.::Chapter 8 – Rescue::.
Draco felt himself fly backwards with the force of Zabini's blow into the glass cabinet behind him. He reached back to break his fall, but felt the glass break and slice through his hands. He let out a yell and pushed away, groping for his wand on the floor with bloody hands. He finally found it and used it to quickly heal his hands and dry the blood away. Stuffing the wand into his pocket, he ran outside the door after Hermione and Zabini, hoping he wasn't too late.
Without warning, he saw the figure of Zabini in front of him literally light up with the electricity of the lightening bolt. A beam of light flew from his wand and hit Hermione, knocking her to the ground. Zabini fell as well, letting out a scream of pain. Suddenly everything was quiet except for the steady drip of the rain. Draco ran up to both of them and knelt down.
Hermione had a look of fright on her face, but looked nothing like Zabini, whose entire body was contorted into an odd position, a look of horror twisted about his features. He was obviously dead. Hermione, though, was still breathing unsteadily. Draco carefully pulled her into his arms. She looked so beautiful, lying there. He nearly let himself think about what could be if the two were not enemies – if all this would not have happened – but he quickly brushed these thoughts from his mind. Zabini was dead, and the others would either run or help Draco as soon as they discovered this. His new plan for Harry Potter was beginning to form. But first he needed to destroy the horcrux.
"Ron?"
Harry found himself covered in dirt and debris. Seconds before the Shrieking Shack had exploded, he had run into the underground passageway, hoping for safety. He found himself trapped under several boards. Ron was nowhere to be found.
"Ron?" he tried again. He strained his neck, trying to see in the darkness. Suddenly, he saw a body lying to his right. It was covered in dirt and blood, and it was perfectly motionless. Ron.
"Ron!" he screamed, trying to claw his way to his friend. It was no use, as his legs were tightly pinned down. "Ron," he gasped again, tears running down his cheeks. He knew it without thinking it. His friend was dead.
Hermione woke up in a brightly lit room. The first thing she thought was how comfortable she felt. The thick, silky sheet below her kept her warm and cozy. Then she realized that she didn't know where she was. She tried her best to remember something, anything.
Hermione Granger. Her name. She was a witch.
Her arm around a blonde boy's shoulder.
A tingling feel on her lips from a kiss.
She tried to make sense of it all. Why couldn't she remember more?
Harry woke from his dreamless sleep. The sun was high in the sky. It had been hours, maybe days since he had been trapped under this plank. He was loosing life slowly, and was so hungry. He felt weak and dizzy from dehydration. If only someone would come and save him – Hermione. He let out a weak moan and passed out.
"Potter!" said a voice sharply above him. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the pale face of Draco Malfoy in front of him.
"Damn it, Malfoy!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Just let me die. You already killed Ron and Hermione. What else could you want from me?" Draco frowned.
"I didn't do this, Potter," he said calmly. "Zabini did. He wanted you dead. And Weasley."
"I don't believe you," hissed Harry. Draco shrugged.
"What choice do you have?" he said. "You can either believe me and let me help you, or you can die here."
"I would rather die."
"Ah, I would prefer that," said Draco carelessly, "but it seems that you are needed."
Harry glared at him.
"There was an addition horcrux," continued Draco, "that you so carelessly overlooked."
"I don't believe you!" roared Harry, his voice cracking. Draco rolled his eyes.
"You've already told me that; I know. Just for your information, your blood-traitor's Mudblood finance is still alive." Harry froze. "And if you want it to stay that way, I recommend you help me out with destroying the horcrux. I'm not too fond of resurrecting the Dark Lord myself, see. I have my own plans for revenge."
Harry stayed perfectly still for a moment, then hung his head.
"I'll help you, Malfoy. As long as there is something I can do in memory of Ron, I'll do everything and anything."
Hermione slipped slowly out of bed. It had been several days since she had woken up in this bed, yet nobody but nervous house-elves had come in and given her food and drink. She had been too sore and hurt to get up, but now she felt much better. She opened the door with a creak and gasped as she saw the boy from her memories standing there.
"Good morning, dear," he said warmly, embracing her. She hesitantly hugged him back.
"Do you know what day today is?" inquired the boy pleasantly. Hermione stared curiously at him.
