A/N: This chapie is for you Mawii and Nauf! Can you believe they rewrote a completely different chapter for my story?! I did use a lot of the points here but not everything. Thanks Nauf, Mawii, cookie, jeje, and Sarah alk, '3aloosh, Hayat, aya, neena7, Lulu, Lama and Maria. You guys are the best. And silidons and this-recurring-dream for faithfully reviewing this story from its creation and actually liking the old chapter. And min for the amazing review u left me…and kitsunetails for pointing out a few things in her review. I hope u like this chapie better! And lily1211 and jeje and inlovewithbubblegum for putting me in their favorites. Huge ego booster!

Chapter Five

"I still think we should tell her. She has a right to know her baby's dead. And Harry, stop being overprotective of her. Hermione's a strong witch, or she wouldn't have lived through… through what happened to her." Ginny's voice wavered in the end. She had been scared to death when she heard what happened. A part of her was guilty because she should have seen what was coming, or at least told someone. She had seen the signs of abuse on Hermione, but when she had confronted her, Hermione denied everything at first, then threatened to break off their friendship if Ginny told anyone about the bruises. It's all my fault…I should have told someone, anyone. Maybe if I wasn't so selfish about my friendship with Hermione I would've been able to prevent what happened. Ow, my head hurts. I wish Harry would just stop ranting; he's making the drums in my head play punk rock. Ginny's face was already a flood of tears.

"Tell her? In the state she's in? And how can I not be protective of my best friend? I should have noticed what Roger was doing to her! I should have done something! I'm the one who vanquished Voldemort for Merlin's sake! How come I can't do a simple thing as protect the people I love?! Next thing I know, you'll end up in a hospital bed! How couldn't I have noticed?" Harry repeated, hitting his head on the wall, his voice thick with emotion. Ginny stood up, and pulled Harry from the wall, where he was making a permanent mark of his head. She hugged him gently, comforting him as much as she can. Whatever sorrow she was feeling, Harry felt it a thousand times over. He felt that it was his fault, because he had introduced Roger to Hermione. He had felt that, ever since Hermione's parents died in the war, that he was responsible of protecting her and comforting her. How could he not notice that Hermione was being visibly abused by her husband? How can he not be able to protect her? He had been too busy to call her regularly these few weeks and because of that a dark poison ran through her blood, and her baby was dead.

Ginny pulled back and looked at Harry. A few tears were grazing his face, and he shook slightly. "Harry…it's not your fault, do you understand? I knew too, and I noticed but I kept quiet. I knew Harry! If anyone could have stopped this it could have been me!"

Harry shook his head in denial. "No Harry you don't understand. I knew! I knew Roger was hitting her! I even talked to her about it! But she made me promise…and I was selfish enough to play along with her. Do you understand? I wasn't there for her. We all weren't. We weren't there for Hermione, who has been there for every tear, every smile every…" Ginny trailed off, she was shaking now too, sobs racking her body. It was Harry's turn to comfort her, troubled as he was.

"Master Harry, Missus is wanting a box of tissues? If Master wants sir, Dobby will hit his head on the wall to make mark like master did sir!"

Dobby hovered around Harry's elbow until he took a tissue, then immediately went to the wall to bang his head. Harry marched to Dobby to drag him from the wall. Dobby had came to work, without Harry's consent (Dobby wouldn't even take wages from him; Hermione was furious) for Harry after he graduated from Hogwarts.

He peered into Ginny's eyes in silence and brought up his hand to brush her tears away. No one could understand him like she did. He kissed her softly then dropped back in the kitchen chair, defeated. He sighed, and looked at Ginny. "I don't know what to do anymore. It's just that…I don't know. I'm messed up. I can't even understand what the Healer wants."

Ginny went and sat next to her husband. "I understand; but I still think the others should know. Especially Draco. He'll feel betrayed if he finds out from some one other than you. Imagine if something happens to me and no one told you. He still loves her Harry. He might be able to help Hermione get out of the darkness she surrounded herself with. You and me both know how powerful true love can be." He was quiet for a moment, "Ginny, there's something I have to tell you…"

Whoosh. Something or someone fell in the living room of the modest house and let out a stream of curses. Harry and Ginny dropped their discussion immediately. Dobby rushed past mumbling: "Dobby will see who it is sir."

