Chapter Eight.
Hermione woke up in a gloomy room, lit only by a weak shaft of light coming from under the door. Her head ached so much she wondered for a minute if she had been down at the Three Broomsticks and hadn't been able to find her way back to a proper room, but once she touched her head and flinched she remembered everything. Her hand had come away sticky with blood, and she could feel more streaks of it crusted on the side of her face.
Honestly. I could have carried on being cunning, but no, I had to have been in Gryffindor. Had to be brave and make a stand. Stupid, stupid Mione.
She moved towards the door and wasn't surprised to find it locked, just as she wasn't surprised to find her wand missing. Slumping back down against the wall, her thoughts went to the three most important men in her life. I wonder if Harry and Ron have worked out what's happened yet? I hope they aren't too worried. But I hope they come and find me. And Draco…
Even remembering his voice when he had tried to stick up for her, she knew that he would have said a whole lot more in her defence had he been able to. Remembering his screams, she pitied him. He was looking out for me. He wasn't just using me, he wouldn't have stuck up for me if he was just using me, she told herself again and again, hugging the fact to her for comfort in the cold room.
I wonder where I am. Why didn't Voldemort just kill me? Hermione ran through the options and concluded that the most likely was that Voldemort just wanted someone who would be free for torture 24/7. Tipping her head back, she sighed deeply. Nothing looked very appealing. Let's make a list of why my life is shit, she thought sarcastically.
I have been kidnapped by Voldemort.
I don't know why I've been kidnapped, but I doubt very much that it's so that I can sit in a library, be fed chocolate and given flowers at regular intervals.
My friends have no idea where I am and have no way of finding me.
The Order of the Phoenix has no idea where I am and has no way of finding me.
The guy that I absolutely adore was drugging me, and even though I suspect he has feelings for me, I keep having to convince myself of this. It can hardly be called a strong relationship.
I have a cut on my head, and blood all over my face.
I'm hungry.
I'm sitting in a dark room, and I don't know where the room is. I don't know what time it is and I don't know how long I've been here.
Fantastic. Just bloody, fan-fucking-tastic. She sighed again and wondered what exactly she was going to do.
Lucius Malfoy was wondering exactly the same thing. It was all very well having the Mudblood down in his cellar, but he had absolutely no idea why the Dark Lord was keeping her. There was no way that Lucius would dare to question his Lord outright, but the few hints that he had dropped had been met with sibilant murmurs about using Granger. In Lucius' opinion, this was absolutely absurd. There was no way of forcing her to do their bidding really. Of course, Granger was a useful bargaining chip: Potter and Weasley seemed to be disproportionately fond of her. Although that in turn meant that they were going to be turning up at his lovely manor house with wands blazing.
And even worse than that, he had to deal with his son. Draco had stuck up for the Mudblood! He had tried to stop the Dark Lord doing what he wanted. Lucius wondered if he had taught his son anything at all. It was almost as though Draco had begun to think of the Mudblood as some kind of pet – trying to look out for her, train her properly. It was a laughable idea.
He stared out of his drawing room window, and looked at the immaculate lawn. No doubt it would soon be ruined by Potter and Weasley attempting to fight against Voldemort. Well…any sacrifice he supposed. Sighing irritably, he swished the curtains shut and stalked out of the room.
Draco heaved a sigh of relief. He, Harry and Ron had been squatting behind a bush for the past half hour as he watched his father's tall shadow stomping around in the drawing room. Now that he was gone, they could finally move. Harry and Ron had grudgingly taken the opportunity to tell him about the Horcruxes, swearing him to secrecy several times before they would begin to explain. Draco had nodded and then jolted slightly as they mentioned Hufflepuff's cup.
''We have that!''
''What?''
''We have it! It's sitting in a glass case in the study – Voldemort gave it to my father just before I went into the fifth year at Hogwarts, before Father lost favour. I don't think Father will know what it is in that case – he just thinks it's a pretty trinket.''
''Won't it be protected all the same?''
''No.'' Draco blushed slightly. ''I used it to drink with last summer. You know, delusions of grandeur and everything.''
Ron and Harry smiled reluctantly. Draco wasn't acting like a complete tosser and it was more than a little confusing. Harry frowned slightly in concentration. ''We have to get Mione out, that's our priority. But if we can get that cup…that solves a major problem. Ron, have you still got the basilisk fang?''
''Yes, it's on my key ring.''
''Shut up.'' Harry grimaced. ''So, we have to get the cup back to Hogwarts, which is risky…''
''We have one.''
''One what?''
''A basilisk fang. You seem to be forgetting that I come from a family that is more than slightly obsessed with the Dark Arts. We collect dangerous things like most people collect family photos. In fact, I think we have more dangerous artefacts than family photos. And even better, it's in the study with the cup. Father keeps all his things in glass cases, so he can gloat over them easily.''
''Oh. That's…that's really good.'' Harry was slightly shocked that Draco was turning out to be this useful.
