A/N: Hate me all you want, I will seriously understand. I will update with the next chapter after the Harry Potter premiere. I have to spend time away from this computer. I really do. :) see you guys in a week!

Chapter Thirteen

Know It All

As Hermione sat in her room thinking about the past, the future, and just ignoring the present, she tried to figure out where she was going. The past had been so different, all she knew was gone from that time. And the future seemed so distant, so far away. It seemed like everything would be stuck in stand still for the longest time. And Hermione knew there was no way around it.

She was lost in her thoughts, when Draco walked in. It felt like it had been forever since he had last seen her. He wasn't sure what to say to her at this point. They hadn't tortured Maroon. But they had talked about what his punishment would be, and what they would do with him. Draco had heard the conversation and had seen Maroon's eyes trying to connect with his. He wanted to know where Hermione was, and whether she would be alright. The Dark Lord had talked a bit about Hermione.

Draco didn't know how to tell this to her. He had already told her how much trouble she was in, how big her role in all of this was. But he didn't know how he was going to explain it. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell her everything he had just heard. She still hadn't noticed Draco, but the two of them were in the same room, concentrating on their own thoughts.

Suddenly Draco cleared his throat, alerting her to his presence. Hermione stood up, greeting him with a smile, but there was something different about her. She had changed in the two hours since they had seen each other. But in what way, Draco didn't know. He walked in, a cautious smile on his face. Hermione could see that he was holding something back, but she wasn't sure what it was. For a few moments they stood there staring at each other.

"Hermione."

"Draco."

And then silence again.

"How was the... umm... meeting?" Hermione asked tentatively. Draco looked up at her, surprise hidden in his features. How did she know what not to talk about?

"Hermione, I can't lie to you. Not well. They discussed Maroon's punishment for leading the Rebel Force. By the sounds of it, it won't be long til the Dark Lord will make up his mind on what to do with Potter. And it won't be a long and happy life." Draco said looking at Hermione. Hermione nodded, she knew it would come to this. She knew that this would happen.

Suddenly there was an abrupt knocking at the door, and Draco got up to get it. It was Narcissa. "Draco, the Dark Lord wishes to see you. He has seen Dezi." She sounded worried. Draco immediately left, and Narcissa followed him and once again Hermione was alone to stew in her own thoughts. She was thinking about what she was going to do now.

The door opened and in came Dezi, looking harried and worried. Her breath was ragged and her eyes red and puffy with tears that had come and gone.

"He's seen me! Oh, Hermione he's seen me! I introduced myself as Desdemona Miles and before I could come up with a story I ran away. Hermione, he's gonna punish the Malfoy's! He doesn't know who I am and probably thinks I'm some spy. Oh god, Hermione what do I do?" Dezi curled up in a small ball and started crying. This was bad.

Hermione had no idea what would happen if Voldemort knew about the real origin of Harry and Desdemona. She had no idea what it would mean if Voldemort saw her. She just knew that either way it was bad, and could possibly mean the end of the Malfoys. Hermione slid down next to Dezi, unsure of what to say to the girl.

Narcissa walked in shortly after Dezi had, and she looked very serious.

"We have a problem. Because the Dark Lord saw Dezi, he believes Draco is cheating on Aria. And with that, he is punishing Draco. The Dark Lord has deemed you perfect to bear his children, and now Draco is going against what the Dark Lord agreed to. He is furious." Narcissa said, closing the door behind her.

"What will happen now?" Hermione asked, nervous about the whole ordeal. Would the Dark Lord find out about who Dezi was? And in turn, who Harry really was?

"We don't know. We will have to wait and see. But do not worry, the secret is safe for now." Narcissa said, rubbing Dezi's back.

"Everything will be okay." Hermione said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"You don't have to worry, nothing will happen to you." Narcissa said comfortingly.

Hermione and Dezi sat in the room quietly talking about the future, when Draco stumbled in. Hermione looked up at Draco, who looked worn and tired, and in pain. He looked at Dezi who somehow understood what he was trying to say. She got up and left, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder before she walked out.

"Hermione." Draco said greeting the woman in front of him before collapsing on the bed. She walked over and sat with him, hoping to ask him everything that was going on.

"So Draco... what happened in there?" Hermione started, but he just groaned into the pillow, it sounded like he wasn't willing to talk. But Hermione wasn't going to give up. She needed to know everything that was going on.

"Draco, please. How can I help you if you don't tell me what's going on?" Hermione said rubbing his back. He seemed to be very reluctant to talk to her, but she was determined. She really needed to know what was going on. Her life, Draco's life, Dezi's life, and even Harry's life were hanging on a thread here and every piece of information she had mattered.

"Please, Draco. Just tell me what went on in there!" Hermione said, this time a bit more forcefully. But when Draco sat up, she knew she had pushed too hard. He was angry, and his eyes gave it all away.

"You wanna know what happened? Let me tell you that those meetings are never pleasant. If we do something wrong, we get Crucioed, and if we do something right, we get critiqued on what we could have done better. Because the Dark Lord thinks I'm cheating on Aria, he beat me until I was unconscious, woke me up, then beat me again. He didn't even wait to hear if I was actually cheating on her, or you, whatever. So now we must get pregnant before the wedding so that he knows we are still actively together. And Harry will die by the end of tonight. So there, you know it all. Like always you have to know everything! Sometimes you just can't let it go, can you?"

"Harry's gonna die tonight?"

"Yes! And you know what, I'm gonna be forced to kill him because he's my prisoner! And after I kill him, I have to come up here and get you pregnant. Or I will die. You know everything Aria." Draco yelled loudly, then walked out of the room. Hermione sat down on the bed, tears running down her face. How could this have happened. Harry was going to die?

She had only one best friend in the world, and now he was going to die, by the hand of the man that was supposed to be the father to her first child? She was going to have any of it. This was going to end. And she knew how.

She snuck over to Dezi's room and entered. And they talked. And talked some more. They had a plan, and they were going to go through with it. They had to.

Draco was prepared for this. And while he knew how badly this would affect Hermione, he was sure he could do this. No one else knew how unfortunate this was. He, Draco Malfoy, was going to kill the Harry Potter. And while everyone already thought he was dead, and while the Dark Lord assumed that he was undefeatable, Draco knew he was indeed extremely vulnerable.

He walked down to the dungeons, hoping Hermione had put up silencing charms and spells so she wouldn't hear this. He slowly walked towards the door he knew was Harry's cell.

When he got there, he saw a note. A note? What the...?

Dear Draco,

I am sorry for what will happen. But I must think about the people who are in trouble.
If the Dark Lord wins, we will all be in trouble. I am sorry, Draco I really am, but we have
to think about the rest of the world. Please understand. I have taken both Dezi and Harry
and we are escaping from this place. We thank you and your parents for what they have
done. We've left the Polyjuice potion here. By tomorrow, the rest of the world will know that
Harry Potter is still alive.

Good bye Draco.

Aria