Author's Note: I had a very relaxing, fun time in SF today! And I was in a very good mood when I got back (despite having to finish up a problem or two for stats) so I decided to post a new chapter! Hope you guys like it.

Chapter 26

It's been two days since I last saw Granger in person. I've been watching her sleep for ten minutes a night, rationalizing it by saying that if I see her, then I won't think about her as much during the day. But it's just an excuse—I think about her whether or not I see her face.

I take another swig of Firewhiskey and look into the fireplace glumly.

Today was a long day. Voldemort decided that he wanted to see me use his new curse against some prisoners. It's not entirely new; it's really just a modification of the Cruciatus Curse. He hasn't thought up a good name for it yet, but the incantation is Crucio Locus, and the spell concentrates all of the pain brought on by the Cruciatus Curse into one location of the caster's choice on the victim's body. I can't even begin to imagine how much it must hurt.

I can still hear the screams.

The flames in the fireplace crackle loudly, and I notice that Theo's head is in the fire.

"Draco, are you at your place again? I'm blocked off again."

"Yes, I am. Did you need something?"

"Not really. Just a bit of nerves, actually," he says.

I frown. "Nerves? Do you have a new job, then?"

"Yes. We're going to kill two birds with one stone."

"What are you going to do?"

"We're going to rescue Rowle."

Immediately I start to worry. Rowle was captured by the Order. If Theo and the others are "killing two birds with one stone", then it's not hard to guess what the other "bird" is. Voldemort must want to catch the person who's receiving information from about the Death Eaters so that he can find the traitor—me.

"When?" I ask.

"I'm leaving in a few minutes."

"Who's going?" I ask.

"Dolohov, Travers, Crabbe Sr. and Goyle Sr.," he replies. "I'm surprised that he ordered me to go, instead of you."

Does he suspect me?

"It's probably because I'm working on something else at the moment," I reply.

And it's true. He seemed unsatisfied with the effect that his spell had on the prisoners today, and I'm supposed to be working on a new group tomorrow morning.

"Hmm yeah, you're probably right," Theo says.

"So, what exactly are you doing? I could give you a few tips, if you're nervous."

He gives me a grateful smile. "All I've really got to do is catch the Mudblood. The others will do the bulk of the fighting."

I almost lose my ability to speak, but I force my voice out anyway. "Mudblood? Not Mudblood Granger?" I ask.

"The one and only," he says.

Bloody fucking hell! She's going to be there tonight—she might be there even now. Fuck!

"Why do you have to capture her specifically?" I ask, playing dumb—if I look like I already know, it'll throw suspicion on me.

"Well, you heard about what happened to your aunt's forces at Nottingham, didn't you?" he asks. "I reckon we've got a traitor. The Dark Lord thinks that the Mudblood will know who it is."

I frown. "How does he know that she knows?"

Theo shrugs. "How should I know?"

Then I hear a bang on the other side, and he frowns, looking behind him.

"What's going on?" I ask him.

"I have to go. They're calling me. Thanks for talking to me, Draco."

I shake my head. "No problem, mate," I respond distractedly.

His face leaves the fire, and I get up, pacing worriedly. I pull the charm out from beneath my shirt and close my fist around it. She can't go. She can't be captured.

I don't even know where Rowle is being imprisoned. I can't go to help. I can't do anything.

I'm helpless.

Don't go, don't go, don't go.

My mind turns restlessly, wishing I could do more than simply alert her to danger. I storm into the bathroom, grab the stone basin, and return to the living room, where I drop the basin on the coffee table.

A moment later, I'm watching as she speaks to Rowle.

Why is no one else in the room? Did they leave her alone with Rowle? She seems completely normal, and I wonder if she checked her charm. I wrap my hand around my own charm again, focusing on a new word—DANGER. I keep my eyes open, refusing to take my eyes off her, so it takes a moment before the words are transferred over.

Her reaction to the burn is a hardly noticeable flinch. I watch as she turns her back to Rowle, saying something that I can't hear. Lupin opens a door and enters the room, and Granger says something to him before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

This outer room is empty.

Fuck, are there seriously only the two of them? They'll be no match for Dolohov, Travers, Theo, and Greg and Vince's fathers.

She pulls out the charm and reads the back. There's a confused expression on her face, but then she looks up, startled, and I notice that two hooded figures have entered the room. She seems to recognize Dolohov's mask, backing away from him hurriedly and firing curses at both intruders.

Theo enters the room, ropes firing from the end of his wand as he moves toward her. Dolohov and Crabbe Sr. have already entered the other room. Granger tries to Stun Theo, but he leaps to the side, and Goyle Sr. is struck instead. She evades the ropes and makes a run for the door, but Theo conjures a wall of fire, blocking it. Travers attempts to Disarm her, but the spell backfires, and he has to dodge to the side to avoid being hit.

Well, at least I know that the charm works.

I watch anxiously, gripping both sides of the water basin tightly, as she duels both Travers and Theo. Most spells are deflected or absorbed before they reach her, but I can tell that the power of the charm is wearing down. Fuck… where is Lupin? He has to get Granger out of there!

The door leading to the other fight is thrown open, and Rowle emerges. Damn it, that means Lupin is losing. Rowle joins in the fight against Granger, and her brows furrow in concentration as she fires curse after curse at her attackers—she seems to have realized that their spells can't reach her and is taking full advantage of that fact.

Then a Stunning Spell whizzes past her head and hits the wall behind her, making a small crack. Shit! The charm must have reached its limit. She maintains a Shield Charm around herself and attempts to edge toward the exit, only occasionally firing spells at the three Death Eaters.

Oh fuck, I can't watch this.

But I can't tear my eyes away from the image on the water.

Then the door to the adjoining room bangs open again, and Dolohov emerges with a bound and unconscious Remus Lupin levitating just behind him. Granger spares only a moment for shock before continuing toward the exit.

Dolohov barks something at her and points his wand at the unconscious werewolf, and Granger seems to hesitate, shouting something back at him. When he starts to say something else, she drops her wand to the ground.

"No!" I shout to my empty living room. "Fucking hell, Granger, no!"

Furious, I hurl the stone basin against the far wall. It collides loudly and falls to the ground, water splashing all over the hardwood floor.

Then I'm on my feet, pacing back and forth madly.

Where will they take her? Straight to Voldemort, I expect. After all, he's capturing her for the sake of finding out who has betrayed him. Fuck! I don't even care about being discovered—at this point, I would do anything to switch places with her. I'm still scared as hell of being the focus of the Dark Lord's wrath, but the mere thought of Granger being tortured…

I know I was attracted to, interested in, and perhaps even infatuated with Granger, but this… this feeling… it's indescribable.

Bloody hell.

I have to free her, even if it kills me.

Author's Note: Crucio Locus was a spell I made up; "locus" is latin for "place" or "location", at least according to what I found on the internet.

So, I have a question for you guys: a few readers have told me in the reviews that they don't like the repeated scenes from different perspectives, and while I personally prefer the way that I've written the story so far (because it feels more complete to me like this), I just want to have some more feedback from you guys about this. Would it be better if I alternated perspectives (ex: one conversation in Draco's perspective, the next in Hermione's), or should I keep it the way it is now?

I have to be honest though. Since I do have the last say in how I write my story, I might keep it the way it is. But I really do want to know what you guys think, because my readers' opinions matter to me. So I'd appreciate it if you left me a review telling me which you prefer.