''So, how do we do this?'' Ron asked, his tone slightly less tense now that Draco wasn't being a complete arse.
''Draco, can you get the cup, and destroy it?'' Harry asked. ''You just have to push the fang through the cup, and you'll probably get a load of black and red smoke coming out. Make sure you don't listen to it if it says anything.''
''And Hermione?'' Draco's face had set slightly mutinously. ''You don't know the way to the cellar, which is where Voldemort said to put her.''
''Well…'' Harry struggled for an answer. ''You could just tell us the way. I've got the invisibility cloak, so if you could just tell us the way...''
''You'd get lost. We have a big house.'' Draco gestured at the house that was towering into the night sky.
''We can wait until everyone's asleep and then go in, and get the cup, destroy it, and then go and get Hermione.''
''I…''
''I don't want to leave her there either Malfoy. But five extra minutes won't make a big difference, and Hermione would want us to destroy another Horcrux. We've got all the things that we need there, so we just need to make sure that we use them.''
''What about Hermione's wand?''
''We can summon that. As long as we're ready to run, it shouldn't matter if anyone notices.''
''You can't apparate inside the manor.''
''House elves can.'' Harry burst out. ''Do you remember a house elf called Dobby? He used to work here, but he came and warned me that bad things would happen at Hogwarts in my second year. House elves can apparate in and out of Hogwarts, and I bet Dobby can still get into your house!''
''Call him.''
''I…I can't…oh, wait a minute. Kreacher!''
With a sudden crack, the wizened old house elf appeared. Harry felt slightly awkward commanding him to immediately go back and get another elf, but quashed it. ''Can you go and get Dobby please? And don't tell anyone that I summoned you.''
Without a single word the house elf was gone and Dobby appeared, hugging Harry's knees and squeaking. ''Dobby, please be quiet. We're outside the Malfoy Manor.''
The house elf's eyes grew wide, and Harry immediately hurried to tell him what they wanted. ''Can you still apparate inside that house?''
Dobby confirmed that, for Harry Potter, he could do anything.
''Right Dobby, here's what we need you to do.''
Half an hour later, Draco was walking quietly through the deserted corridors of his house as Harry and Ron shuffled after him underneath the invisibility cloak. He flinched every time a floorboard creaked, imagining the wrath of all the Deatheaters coming down on his head, but they reached the study with no problems at all. True enough, the goblet of Helga Hufflepuff was sitting in a glass case, and a basilisk fang was in another case across the room. Hermione's wand was lying unguarded on the desk, so Draco quickly snatched it up, and moved towards the cup.
''Are you sure there aren't any protection charms on it? None whatsoever?'' Harry hissed. ''We can't afford to fuck this up.''
''I'm sure. Now shut up!'' Draco gingerly opened the door of the cabinet and took out the goblet. As he had said, no piercing shriek rang through the house, and they were able to place the cup on a nearby table. Draco moved straight away to the other dresser and pulled out the sharp tooth. Moving straight back over, he plunged it into the cup without any drama, and black smoke billowed out of it.
''It was that simple? I was expecting a little more drama.'' He whispered and then gestured towards the door. ''Let's go and get Mione.''
Tiptoeing through the house again, they made their way down to the cellar, the temperature dropping as they reached it. The thick stone walls felt almost damp to the touch, and the carpet gave way to tiles. ''I have no idea where she'll be.'' Draco muttered, more to himself than the others.
''How big is your bloody house?'' Ron hissed. ''How many prisoners do you actually keep down here?''
''We just have lots of cellars – we used to use them for storage but then the ministry cleared us out a while ago. Where is she?''
They turned a corner and immediately froze. Nott was seated in a deep armchair next to a thick door, fast asleep. Malfoy looked to where he assumed Harry and Ron were standing underneath the cloak, and nodded to indicate that they should retreat slightly. ''I didn't think they'd have a guard.'' He whispered. ''Clearly, they think Hermione without her wand is something to be reckoned with.''
''He's asleep, let's just stupefy him. It doesn't matter to us if he gets in trouble, and they're going to know that someone's been here anyway.'' Ron muttered. ''Harry, you can do it, your stupefying spells are good.''
Draco nodded, and Harry slid out from underneath the cloak and walked forward. Pulling his wand out, he peered round the corner, and aimed for a moment. ''Stupefy.'' The whisper sounded ridiculously loud in the quiet corridor, and the red flash seemed to have lit up the whole house, but there were no shouts of alarm, no one came running, and Nott sprawled in the armchair. ''Come on.''
The boys crowded around the door, but it wouldn't open. There wasn't a key hole, and Alohomora wouldn't budge it, in the same way that none of the grunted curses would. Finally, Draco pulled up the left sleeve of his jumper and flashed the Dark Mark at the door. Silently, it swung open.
''I suppose you do have some uses Malfoy.'' Ron looked as though it was killing him to say it, as the three of them lit up their wands and stared into the oppressive gloom. A tiny, huddled figure emerged out of the shadow, and opened its eyes.