A bout of shouting and a crash followed. Dobby could be heard saying: "Why is you breaking master's favorite table sir?" "Bloody table! Nearly decapitated my knee! Why do you have to put it in front of the bloody fireplace every time I come here?!" A familiar voice bellowed. Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing glances. "Too late for that…" Harry trailed off as a furious Draco Malfoy burst into the kitchen clutching his knee with one hand and Dobby's throat with the other. Seeing Harry, he dropped both and made a beeline for Harry, ignoring his throbbing knee. He caught Harry and slammed him into the wall, ignoring Ginny's exclamations. He jabbed his wand into Harry's throat.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? Why didn't you bloody tell me? Did you think I could never have found out?" Draco bellowed, his rage surfacing again. "Me? You told everyone else but me! You know how I feel for Hermione, you know how important this is to me! But nooo…lets keep all this from Draco, and let him find out the painful way. I would have found out anyway Harry, it involves the investigation I'm following. But instead of hearing from you, my so-called friend, I found out by a ruddy training junior telling me of an emergency and walking into Hermione's room by mistake."

"Draco, stop it and put Harry down!" Ginny cut in worried. Harry was turning blue.

"Ginny keep out of this! Answer me! Or are you too scared to answer Potty boy?"

"Draco, I'm warning you!" Ginny threatened, taking out her wand.

"Draco…calm…down and let…me…down…so…I…canbreathe. So…I can explain" Harry gasped.

"EXPLAIN! WHAT IS THERE TO EXPLAIN? You were the one who introduced her to that bastard! And I saw you the other day, and you lied, TO MY FACE!!" Draco shouted.

That was it. Harry had enough. Strangely so did Ginny. "Expelliarmus!" She yelled causing them to separate from each other, Draco hitting the wall. Harry massaged his neck. "HOW DARE YOU? You have no idea…you don't know even half the things I've been through these few days! You have NO idea what how difficult this has been for me!! You haven't seen her for a year! I saw her everyday and I didn't even notice she was being abused! I was too bloody busy to notice she was being hurt! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW that MADE ME FEEL? Me Harry Potter, the vanquisher of Voldemort but not even able to protect the people I love. Not even able to protect my best friend! And you're right; I'm the one who introduce Hermione to Roger. That was the biggest mistake of my life." Draco was quiet now, fuming but stunned, he had never seen Harry like this. Harry lowered his voice; it was barely over a whisper. "I just wanted her to be happy. That's all. I just wanted my best friend to be happy. And now she's stuck in a hospital with dark poison running through her blood." Harry shook his head. "And…And the reason I couldn't tell you was…I knew how you would react, and I was afraid you'll do something dangerous…And Hermione made me promise not to tell anybody."

"Hermione made you promise….?" Draco whispered softly, stunned.

"She said that she didn't want anyone to be scared. But it wasn't that. I could feel that that wasn't the reason." Harry's eyes had a sad look in them. "Do you know how hard this has been for me? This is the most difficult thing that has ever happened to me; do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? Her baby's dead, and I can't tell her that. I can't even look her in the eye."

"Hermione, poison in her blood?" Ginny whispered finding her voice, clearly taken aback. She was just sitting there, mouthing the words over and over again silently, as if she was in a trance.

Draco was shocked at the sorrow in Harry's voice. He calmed down a bit. "She knows mate." He said sensitively. He thought his friend should have a little load off his shoulders. "What? She knows what?"

"She knows Harry. She knows her child is dead."

"How do you know?"

"She told me. She told me everything; about how Roger was using her, about him dislike for Hermione's child. Mudblood baby he said." Cold fury was laced into his words now, the phrase "Mudblood baby" burned in his brain.

"He said WHAT!!!? The piece of crap, the son of a bitch…" Harry let out a stream of colorful curses. "You didn't know?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"No, she never told me. Oh, he's going to get it. I'll get him if it's the last thing I do." His eyes blazed with the same mad glint he had years ago, when they were hunting Voldemort and his followers down.

"Hermione has poison in her blood? What poison? How? What happened? Harry, tell me what's happening!!" Ginny had snapped out of her trance now. She shook Harry roughly. "When were you going to tell me? When Hermione is good and dead?" She shrieked, visibly shaken. She had obviously not heard a word they had said. Harry looked at her in bewilderment and Draco was surprised at this new piece of information.

