation about this being possible.
"That would explain how the culprit got through the wards. Normally for a person to get onto the grounds they would have to either be accompanied by someone with Malfoy blood, or the wards would need to be adjusted by someone with Malfoy blood." Snape drawled. "However. The house elves, due to their work and the errands they need to run, are able to come and go without such precautions. One could easily apparate in with a companion and not set off the wards." Draco shook his head, angry that they could have overlooked something like that when protecting their home. On the other hand, a house elf has never been known to turn on its master so why would they have ever thought of that potential threat.
"Well, then. That is wonderful news!" Dumbledore said clapping his hands together, causing everyone to look at him as if he had completely lost it. Blaise looked at him completely flabbergasted.
"How in the hell is that wonderful news!" He blurted out causing Minerva to throw him a disapproving look.
"Mr. Zabini" The headmaster held up his hand to stop the older witch from scolding Blaise.
"Now, now Minerva. Mr. Zabini is entitled to his opinion on this matter, and I can see his view of my statement. I must ask you all this though. What do we know about house elves? What is one of the most important rules they go by?" Everyone just sat there and pondered what he was saying, until Hermione spoke out.
"The will always obey their masters. They will do anything for them, keep any secret, carry out any mission." Dumbledore smiled at his brightest student.
"Correct Miss Granger and how can this fact help us now." Hermione jumped up, her brain quickly conjuring the answer.
"The only reason a house elf would ever betray his or her master is if its old master asked it too. The elf still feels bonded to the old master so it will do its bidding."
"Which means we just have to find out which death eater owned Stymie and then we will know who took Mother." Draco said. Pixie looked up at them, her eyes wide with knowledge.
"Oh! Oh! Pixie knows Master Draco! Pixie knows where that evil Stymie came from!"
"Where Pixie?" Snape asked urgently, crossing the room quickly, to stand near her.
"Stymie came from the Dolohov home sir."
"Dolohov?" Snape said, turning to look questioningly at the other adults. "What in the world could Antonin want with Cissy?" As the four adults began to contemplate the newest development in the situation, none of them noticed the looks of horror that had masked their three students faces. Hermione stared up at Draco, her eyes filling with tears, as the realization of what Dolohov wanted embedded itself into her mind.
"Draco. He wants me. He wants you to trade me for her, I just know it."
"No!" Draco bellowed, not realizing he had now brought the adults attention to them. "He will not have you. I won't do it!"
"But Draco. Your mother..."
"My mother would never want me to do that. She would rather die then see me have to make that kind of decision again."
"But..."
"No Hermione! I will not give you to that monster. You know what he will do to you, hes already done it once, only this time he will kill you!" The gasp that escaped from McGonagall's throat reminded the two to the fact that they were not alone in the room and that everyone had just heard their conversation.
"Miss Granger?" Minerva said, walking over to her. "It was Antonin Dolohov who..." She trailed off, not wanting to share what she knew without the girl's permission. Hermione nodded her head and then looked at the other adults, grasped both Blaise and Draco's hands, and took a deep breath. It was time to let out the truth.
"Yes it was Antonin Dolohov who attacked me earlier this year while Draco and I were in Hogsmeade."
"What attack? Why are we just hearing of this?" Professor Snape asked staring down at their intertwined hands, in confusion. Blaise decided to answer him in Hermione's place.
"He caught her alone in Hogsmeade and ..." He looked at her, and received a small nod, motioning for him to continue. He squeezed her hand in support and went on. "He brought her to the Shrieking Shack where he crucioed and raped her."
"I found her here later, she was a wreck, as is expected. I performed the ALIO APERIO spell and was able to find out who did it." Draco added.
"He just informed me today about that little tidbit." Hermione said. "Up until a few hours ago I had no idea who it was."
"And now we think that Dolohov wants Draco to trade Hermione for his mother."
Blaise replied not allowing any of the adults the chance to speak.
"But what would make him think that Draco would have any kind of access to me?"
"He most likely saw us together that day in Hogsmeade and since it was the two of us unattended by any professors he had to have realized our positions in the school.. He had to have been following you around that day, its all to convenient that he showed up at the one moment you were alone." Draco said.
"Not to mention that this mornings Prophet definitely would have tipped him off if he has seen it." A voice, Hermione wasn't expecting said. They all turned toward the portrait entrance, to find Lupin and Tonks standing there. Lupin had a copy of the Daily Prophet crushed within his tightly enclosed fist. The voice she heard however had not belong to either one of them and Hermione watched as they moved out of the way to show the person who had spoke. There stood a very pale, and distraught looking Harry, his fists were also clenched and he looked as if at any moment he was going to burst into tears or a fit of yelling, she wasn't really sure. She slowly stood up and faced her friend, who was now just staring at her in horror, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief.
"Harry ..."
"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked her. She never wanted him to find out this way. She knew that she would have eventually told her three friends about what happened but not like this.
"Harry." Dumbledore's voice broke through the silence, causing them all to turn their attention to him. "Perhaps now is not the time for this discussion. I'm sure Miss Granger will tell you everything you want to know later, but now we ..." The sound of another house elf popping into the room interrupted him. "Dobby? What can we do for you?"
We just received this sir." He said holding out a rolled piece of parchment. "It was found on one of the tables in the kitchens. Its addressed to the youngest Malfoy sir. Dobby brought it right away sir." Draco walked over and took the piece of parchment from Dobby and unrolled it, reading it as he did. When he was finished he handed it over to Professor Snape. Hermione touched Draco's arm lightly.
"What does it say Draco?" He looked down at her sadly.
"Its what we thought. He wants an exchange. Hermione for my mother. In exactly one hour I am to apparate us to Hogsmeade, alone, and the exchange will happen there. If I don't show my mother will die." Everyone started speaking at once, all except Draco and Hermione who were to busy staring at one another to really say anything.
"SILENCE!" Everyone jumped at the sound of Dumbledore's voice echoing through the room. "I know that the situation is quiet upsetting. We do not want to see anyone lose there life..."
"I wouldn't mind seeing Dolohov lose his." Blaise muttered.
"That being true for everyone here Mr. Zabini, we must think of a way to put a stop to this and arguing with one another is not going to help the situation at all." McGonagall replied.
"Well what do we do then? We can't let Mrs. Malfoy die and there is no way in bloody hell we are giving that bastard Hermione." Harry exclaimed.
"Potters right. Besides. My mother would never want me to turn over Hermione even if I wanted to. She would rather die first."
"Then what do we do? With all the geniuses in this room no one has a single idea?" Blaise said, frustrated with the whole thing. Hermione watched as Draco ran his hands through his hair, a sign that he was deep in concentration. She watched as he shook his hand causing a loose strand of his platinum locks to fall to the floor. It was then that an idea hit her.
"I've got it. I know what we are going to do." Everyone turned to look at her.
"Should have known that if anyone were to come up with a plan it would be you Granger. "Blaise said with a smirk. "Come now. Whats the plan."
"Simple." She said, turning to smile at Draco. "You're going to give me to him."
Lucky for me the creative juices have been flowing and the next chapter is almost done. I would love to hear your thoughts so please feel free to leave a review.