They arrived at an iron gate, distraught with time, yet still gleaming with the taciturn conceit of prosperity. Inscribed on a rusting silver sign on the gate, were the words "Malfoy Manor".
Hurriedly, Hermione cast a bit of wandless magic on Harry, who immediately began to cringe and shudder as his face contorted wildly; his cheeks bulging like Ron's during Christmas feast, his eyes appearing beady and watery, and his mouth twisting up into an agonizing pucker. Harry himself, inwardly thanked Hermione for her ingenuity, but suffered from the aching pain she inflicted upon him.
Hermione gulped, plans of action racing through her mind, as of how to escape the place they hadn't even entered yet. She comforted herself with the thought that Draco was most likely at home, but her hopes immediately soured as she realized there wasn't much he could do to help them...if he even decided to. 'What are we?' she wondered to herself. 'I wouldn't necessarily call us friends...'
However, she never got the opportunity to think about her affiliation with Draco Malfoy, as another figure, further off in the distance, opened the door with a huff, and walked rapidly down to the gate. Her twisted black hair hung precariously over her face, and she was dressed in a copious amount of black material, that tossed in the wind as she walked.
"What is your business here, Scabior?" she asked, her tone disdainful. She peered through the gate at the Snatchers, who were concealing Ron, Harry, and Hermione with the invisibility cloak.
Scabior, apparently the head Snatcher, unveiled his find of the day—The Golden Trio.
Bellatrix's eyes widened, and a smile of satisfaction graced her haughty features. "Well." She began, beckoning them inside. "I suppose we can accommodate your circumstances in the drawing room."
The Snatchers shuffled them inside, most of them gazing around the manor excitedly, as if they were there predominantly to steal the Malfoy's possessions.
"Don't touch!" Bellatrix snarled, slapping the hand away of a rather daft Snatcher. She marched them into another room, presumably the drawing room, where the Malfoys were gathered together.
"CISSY!" Bellatrix called, dragging Harry forward. "I've brought guests!"
Narcissa and Lucius stepped forward, excitement gleaming in the latter's eyes. "Is it really?" Lucius asked, reaching one hand out to push Harry's hair from his forehead.
"I dunno..." said Scabior, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Could be someone else under the Polyjuice Potion...someone Potter's sent to confuse us..."
At the mention of Harry, Draco turned quickly, suddenly intrigued by his father's conversation...or rather, whether Hermione was with them...He felt a sharp stab in his chest, and his heart pounded fearfully, as he caught her eye. He tried to manage a smile for her, but, remembering his place in the situation, he looked away, dreading what he'd hoped his father wouldn't ask him next...
Lucius frowned, ceasing his inspection of Harry's scar. "Or, you foolish nitwit...it could be Potter under a charm..." He turned around, calling to his only son. "Draco! Come..."
Draco swallowed in trepidation, walking over to Harry at his father's orders.
"Is this the real Potter?" his father asked of him, pushing him closer.
Draco pretended to inspect Harry, after already concluding that he was, in fact, the real Potter, and avoided Hermione's gaze, as well as Ron's, who was glaring at him menacingly.
"Er...I don't think so..." he said, wincing as he felt his father's grip on his shoulders tighten. "But...it...it could be..." Draco finished uneasily, looking to Lucius for approval.
Bellatrix, who was lazily twirling her wand between her fingers earlier, suddenly cried out furiously, "What is this?!" She grabbed a gleaming, silver sword out of one of the Snatcher's rucksacks. Said Snatcher looked at her proudly, as though it were that difficult to grab an obvious-looking sword from Hermione's beaded bag.
"Found it in the little Mudblood's bag..." he replied. "We reckoned that it belonged to us...we'll probably fetch a few Galleons for it on Knockturn Alley..."
"A few Galleons?!" Bellatrix fumed. "I reckon it belongs in my vault, not some Mudblood's purse, or in the grasp of some filthy Snatcher!" With a few irate flicks of her wand, she conjured a myriad of ropes, which tied all the Snatchers up seamlessly, and sent most of them tumbling down on the floor, their bags of stolen goods scattering on the marbled floor.
"Madwoman!" one of them shouted frightfully, attempting to release himself from the ropes that would only strangle him tighter.
"Draco, send them outside!" she yelled for him loftily, her sights now set on Hermione, who was trembling despite her release from her captor.