Without even daring to look at her properly, dreading what he would see, Draco dashed forward and hugged her, raising her to her feet. ''Mione, we're going back to Hogwarts, just stand up, and don't say anything, ok? Be as quiet as possible.'' He motioned to Harry, who instantly called for Dobby.
Once again, the crack seemed loud enough to wake the surrounding countryside, but now it didn't matter. They formed a long chain, with Harry standing on one end holding onto Dobby, and Draco standing at the other supporting a swaying Hermione. Another loud crack snapped through the air, and then they were back at Hogwarts, standing in the deserted kitchen. Harry turned to Dobby.
''Thank you so much Dobby, you've saved…''
But he never got to finish his sentence because a thud echoed horribly through the kitchen. He spun around, his wand at the ready. Hermione was crumpled on the kitchen floor, with Draco already kneeling over her. ''She's fainted.''
Hermione looked absolutely awful. Her skin was ashen, and her hair was a tangled mess. Blood streaked one side of her face, culminating in a livid scab on her temple. ''Let's take her up to her room. She probably needs a bath, a good sleep and something to eat.'' Harry pulled out his wand to levitate her body, but Draco had already swept her up and was moving towards the door. He paused, and turned back around. ''Thanks Dobby. I owe you a lot.''
Ron pretended to faint as well. ''I do believe you're do something for other people!''
Draco smiled properly for the first time that day. Now that the worst seemed to be over, the tension seeped out of his body. ''Don't spread it around – I've got a reputation after all.'' They were climbing up the main staircase now, not even bothering to keep their voices down, just relieved to have Hermione back. Hogwarts seemed to be happy about it as well, seeing as no one challenged them as they walked back, despite the level of their voices. ''I mean, if people find out that I occasionally think of people other than myself…in fact, it's not worth thinking about!''
Pushing open Hermione's bedroom door, they lay her on the bed, pulling the covers over her, and leaving a drink of water on her bedside table. Draco kissed her on the forehead without a second thought and moved out of the room. Harry and Ron followed his motions (although slightly less lingeringly), and went downstairs, where he was already sitting in front of the fire.
''Drink? I even promise not to spike it.'' He got up without waiting for an answer and began pulling out cups and making coffee.
''You really do love her, don't you?'' Harry asked, taking the cup of coffee off Malfoy.
''Of course. There isn't a reason not to. She's incredible.''
''How are you going to explain everything to her?'' Ron asked.
''No idea. I guess I'll just tell her what I've told you, and hope she understands. If she doesn't want anything to do with me I'll completely understand.''
''You aren't the same person that you were.'' Harry immediately swore at himself, cursing himself for his idiotic choice of words. ''I mean, you've really changed.''
''Mmm. Realising that the man you're sworn to is a homicidal maniac tends to bring up some life questions. You know the sort: Why does he have to die? Why do I want to spend the rest of my life killing innocent people? Will I have to lose my nose as well? But I like my eyes this colour, why do they have to change? That kind of thing.''
Harry and Ron laughed. ''You said you wanted to join the Order.''
''Yes. First I wanted to join for Hermione. Now, I just want to join.''
''I'll send Hedwig off in the morning.'' Harry yawned slightly. ''Do you mind if we stay here this evening? I want to be here when Mione wakes up.''
''Not a problem, there should be enough room for you and Ron.'' They turned to look at the latter, but he was already asleep at the far end of the sofa, mouth open as he snored gently. Something suddenly clicked in Harry's head.
''You called him Ron.''
''That's his name, isn't it?'' Draco's eyes were cool, challenging him to make a big deal out of it.
''You've never called him Ron. Ever.''
''People change. I've saved someone very dear to both of us with him, and I don't really feel the need to call him Weasley anymore. Unless you think he would prefer that?''
''You being considerate is so amazingly weird.'' But Harry was smiling as he said it.
''I'm not complete scum to everyone – just to you. And seeing as I don't have to obey my father's orders any more, it makes a hell of a lot more sense to be civil.''
''You were ordered?''
''Yes.'' Draco refused to meet Harry's eyes. ''You weren't in Slytherin, you were definitely the enemy of Voldemort, and therefore I wasn't allowed to make friends with you. You think that's weird? You should have seen the logistics of my nursery.''
''And now?''
''Now, I'd rather be friends with you. Merlin, that sounds so fucking pathetic, but I love Hermione. She loves you, and I'm not going to hurt her anymore by mucking things up between her best friends. And after this evening, I may be forced to concede that you aren't the waste of space I've been told to see you as for the past seven years.''
''Thanks.'' Harry's eyelids were drooping now. ''You might not be the conceited little git that you've been for the past seven years.''
''Cheers Harry.'' Draco's sleepy eyes rolled in sarcasm. ''Will you listen to us? We sound like a pair of girls making up after a huge argument.''
''Whatever Draco.'' Harry was asleep now, and it didn't take long for Draco to follow him.