Harry suddenly understood what Ginny was so angry at, and his face took the same hollow look he had moments ago, before it burned with anger. He sighed, and shook his head, as if he was trying to shake away all his thoughts. He'd been in denial for so long; the words couldn't come out of his mouth. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "This is what I was trying to tell you earlier, Ginny, before Draco arrived.

Can you sit down please? And Draco, if the report has reached you, then you already know."

Ginny sat down, clenching her fists. "What report? And you better have a good reason for not telling me, do you understand?"

Harry rubbed his eyes. His head felt like it would split in half from the headache he had. "The report the wizard, who found Hermione, had given the Ministry. He did that before I could put the privacy conditions into action. But luckily no one read the report, besides Edwards, who took the information, and Draco. You did read it did you?"

Draco nodded. "But I haven't been able to read the rest of the file yet. I wanted to visit the victim first. You issued privacy conditions?" Ginny looked back and forth at the two Aurors. They were, like they were used to, going completely into work mode. Work mode meant that the two men would only speak in insensitive terms like 'victim' instead of 'Hermione', and Ginny, whose father used to be in the Ministry, understood these terms perfectly. She also understood why they did it. It helped ease the pain, and helps their concentration on a particular case. Even if referring to the victim as an inanimate object sounds cruel and heartless, it was the only thing that kept them going, the only thing that helped them live. Seeing corpses everyday and dealing with hysterical mourners all the time can test a person's sanity.

"Yes. You see, Ro…the perpetrator doesn't know that Her…the victim is still alive, and if he knew, he'd go after her. She is a witness against him after all. The healer isn't allowed under wizard law to tell anyone except the family of the victim."

"Enough of this! Harry, stop trying to avoid the subject." Ginny stood up.

Harry couldn't look at her. "The poison? From the dagger? Weren't they able to heal Hermione from it?" Draco asked, his eyes turning a dark stormy gray, as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Poison? Dagger?" Ginny said weakly, to no in particular. Both of them, the redheaded woman and the pale haired man, looked expectantly at Harry. Harry held his head. This headache is unbearable! My head will explode; I can't take this any longer!

"Dobby…" Harry called in a cracked voice.

"Yes, sir. Master is wanting anything, sir?" Dobby suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Just…get me anything for this bloody headache please."

"Right away, Harry Potter, sir." Dobby disappeared, to come back moments later with a weird looking herb and a glass of water.

"Eat that and Harry Potter's headache will disappear."

"Thank you Dobby." Harry put the herb in his mouth, without even inspecting it, and swallowed the water in one gulp. His head cleared immediately. How am I supposed to tell them this when I can't believe it myself? He looked at them, his wife and one of his closest friends, each waiting for news that would probably tear his heart, and fill hers with grief. Harry's heart had already done both. He took a deep breath. "Hermione…" His voice cracked. "The Healer talked to me this morning, after they received the results of the tests they did on Hermione. She told me that the test results were very grave and if Hermione's state of mind continues as it is… The knife Hermione was stabbed with was covered in a dark poison. When she was…the poison usually has a cure, but in this case it was accompanied by a spell. The poison now runs in Hermione's blood."

He couldn't look at them. He looked at the floor, at the ceiling, at his hands, anything but them. Ginny was silent, a tear running down her face. Draco looked deep in thought. "(NAME OF DEATH OF LOVE IN LATIN). The spell was activated when he stabbed her seven times. Of course. But the counter curse was never found. The only known thing about this mysterious poison was that it killed all feeling in the heart." Draco mumbled to himself. Harry heard him and looked up. "Yeah, that's right. How did you know?"

"It's a Dark Arts spell, invented by a fanatic pureblood, one of my ancestors. The poison by itself is as any other poison, but paired with certain steps and Muggle blood, there's now escape from it. Except by one way…no, no it can't be." Draco said softly.

