Chapter 43

Draco watched in horror as his parents came back into the room. Now that his disguise had been taken off, he had no idea how they would react to him being alive. It wasn't so much of his mother's reaction he was worried about – he knew she would be ecstatic that he had survived. No, it was his father whom he feared. Would he be angry? How about disappointed that Draco had failed? Had his father even cared that Draco had been 'dead'?

In the last few months Draco had tried to avoid thinking of his father as much as possible. He knew that so many people probably had worse childhoods, where things that Draco couldn't even begin to fathom had occurred. But at the same time his was no picnic. No child should grow up living in fear of their parents; no child should grow up wanting nothing more than their approval and their love. It only caused problems in the child's attitude. Draco had handled it the only way he could, by trying to making himself feel superior. He would gloat about his vast amount ancestral wealth and use every opportunity he could to rub his blood purity in the faces of those who he deemed inferior to himself.

He wished he could blame the way he acted on his father. Hell, a lot of it stemmed from his childhood and his own insecurities. But to try and blame it all on that would be incorrect. A lot of it was also him and his own doings; not because it made him feel good and it raised the esteem that his father would curse out of him, but because he wanted to do it. He would hurt others simply because he could. It sounded awful to him now, and nothing in the world could justify it. Yet somehow he had been redeemed. Somehow he had become good enough for Hermione Granger, and the rest of the Order.

Draco had not been surprised to see his mother's face light up when she entered the room for the first time since he had arrived. However the expression on his father's face was not what he expected. There was no hatred, no anger, and definitely no disappointment. Instead there was…happiness; an expression Draco had rarely seen on his father's face.

"Draco?" His mother cried out, as she ran towards him. She wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Oh my baby, I thought you were dead," she sobbed.

"I'm fine, Mother," Draco said softly as he returned her hug. "I've been a captive of the Order," Draco said, trying to keep his story consistent.

His Mother pushed some of his hair out of his face. She looked unconvinced of his story; however she did not say anything about it.

Draco's attention turned to his father. "Father," he said coolly. "I see you're doing well."

"Draco," Lucius greeted warmly. "I'm glad to see you alive, Son." There it was, short and simple. But it was enough to let Draco know that something had changed between the two of them and their relationship.

"Well now that this little reunion is over, I think we need to get back to the matter at hand, how Miss. Granger happened to get in my vault at Gringotts," Bellatrix said impatiently. Ah how his aunt had a way of ruining moments.

"I didn't," Hermione squealed. "Please believe me! I swear I didn't do it."

"Shut up you stupid bitch," Draco snapped at her. Everything about his face remained cold, to give the impression of hatred, except for his eyes. They held the warmth that Draco wished he could express towards her. He had no idea how they were getting out of the house, but until he figured it out he couldn't afford to lose his cover.

"Tell the truth," Bellatrix commanded her. She kneeled over Hermione's body which was lying in a crumpled manner on the floor of the house. "Tell me how you got my sword."

"I didn't. Please…" Hermione begged her.

"WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAKE FROM MY VAULT? Bellatrix said sharply. Draco's attention turned to her suddenly. What did she mean by that? Why would she be so worried about other things in the vault? There was nothing there that would cause her to fear Voldemort, unless…

"N-Nothing," she said, her voice hoarse from all the yelling.

"Crucio," Bellatrix said, slashing her wand through the air. "This is what happens when you choose to lie, Mudblood."

Hermione's screams rang though the Manor, and Draco felt his blood chill. He wanted his aunt to stop torturing Hermione, but he didn't know how to get her to do it without it being suspiciouis. He nearly fell to his knees from the anguish he felt because of his aunt. He hated her, more than anything in the world. And he hated himself for not being able to do anything to help the girl he loved against his family.

"Let's try this once more, shall we? How did you get into my vault to take that sword?" Bellatrix asked Hermione, her voice not at all showing any remorse for her pain.

"It's a fake! I swear, it's a fake," Hermione cried out, whimpering in agony.

"It should be easy enough to check that," Lucius said as he intervened his sister-in-law. His voice did not betray any emotion toward the girl. Did he know? Did he know that Draco loved her more than anything in the world? Draco's heart raced as he tried to figure out Lucius' intentions.

"Get the Goblin," Bellatrix commanded Lucius, and he swiftly left the room.

Draco held in his breath as his father returned with the Goblin. The sword was real, and the Goblin would know that. Goblins did not care for humans or their fights. They were neutral towards all of it, so why would the Goblin do anything to save Hermione?

The Goblin examined the sword carefully, and without even looking up, it responded, "It's a fake."

Draco nearly choked. The Goblin had lied for them, but why? Did he get sick of how he had been treated during his time in the dungeons? That was the only thing Draco could think of to justify the Goblin's actions.

