Author's Note

WARNING: There will be rape scenes during the Malfoy's torture and if you are uncomfortable with reading it simply skip through. I did mention last chapter that dark was coming… Thanks for all the support! I'm even busier because I got a new job! A lot of REVEALS/different perspectives this chapter :)) And a good song to listen to for this chapter is Everything is Lost by Maggie Eckford. Thanks for reading!

Previously on Hideaway

FLASHBACK CHAPTER ONE: Harry was currently investigating a breach in the wards at Gringotts with a search team.

"A student has been taken hostage in the Astronomy tower!"

"Why?" Hermione said loudly. "Why can't you tell me?"

"Just go to bed it's nothing you need to worry about." Draco said not looking at her.

They seemed to be dangling now by whatever thread was holding the elevator. Hermione screamed and Draco squeezed her tighter before everything went black.

"How does it feel to be the one to pull the trigger? You fucking idiots are too ignorant for your own good. Thank you mighty ministry for helping us get what we needed. Until next time."

"It's mum. She found a package at her door gifting her a gold snake necklace from Charlie. She tried it on and it began to choke her. The second time someone's tried to kill Mrs. Weasley."

He hadn't heard from them in a week and what if, Adelia did put some sort of tracking spell on Ara?

Krum never grew tired as he threw curse after curse setting Draco's body aflame with a burning sensation that made him want to beg for mercy.

Days passed, weeks, months? Hermione had no fucking clue what day it was. All she knew was that each day was something out of hell. Pain every day, more pain then she thought she could handle. The thing about torture of a family is that you can hit all the birds with a single stone. Krum had tortured Draco so many times, she had lost count and her her voice. Torturing Draco was physical torture for him but an indescribable kind of torture for her. Watching helplessly from the sidelines as he was being tortured was one of the hardest things to do. And Ara. Her sweet baby Ara, she hadn't seen since one of Krum's goons tore her from her grasp.

Hermione and Draco's minds had been searched various times by Valentina fucking Simmons who gleefully flipped through their minds as if it were some gossip magazine. They had found out a lot about how they were operating with Lestrange as their leader. And that could only mean one thing. There was no need to watch what they said in front of the prisoners because that's what they would remain. Prisoners and then corpses.

Lestrange called shots and his goons would carry it out. Krum was involved in this greatly and they were currently being held in the school dungeons of Durmstrang, where Krum was apparently a professor. He lived a double life. Ex-quidditch star/professor asshole by day, perverted torturer by night.

They hadn't found out much about the women who had been kidnapped but according to them had not been kidnapped.

Hermione hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the past few days. She found herself watching Draco carefully to make sure he breathed. After intense torture everyday he was losing his strength and she feared for his life. They had moved them from hanging from the ceiling to separate cells next to each other. She reached a shackled hand between the bars to hold his as he slept fitfully. She heard movement outside their cells and remained still praying Krum wasn't back to hurt Draco more.

"Yes Adelia George is off gathering memories." Lestrange said to someone who after a moment could be heard retreating. Adelia George their healer? Bloody hell that means London was back and Adelia was gone? Krum could be heard skipping down the hall making Hermione roll her eyes but clutch Draco's hand harder.

"Harry fucking Potter was just here with his redheaded orangutan." Krum huffed with annoyance. "Questioning me about writing the letter to Valentina. Of course I had a perfectly liable cover. An imperius charm convinced Karkoff to say he had mistaken me for missing and that I was actually meeting Valentina for a interschool field trip discussion. We have been removed from the British Ministry's wanted list."

"Where are you off to now?" Lestrange asked as if this were a perfectly normal situation. There was no response but the cell doors sliding open was answer enough. Hermione prayed it wasn't to inflict more harm, but it had never been anything else except that.

Hermione watched as Krum marched into Draco's cell kicking him awake.

"You son of a bitch." Hermione snarled standing up to glare at him. "Stay away from him."

Krum turned to smile at her sweetly. "It is not his turn today. I simply need him awake for a different kind of torture."

Draco seemed to understand before she did and began shaking his head wildly. "Fuck you Krum. Take me, torture me. Don't you fucking dare," Draco said and with a surprising amount of strength stood to punch him square in the nose. Krum howled and shot a full body binding curse on Draco knocking him down. Krum cursed and slammed his door shut before striding into hers. Hermione felt understanding dawn on her and she scurried to scoot against the wall. Fear filled her chest as Krum unhooked her chains from the wall and held them in his hands. Like a fucking leash.