"Roger did all this? Roger put a spell on Hermione? Roger called Hermione's baby- their baby- a 'mudblood's child'? The son of a…the piece of dung. The bastard! Oh he will pay! He will pay!" Ginny stood up again, rage taking over her mind and body. She brandished her wand dangerously. Draco was pulled out of his thoughts by the last phrase, and it sent him seething inside. Harry, hearing those words, felt an ocean of emotions wash over him, guilt, anger, grief, fury…all theses made him go hot and cold and he repeated Ginny's words inside his head. He won't just pay! He will be tortured for every little wound, every bout of pain Hermione felt! He messed with the wrong people. No one did that to Hermione and got away with it. The three people thought simultaneously. In a moment of rage, they all strode to the door, wands out, eyes glittering dangerously. Ginny, the first to get there, pulled open the door, to find a bewildered Tonks just about to knock. She took one look at the three friends, and figured out the immediately. She pushed Ginny in, and magically locked the door behind her. She was suddenly charged at by three angry people protesting. "Tonks, what the hell are you doing? Open this door right now! You don't understand anything!" A furious Ginny screamed, her face the color of her hair. Draco and Harry glowered at Tonks, their wands dangerously positioned at Tonks' throat. "Sit down! All of you! You're not going anywhere."

"We're not kids, Tonks. We're adults, and responsible for our own actions. Now get away from that door or I'll curse you to oblivion." Draco threatened icily. Tonks glared at him. "Sit down Draco! That's an immediate order! This means you too Harry. If you don't sit down and shut the bloody hell up, you're both suspended."

Furious exclamations burst from Harry and Draco's mouths. With one warning glare from Tonks, they glumly sat down. She was their superior in the end.

Ginny kept on standing. "You can't go like this, unprepared." Tonks began. "Unprepared for what? We have all the necessary curses we need."

"Are you aware of his location? Or Roger's real name, if he was under an alias? Or if he had any supporters or partners? If he was the man responsible, or is there someone behind it all? Who's his next victim, if he had one, or was Hermione the only one? And think of Hermione. You can't just go of cajoling and leave her alone. She needs you now more than revenge." Tonks stated sensibly.

"That's what made her Head of department." Draco thought.

Silence. Ginny was glaring at Tonks. "I thought so. Now, Molly's with Hermione at the moment. I came to discuss the privacy conditions. Harry, you know that we can't keep this information for long. The Minister's already pressing me for information about the new attack."

Harry seemed a bit distracted from his recent fury, and he frowned. "I'm aware of that, but I was hoping to keep Hermione's escape a secret as long as possible, at least until it's safe enough to move her from the hospital. I also want to find a safe enough place and fix it up just in case of emergencies or a leak to the press or something. A place where that bastard can't get her, where he can't find her." Harry thought hard.

I know a place…but I can't. Draco, don't be selfish for once and think of Hermione. She's more important than you feeling awkward

"I know a place." Draco suddenly said, making his mind up

Harry and Tonks immediately stopped their discussion and peered at Draco, waiting for him to complete. Draco ruffled his hair.

"Malfoy Manor."

"Malfoy Manor?" Ginny asked, finally speaking.

"Yes, Malfoy Manor. It's unplottable and has all sorts of protection spells and curses on it. I removed most of the curses, but one or two had such powerful Dark Magic I couldn't even try."

"Why all the protection?"

"My father." Draco answered simply.

Tonks nodded. "The Malfoy Manor is perfect. It has enough rooms to ensure that we can make Hermione comfortable. I think we should fix it tonight, the sooner the better."

Harry nodded. "All the hospital equipment can be magically transferred to there."

Draco stood up, happy to have something to do. He walked to the door. "Shall we go now?"

"Yeah." Tonks followed him. She pulled out her wand, muttered something, and the door clicked. She opened the door and walked outside, Draco following her. "Wait, stop! Draco!" Ginny called. They stopped and Draco looked back.

"You should come back here, ok? Merlin knows what you would do in that big lonely mansion of yours. So bring your stuff here, because you're sleeping the night." Ginny half-ordered, half requested.

"Blimey! She could really be a drill sergeant, do you know that?" Draco whispered to Harry in awe. "Now you tell me? I've been married two years to her. Imagine that!" Harry whispered back.

I heard that Harry!" Ginny put her hands on her hips in imitation of Mrs.Weasley. "So Draco, what do you say?"

"My pleasure, Mrs. Potter. Just keep the table away from the fireplace, so when I come back I don't trip on it." Draco commented, with a ghost of a smirk on his handsome face.

And they went out to Malfoy Manor.

A/N: Heya ppl! I hope you like this chapie better than the one before it. Personally, I liked it (the old chapie), I think it reflects me, but when I reread it, it doesn't fit with the story. So I edited some things. Enjoy! I promise future chapters will definitely be happier. And this is one looong chapter. Don't be afraid to tell me your comments.

"Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi" Mirror of Erised. (my favorite quote.)