"Are you sure?" Bellatrix breathed. She was on the edge as she waited the confirmation.

"Yes," The Goblin said, confirming his statement. "I am quite sure."

All the worry and fear washed away from his Aunt's face, and relief flooded it. She looked like her life had been spared, which it very well might have been.

"Good," she said, her eerie smile returning to her face. "Now we can call the Dark Lord and turn over Potter. And I am sure he will be pleased to have you back, Draco."

Draco felt slightly sick. He had no idea how to stop it. He looked over at Blaise, who was standing firmly against the wall. He had watched the entire exchange silently, trying not to draw any attention to him. However, Draco noticed how his wand was gripped tightly in his hand which rested at his side, as if he were ready in case something were to happen.

Draco's thoughts were scrambled when he heard a noise from the cellar bellow. It wasn't loud, per say, but it was enough to capture the attention of everyone in the room.

"Did you hear that?" Bellatrix asked sharply. "Wormtail," Bellatrix commanded, and the short man came through the doors quickly. "Something's happened in the dungeons, Wormtail go check on the prisoners."

The room remained quiet while they waited for Wormtail to return, with the exception of his Mother fussing over him.

"I'm fine, Mother," Draco said softly. "I've missed you."

"And I you," she said gently.

They heard a loud bang in the hallway, and Draco winced as he tried to think of what it could be. There was then the sound scurrying in their direction, and his head turned in the direction of the doors.

"Took you long enough, Wormtail," Bellatrix snapped. However, when the door opened it was not Wormtail who entered. Instead, he was greeted with the sight of Harry, Ron, and Theo.

Harry ran through the hallways of Malfoy Manor next to Ron, with Nott guiding them. They hadn't had the time to formulate a plan, and instead they were simply going to attempt a rescue. Currently, the three of them only had Wormtail's wand on them, which Harry was yielding at the moment.

They burst through the doors which Hermione was being held in, and in the process, startling the inhabitants.

Hermione was on the ground and her face displayed the obvious pain which she had endured. Draco was standing with his aunt as his parents stood at the edge of the room. It was clear that Draco had been caught and his façade had been taken off. Harry had been confused for a moment before realizing that he must have pretended to have been captured, as Dumbledore had instructed while he was still alive, if he was even dead now. Seeing Dumbledore's eye in the mirror had left Harry wondering about the possibility that he could still be alive.

"How did you get out?" Bellatrix hissed at them, as she raised her wand at them.

"Expelliarmus," Harry shouted at her, raising Wormtail's wand. However, between the wand not working anywhere near as well for him as his now broken wand had and the fact that Bellatrix was standing so close to Draco, it was the latter who had been disarmed. Harry blamed it on the disadvantage of the borrowed wand as he saw the Slytherin's wand flew through the air, landing in his hand.

Bellatrix, who had been momentarily shocked by his action, started flinging curses at the three escapees. One of her spells hit Nott straight in the chest, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Theo!" Zabini called out at the sight of his fallen friend.

"I'm…fine," Nott said as he panted for air.

As Zabini rushed to Nott's side he threw his wand at Hermione. The action had startled Bellatrix, who looked confused about Zabini's actions. She stood up weakly from the ground and used Bellatrix's momentarily dropping of her guard to bind her.

"Petrificus Totalus," Hermione said, binding Bellatrix to the ground. She walked over to the lady who had tortured her relentlessly and picked up her wand. "How does it feel to know a mudblood is taking your most prized possession from you?" She asked her softly.

Bellatrix lay firmly on the ground, and while she couldn't move, her eyes showed the anger that she felt over the situation.

Hermione turned to Zabini and tossed him back his wand as she continued to yield the Bellatrix's wand. Harry nearly smiled as he saw the odds change to their favour.

Draco stood over his aunt's bound body as he watched Blaise and Theo cast binding charms upon his parents. Unlike his aunt, it was only ropes that kept them immobile.

He turned his back on his parents as Harry handed him back his wand. He didn't want to see their faces when they found out how he betrayed them for what he knew was right.

"We have to Obliviate them," Blaise said silently as he walked up to him. Draco knew that he, Theo, and Blaise would all need to talk once they got out of the Manor, but the unspoken forgiveness was clear in his tone. "Otherwise He'll know exactly what happened."

Draco nodded absently. "Hermione, if you will," he begged her. While he was more than capable of doing the charm, he didn't want to be the one who did it.

She squeezed his arm gently. "Of course," she said softly, before walking over to his aunt. Blaise watched the interaction silently, without saying a word. Instead, he turned to face Bellatrix.

"Oblivate," Hermione said, and instantly his Aunt's eyes became unfocused. "Should we knock her out?"