"You can hurt me, torture me, take my soul, beat me, kill me, anything but for the love of God, don't touch her." Draco said in a deadly calm voice. Krum spun to meet his eyes before laughing cruelly.

"I assure you I will do all of that and more. But I will touch her and I will have my way with her." Krum said sickeningly as he dragged her out of the cell. Hermione's protests weren't much against his brute strength. She managed to latch her hands onto Draco's cell bars and stared deeply into his eyes.

"I love you Draco, I love you." Hermione said fear filling her voice.

Draco looked like he was about to collapse but he staggered forwards to grasp her hands. "No! No fucking way." he shouted but Krum abruptly picked her up and stormed out leaving the door open for her cries to travel.

When she found herself on her feet again, she was in an ugly maroon colored room with all the blinds drawn shut. The door was left wide open tempting Hermione to go sprinting out. And that's exactly what she did, she began running towards the door only managing to reach it before she was hauled roughly back. She was thrown carelessly onto the bed and before she could even scream, Krum's lips were covering as he aggressively grinded against her. She felt tears threaten to fall as his bear sized hands painfully gripped her wrists and bound them together in front of her. She screamed begging for him to stop as he moved his disgusting lips down her body. Hermione had never felt so violated or vulnerable in her life. Bellatrix's torture was physical hell and Rookwood had come close to raping her but Krum...Krum would do the unspeakable. She just wanted Draco, she'd never longed to be with him so much as she did now. She squeezed her eyes tight fighting back a sob as he began tearing off her clothes. When she was bare in front of him, he smiled crookedly down at her.

"Please Viktor, if you ever loved me, you wouldn't rape me. If you loved me you wouldn't strip me of my pride, you wouldn't harm those I love." Hermione pleaded trying to reason with the devil. But her pleas had fallen on deaf ears.

Krum stripped himself quickly before winking at her in her helpless form. "Get ready you little bitch, I'm going to fuck you so hard your going to forget you're a married woman. Has Malfoy ever taken you this way?" Krum shouted loudly before yanking her legs up and dropping them over his shoulders. He stared down at her like he was about to cross the finish line as his hands roughly pinched and squeezed her breasts. He then moaned over exaggerating as he slammed into her. Hermione sobbed as he continued to exploit her and touch her in ways only Draco was supposed to. Even when she was being raped and stripped of her dignity all she could think about was Draco. As Krum continued pounding into her, Hermione felt herself heaving and struggling for air. She needed to get away, she felt so empty and broken, like there was nothing left in her. Her sobs began racking her body, causing her to gasp for air. His ministrations were aggressive and callous as he yanked her head back by gripping her hair. Hermione screamed and half cried as he found his release. A hard smack came across her breasts as Krum pulled out.

"Did you enjoy that you little slut? Did I bring you more pleasure than Malfoy? ANSWER ME YOU WHORE!" Krum roared flipping her and slapping her ass.

Hermione cried praying for someone to save her. She screamed in frustration as she flipped back sitting upright to glare at him. "Fuck you Krum, fuck you! No that was not more pleasurable than when I slept with my husband, because you raped me you dick. Famous Viktor Krum is a rapist, a murderer, a pervert, a blood purist and a man whore-"

Krum struck her hard across the face, her vision was swimming as he yanked her by the hair and dragged her out of the room.

Draco's cries of anguish could be heard as he threw her back into her cell leaving her to lay naked on the cold hard floor.

He hadn't screamed once while Krum invented new ways to beat the living hell out of him. Not once. But hearing Hermione, his wife being taken by Krum was enough to leave him thundering. Draco who had shouted and yelled even begged Krum for mercy, was forced to hear his Mya scream and plead as Krum forced himself on her. He would gladly take a thousand more near death torture experiences than have to hear Hermione scream one more time. Finally it stopped and the only sound was his promises of murder, pleads and pure screams of anger. He could only imagine how disgusted and violated Hermione was. She was an independent strong woman and she most definitely would feel absolutely exploited over this.

He was struggling to inhale air as he watched Krum throw her into her cell naked before slamming the door shut. Draco ran towards her and reached for her as close as he could between the bars. He watched, his heart splintering as she lay curled in a ball on the floor silent.

After waiting 10 minutes for her to calm down, he reached for her. "Mya? Mya are you alright?" he croaked his voice barely audible.

