.::Chapter 6 -- Spared::.
Ron tried hard to keep the sobs in. He had truly loved Hermione, and now, because he refused to listen, she was dead. Because of him. Harry was extremely pale.
Suddenly, Harry caught sight of a black cloak whipping down the staircase. He didn't hesitate and followed after it quickly. Suddenly, he saw a person in a dark hood and a Death Eater's mask standing at the bottom of the steps. The person was behind a caldron.
"Farewell, Harry Potter," the voice hissed. It threw a dark liquid into the pot, and then dashed out the door. Harry froze for a moment, watching the liquid bubble up quickly. Then he flew up the stairs, shouting.
"Ron! Ron, get out of here! We're going to get blown up!" Ron leapt up and followed Harry to the window. They two attempted to wrench it open. Slowly, the wooden planks on it began to come loose.
"Quickly, Ron!" exclaimed Harry, but the window did not seem to be giving way any more.
A few moments later, the figure in the black cloak watched as the Shrieking Shack burst into flames and saw pieces of wood and glass flying into the air. As the rubble and dirt slowly drifted back to earth, the person smiled as they saw there was nothing left of the shabby building.
Hermione opened her eyes slowly. At first, all she could see was pitch-black darkness. She tried to stand up but found her hands and feet were tied. She struggled against the rope cutting into her skin for a few minutes, and then gave up in exhaustion. Her head ached terribly, and there was a dull pain in her back from where the floorboards had left marks when she was hit with the spell.
She rolled over desperately, trying the relive the pain in her back, and suddenly she let out a sharp gasp as her hand felt something cold below her. She felt it carefully, and discovered it was a nail. Her eyes lit up as she came up with a plan. She positioned her hands over the nail carefully, then dug her feet into the ground, pushing herself backwards. The nail caught on the rope and Hermione felt her bonds tugging against her. It was working. She tried again. This time, the rope nearly slipping over her palms. With one last try, she was free. She sat up and worked quickly on the ropes on her feet. Throwing them off of her, she pushed herself off the floor and felt her way around the dark room.
Suddenly, in the dim light, she saw a doorknob. Slowly turning it, she pushed the door open and stumbled into a brightly lit room. It seemed to be some type of a dining room, not too much different from the Malfoy manner. The table was adorned with candles and expensive plates, looking as if someone had just eaten. Hermione jumped as she heard soft voices to her left. Looking over carefully, she saw five men sitting on a sofa, talking angrily to each other. She stood behind the doorframe, listening in closely.
"Listen, Malfoy, it's the only way," said a tall black boy angrily. Sitting next to him were two fat men, Crabbe and Goyle, and another dark-haired boy who Hermione didn't recognize was near them as well. Draco looked extremely pale, although his side was bandaged tightly and did not seem to be bleeding anymore. His shook his head slowly.
"Zabini, you're asking the impossible," he declared. "Why shouldn't we go on living in hiding? Resurrecting the Dark Lord once again would be…suicide, why, you know that!" Zabini's eyes were gleaming.
"But think, Malfoy. You can finally get revenge on Potter for all that he's done. Isn't that worth it?" Draco looked for a moment as if he couldn't make up his mind.
"We don't need him, Zabini. We can do it on our own. We should destroy the horcrux." He reached forward to take a small box from Zabini's arms, but the tall boy knocked his hands away.
"NO!" roared Zabini. "We can't do it on our own, don't you understand? Potter is too strong-"
Draco laughed scoffingly.
"Potter?"
"Yes, Potter. You know yourself that he defeated the Dark Lord. If only he wasn't so hasty, he would have discovered this horcrux was still intact." Hermione gasped and started to back out of the room. She had to escape while she could and warn Harry.
The dark-haired boy turned and looked at her. She froze.
"My, my, my," he grinned. "Look who's awake." He rose and started to head toward her. She backed away slowly.
"Been listening in, have you?" Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly. Draco turned around and stared. Zabini suddenly reached out and grabbed Hermione by her hair and flung her to the floor.
"I'm afraid you've heard a little bit more than I'd like for you to have heard," Zabini said cruelly. "Well, I'll take care off that." He raised his wand.
"Stop!" shouted Draco. Zabini froze.
"What's it to you, Malfoy?" he sneered. "We were going to get rid of her anyway. Now's as good a time as ever." Draco looked panicked.
"Wait. Maybe she could help us." Hermione tried to crawl away but Zabini grabbed her arms and yanked her back.
"Really, Malfoy. That's pathetic," Zabini said, pinning Hermione against him and holding his wand to her heart. "Now…AVADA-"
"STOP!" screamed Malfoy. "Just stop. Listen. She knows more about all this than we do. If we could convince her to help us, she would be a valuable aspect." Zabini examined Hermione, who was trembling and crying. He shrugged and let her drop to the floor.
"Good point. Grabbe, Goyle, please show Miss Granger to her room." Hermione looked away quickly before the two men could grab her. She had to warn Harry.