Blaise nodded. "Let me," he said, addressing Hermione before looking at Bellatrix. "The next time I see you, it will be an even battle, and then I will destroy you for everything you did. I will cast every single spell I can think of at you to pay you back for murdering my poor mother. But for now, Stupefy."

Draco blinked. Blaise's mother was dead? So much had changed in the months Draco had been gone, and he couldn't even imagine what his friends had gone through.

He turned to face his parents, knowing he would have to eventually.

"Don't oblivate us," his mother said in a pleading tone.

"We can't risk that you'll tell You-Know-Who that we were here," Draco said softly. It sounded weird to address his mother as if they weren't on the same side. They had always been before, and he felt a bit of sadness knowing that they were on different sides of the war.

"I know," his mother replied gently. "We won't tell him, Draco. But I need to remember that I saw you and that you were healthy. Draco…these last few months have been a living hell, not knowing where you were or how you were doing. And before your father spotted you on Potter's transfer from his muggle Aunt and Uncle's house, I thought that my only child, my baby, was dead. I just need to know that you're okay."

She paused for a moment, allowing Draco to take in her little speech before continuing. "I don't care that you joined the Order, Draco. I don't care that you are in love with Miss Granger, and before you try and protest it, remember that I am your mother, and I know these things. I don't care that you've thrown away every single value that you've been taught, because you're alive. And if you hadn't thrown them out it might have actually been your body that was lifeless on the tower, and not just there under the influence of a false spell. So please, Draco, let me remember seeing you, and I swear I won't tell the Dark Lord about your involvement. Bella won't remember, and when she wakes up she'll be startled and confused."

Draco just looked down. Sure, his mother might have been fine with it; after all she had practically told him to join the Order in the first place. But how would his father react?

"Draco," his father said gently, waiting for Draco to look at him before continuing. "Son, I know I haven't been the greatest father as you grew up. I was strict and I was unnecessarily hard on you. But I love you Draco. And thinking that you were dead, I felt as if I had failed somehow. What's the use in having a perfect pureblood son who achieved the top grades, only for him to die? I would have given anything to have a second chance with you, to make it all right. And now…." his father paused as he choked on tears silently, "Now I see you here, in one piece, and I want nothing more to try again with you, Draco. I can't leave the Dark Lord or he will kill us. But I will be damned if I let him get you too. Draco, I want you to be happy. And If I don't see you again, then I want you to know that I am proud of you, and that I love you."

Draco found himself unable to breath. He shook silently and felt something wet on his cheeks. He looked to Hermione, and saw her nod at him. Using his wand, he unbound his parents from the charms. It was a risk, he knew they could always have been lying, using the words a mechanism to throw him off. But it was a risk he was willing to take.

He walked towards his mother who instantly wrapped her arms tightly around him, "Oh my baby, my baby boy. I thought you had died." She wept, tears flowing freely, as she repeated the phrase over and over.

His father joined the hug, pulling the two of them strongly into his arms. "We're going to make it out of this, as a family," He said firmly. Lucius Malfoy was not one to show emotion. The last few months must have done a number on his father, but Draco was not complaining. His father and he still had a long ways to go before the pain he had inflicted on Draco was anywhere near gone, but his father was trying, genuinely trying, and that counted for a lot.

There was a pop from behind him. He turned around to see Dobby, his father's old elf standing behind them. Was that the way that they were getting out of his house?

"We need to leave," Harry said gently, and the embrace with his parents ended.

His mother gave him a sad smile, "Go, Draco," she said. "Go and be safe."

"Until next time, Draco," His father said as he picked up Draco's wand hand. "You must knock us out before you leave. The Dark Lord will not take too kindly to this, but as long as we make sure he doesn't find out that you were here, any of you, it will go fine. We will suggest that Theo and his fellow inmates found a way to break Blaise out, and nothing more. We will take care of all the Snatchers who caught you as well. But for now you must stun us."

Draco nodded. He held his wand firmly and aimed for both his parents. "Stupefy," and in one clean movement, both his parents were knocked out. Draco laid them gently to the ground, trying to make them comfortable.

Tiredly, he turned to his companions, "Let's leave."

None of them said anything. Hermione simply held his hand tenderly as she grabbed on to Harry. The six of them were attached to Dobby, and with a pop they had left the Manor.

Spotting Shell Cottage, the place where he knew Bill Weasley and his wife to be staying, he relaxed slightly. It had been a long few hours, and it most definitely had not gone the way which he had expected. He hoped however that it would not be the last he saw of his parents, especially after everything that had happened.

A/N: Yes, Dobby lived. It just didn't fit with my story like to kill him off, so I'm going to let him survive. Besides, I love Dobby and his death was one of the most tragic deaths in the novel.