Draco went quickly outside, dragging the Snatchers behind them with his wand, and hoped to get back before Bellatrix decided to do anything to Hermione. "Get out of here!" he shouted at them, opening the gate, and pushing them out. "When are you gonna release them ropes? And where's our bags?!" one of them protested.
Draco regarded him coldly. "There are things more important than your idiotic thievery." He said, shutting the gate closed with a bang.
'Things like whether Hermione Granger is lying dead in the middle of my floor or not...' he thought gruesomely to himself.
He sprinted back to the Manor, fearing the worst, yet holding his worries back, in fear of his family discovering his sympathy for a Mudblood.
And as he stopped before the room, his heart leapt in his throat. Harry and Ron were nowhere to be found, and Hermione was lying on the floor, Bellatrix was poised over her with a knife, and his parents were sitting by the fireplace, completely oblivious to her cries.
...Basically his worst fears at the moment.
Draco paced outside the drawing room, his heart racing, and thoughts swarming his mind. 'What am I supposed to do now?!' he panicked, trying not to take notice of Hermione's blood-curdling screams.
'Okay, I can go in there, stun Aunt Bella and father, and then run with Hermione like the wind!' After a couple moments of contemplating that plan, he mentally slapped himself as he realized the stupidity of it all. 'What if...I ask her if I can help?' he began to think. 'And then apparate away with Hermione?'
He tapped his foot impatiently. 'But what if she gets splinched or something, she's already lost enough blood!' he thought, frustrated. His train of thought instantaneously halted, as he heard Bellatrix shriek, "Crucio!", and Hermione pleading with her to give mercy. He felt tears prod the corners of his eyes as he listened, afraid to take action.
'It's Hermione or nothing.' He thought, as he abandoned all logic and ran straight into the drawing room. "Wait!" he shouted, cringing as he heard the urgency in his voice. Bellatrix looked up at him questioningly, the her sadistic glint still shining maniacally in her eyes. Draco tried not to look down at Hermione, who was bleeding endlessly onto the floor.
"I would like to torture the Mudblood." He said daringly, triumphing as Bellatrix stood up, and patted him on the back. "Ah, my nephew has finally adopted my good genes!" she cackled. "Have a go, the Mudblood's free!"
Narcissa turned around slowly, raising her eyebrow at Draco's sudden interest in torturing her. After all, it was she, who comforted her son as he lay in bed, crying forbidden tears. It was she, who held his hand under the banquet table as the Dark Lord decided to torment his newest victim as they dined. And it was she, who made the Unbreakable Vow with Severus Snape, to ensure his safety as he was granted the task she knew he would never be capable of carrying out. And she watched him avoid her eyes, because he knew it too.
Draco reached up for Bellatrix's dagger, flinching as he saw her handiwork on Hermione's arm; the word 'Mudblood' carved haphazardly onto an expansion of pale skin.
Bellatrix recoiled, raising her eyebrow at Draco, who compared her stare for a moment, to his mother's. "Are you not going to use the Torture Curse?" she demanded, straightening her black corset with one hand, and stroking the edge of her dagger with the finger of another.
Draco gulped, pushing back the urge to vomit as he noticed Hermione's crimson blood glistening on the blade. "N-No..." he said weakly. "I'd rather do this without a wand. See her blood dripping from my fingers..."
"Your bloodlust is admired, my nephew!" Bellatrix beamed at him, handing over her precious dagger. "Have a go."
Draco took it from her carefully, and then to his mother, who was watching him curiously. He stood, staring back at her for a few seconds, until finally, she gave a curt nod. As to whether she approved of him torturing a Mudblood, or saw through his tentative lie, Draco did not know. But he felt consoled for a moment, as he knelt down by Hermione's side, grabbing her arm roughly. She moaned, and opened her eyes, which widened as she saw him. Grabbing the dagger tightly in his hands, he brought it down violently...on the floor.
"Draco, what are you doing?" Bellatrix challenged. "Just aim for her arm, boy!"
He looked up into her crazed eyes, and nodded, imperceptibly. "Sorry, Aunt Bella. I'll have another go. I just...I just need to get a bit closer..."
With that, he collapsed on top of Hermione, and apparated the both of them away. To where? Neither of them knew.
Author's Note- *evil laugh* See, another chapter! Yay! Lol, there will be a lot more romance in the future...just you wait and see...