"It's our one-month wedding anniversary!"
Hermione stared at the boy blankly. She wondered if what he was saying was true. He was indeed the same boy she remembered slipping her arm around, because he had the same light-blonde hair and pale skin. He was extremely handsome, and although a caring look was on face, she could tell he was haughty underneath it all. Still, were they really married?
"Are you all right, Hermione?" the boy said. "When that thief attacked you, he cast a memory charm on you, and I was hoping it wasn't too effective, since he was struck with lightening. I have him locked below in our dungeons, until the Ministry of Magic arrives. He's lucky he survived.
Hermione nodded in confusion. What was this boy talking about?
"What is your name?" she asked uncertainly. The boy smiled sadly at her.
"Draco Malfoy. Do you mean to tell me you've forgotten my name, too?" Hermione was taken aback by the look of utter sadness on his face that changed to an almost disparaging look of disappointment. She couldn't bear it. He was the only person in her world now. The person who held the key to helping her understand everything.
"I'm sorry," she cried. He turned and looked at her. Then he smiled.
"That's all right," he said. "You'll understand it all soon."
Harry paced his cell furiously. Draco had lied to him. Draco had already known how to destroy the horcrux, and the moment Harry had entered the house, he had been hit with a stunning spell and woken here. All he cared about was if Hermione was alive or not. He had already lost Ron. He couldn't bear to loose Hermione.
Suddenly a door screeched open to his right, and he turned and saw Draco entering the room smugly. A brown-haired girl walked in after him, and Harry gave a cry as he saw it was Hermione. She looked so pale and confused – nothing like the Hermione he had last seen. He ran forward, straining to get through the cell bars, but he could not. Draco stared at him smugly.
"Hermione, this is the disgusting thief you made you loose your memory," he spat.
Hermione stared blankly at Harry.
Harry was taken aback. "Hermione! Don't you remember? It's me, Harry! Please, Hermione." Draco shook his head.
"Don't let him fool you, darling. He's a liar."
Hermione stared at Harry and then Draco, and then back to Harry again. Then her face twisted into a look of horror. "You're terrible!" she screamed at Harry, clinging onto Draco. "How could you do this to me? I can't even remember my own husband!"
Harry let out a shout. "Draco, you liar!" he nearly screamed. "How could you trick her, especially when she's in this state! Hermione," he called out, "look on your finger. Look at your ring."
Hermione looked at him.
"Ron gave that to you, Hermione," continued Harry in a panicked voice.
Hermione shook her head. "Your the liar! Draco gave this to me. Stop lying. You're pathetic. I don't even know who you are!" Harry didn't say another word. Instead, tears welled up in his eyes, and he turned away. Draco slipped his arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"It's all right, dear. It will all be okay."
Suddenly, five wizards appeared in the room with a slight pop. They all had their wands out, pointing at Harry. Draco lifted his wand and the cell door swung open. Harry didn't even resist with the tallest Auror pointed his wand at him, making chains appear from midair, snaking around Harry's arms. Another Auror grabbed Harry's arm and disappeared with a pop. A man wearing a suit walked up to Draco.
"Edward Sloan, Ministry of Magic. He's on his way to Azkaban right now, where he will await trial. I'm sorry for the wait." Draco nodded.
"That's perfectly fine. Thank you for your assistance." The man nodded quickly and disappeared silently. Draco looked at Hermione. Suddenly another memory appeared in her head. Draco lying on the floor, bleeding. And she was standing over him, a piece of glass in her hand.
"What did I do?" she shrieked in alarm. "Oh, Draco! I think I remember…hurting you!" Draco looked puzzled for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, Hermione," he said, "It's all right. You were having a hard time then. Just…a lot of anger." Hermione began to cry. Draco almost felt bad for what he was doing to Hermione, then changed his mind.
"How could you ever forgive me for doing that to you?" Draco reached forward and brushed a tear from her cheek. Now that he had Hermione, she had almost become a burden to him. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he was going to hurt Potter in the cruelest way possible. Potter was going to watch as Hermione slowly fell in love with him and thought Potter only a common thief. He turned to Hermione and lied.
"Because I love you. You're mine, forever."