Hermione suddenly flung herself against the bars of the cell reaching for him. He embraced her as best as he could through the bars, wishing he could feel all of her and hold her away from this cruel world. He wished he could promise her safety forever in his arms. But he couldn't.

She was sobbing silently into his chest and he reached an arm to stroke her hair as her chest heaved breaths. "I'm so sorry Draco," she gasped looking up at him, sending him over the cliff. He was damned to remember this moment. The moment after his wife was harshly raped and he was forced to listen and comfort her all because he couldn't save her. And she was apologizing?

"No Mya, don't-" Hermione's sobs interrupted him and he was seriously becoming concerned as he watched her hysterically cry and struggle to breathe.

"I-I'm so sorry." Hermione cried weakly leaning into him. He supported her watching in worry as she began to ramble. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. Draco, I'm sorry." Hermione sobbed their foreheads pressed together through the cell. "I'm sorry." She began breathing deeply as she heaved for breaths her whole body shaking in sobs and despair. If Draco's heart wasn't already in a million pieces it was now unfixable. How could any measure of time repair this?

"Shh," Draco soothed feeling panicked as she continued to hyperventilate. "Don't apologize Mya, you have nothing to be sorry about. You're safe now, you're okay. I won't let him take you again I swear it. I love you, shh." he whispered cradling her as close to him as he could.

Draco was seriously considering shouting for Krum to get down here and get her some medical assistance after what he did to her but Hermione seemed to calm down significantly after 30 minutes. She didn't say anything for hours, but what could possibly be said after what she had gone through?

They stayed like that for a long time, relying on each other to keep themselves upright and calm. When Hermione began to shiver in the cold dank dungeon, Draco held her tighter, unable to remove his shirt to give to her due to his restraints.

Late that night footsteps could be heard coming towards them again. They stiffened in each other's arms waiting for the door to swing open. Instead of the usual grand entrance, the door creaked open and someone slipped inside. Draco pushed Hermione behind him by instinct as the figure moved into the light.

"Adelia?" Hermione murmured recognition showing in her eyes. So they had been right when they heard Adelia was now missing and "gathering memories?"

Surprise showed on the healer's face when she saw them. "I didn't expect you to be awake." she said pausing to observe them before raising her eyebrows. "And naked."

Draco rolled his eyes and eyed her with suspicion. "Your fucking buddy raped her." he said feeling Hermione wince behind him. He felt bad saying it so harshly but he needed to release some anger somehow.

Adelia pursed her lips and looked at the pair of them almost with pity.

"Why are you doing this Adelia? What are they doing?" Hermione asked hoping to get some answers.

Another set of footsteps could be heard coming down and then Hermione's rapist was beside Adelia. Draco growled menacingly as he lurched forward grabbing onto his thick neck, his hands moving to their own accord. He had never felt so capable of murder as he did now, not even as his years as a forced death eater.

Adelia calmly sent Draco flying back against the wall where Hermione did her best to hold onto him and prevent him from hitting his head.

"Please Adelia, we at least deserve to know why you're doing this." Hermione said softly, defeat evident in her voice.

"Adelia your not supposed to be down here! They aren't animals to gawk at. Although the girl is a wild one." Krum chuckled at his humourless joke.

Draco snarled, but Hermione kept a firm grip on his arm. Adelia ignored Krum and stepped closer meeting their eyes very seriously.

"I know you both think we're this rebellious cult or something but we're not. We're doing what the ministry doesn't have the guts to do. We're repairing society and we're fighting for the greater good. You're all too blinded by ignorance to understand what needs to be done. So those of us who do see reason, will rebuild the wizarding world." Adelia explained.

"Aren't you supposed to be 'kidnapped' or have some crazy backstory as to why you're missing?" Hermione said irritation creeping into her voice.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be 'gathering memories'?" Draco scowled.

Adelia remained perfectly poised as she responded. "I'm impressed you caught on to all that. Yes, I gathered all my memories and I'll be returning when?" she asked turning to face Krum.

"Enough!" Krum hissed glaring at all of them. "They are not to know all the details."

"They're prisoners, they're never getting out." Adelia said as if she were stating the obvious. "Knowledgeable prisoners never caused harm." she then walked into Hermione's cell and vanished the barrier between the couple allowing them to fall into one another. She transfigured a chair and sat down to face them.

"It's sick that you think whatever cause you're fighting for is right. That's exactly what Voldemort thought and look where that got him." Hermione spat.

Adelia shook her head sadly. "And this is why you're one of the ones who just don't understand. Here's a little secret-"

"Adelia!" Krum exclaimed looking at her with outrage. "How can you tell them this? If she finds out, she'll kill you."

"She couldn't even run after me in those shoes if she tried." Adelia scoffed. This was news to Draco and Hermione. She?

"But-"

"Shut up Krum, they're going to spend their last days in here, they do deserve to know the truth. It's like reading a very good book. You at least have to know what happens before you return it. Isn't that right Hermione?" Adelia smiled.

Hermione shot daggers at the witch as she tried to cover her naked body by tucking into Draco's arms even further.

"Anyways, here's a little secret. All these kidnapped people, are not really kidnapped." she said watching as their faces filled with confusion.

"You mean they're not aware they've been kidnapped right?" Hermione snapped.

"No Hermione, we are fully aware of the cause we joined, support and fight for. We believe in it. When we say we're gathering our memories, we go out and do whatever backstory it is we feed to you dolt heads at the ministry. For example, I just returned from Italy where I was doing a clinical trial for a private practice. And I will give that authentic memory to your Potter friend when I 'return'. All these women have no recollection of being kidnapped because we never were." Adelia said almost pleasantly.

"And how come the ministry isn't able to see these memories? The memories of you here in Durmstrang?" Draco asked eyeing her with disdain. This woman held his child and delivered her.

"We don't have to be expert occlumens like you Draco, to hide our secrets. Even a mediocre occlumens could hide this stuff because the ministry isn't looking for it. They can't find what they aren't looking for. All they ever ask for is where we've been while we've been missing. We provide something that did happen just not all of it and it's enough for them to believe. We've given the impression that they're dealing with kidnaps so that's what they're looking for. We are all very much aware of what we're working for and what happened. Feeding the ministry authentic memories to make them think we were kidnapped just sets them on the wrong trail. Now we are the poor kidnapped and memory ridden victims instead of suspects. Because now we have people on the inside." Adelia said.

Draco was horrified to hear the cleverness and cunningness behind all this. It must've taken a lot of planning to arrange all that.

"But why do you have to suggest there are kidnappings? Now you've placed the spotlight on your moles." Hermione said her curiosity showing.

"To set them on the wrong trail you stupid whore." Krum drawled making Draco boil with rage. It was only Hermione's calming hand that was keeping him in his chair.

"Fucking bastard." Draco muttered. Krum was about to advance but Adelia waved him off. "How did you find us Krum? In Norway and everywhere we went? You seemed to track us easily enough."

"That was my doing." Adelia said speaking for the both of them. "When I was Ara's healer I placed a tracking charm on her so that we could easily find you when you went on the run. We didn't expect it to take so long to hunt you down though," she said frowning.

"We trusted you!" Hermione cried glaring at the healer. "We trusted you and you betrayed by helping them get our daughter?"

"Well you didn't trust me." Adelia corrected. "You trusted in my act. This is another reason why the ministry needs rebuilding. Your all too naive and trusting to make it anywhere. The world is a cruel place and you have to be tough to make it through."

"Your sick. The whole lot of you need help." Draco muttered shaking his head in revulsion.

"In addition to setting them on the wrong trail, we now have people to help take down the ministry from the inside. Once we bring the ministry down, we can swoop in and rebuild it the right way." Adelia said as if this made all the sense in the world. But it didn't. How could this make any sense at all?

"And what exactly is it you all think you believe in?" Draco asked skeptically.

"There's no point in explaining something to those who refuse to believe it before I've even explained." Adelia said simply standing up and vanishing the chair. "It was lovely seeing you both." she said almost professionally.

"Ara." Hermione whispered. "How is she? Please, Adelia just tell us she's okay. Are they hurting her? Adelia please, what do they want with her?"

Adelia locked the cell and stood next to Krum. "She is essential to Lestrange's plan but not her plan."

"Why does Lestrange need her? And who the hell is she?" Hermione called after them as they crept back up. They watched as they pair disappeared leaving them with more questions than answers.

"We think it's time to restart the Order of the Phoenix again." Ginny said speaking in front of the group. "We believe they have inside people in the ministry and who we can trust is highly questionable. Lestrange is kidnapping people mainly girls and altering their memories. When they return they have no recollection of even being kidnapped and have legit memories. We see a familiar trend as to when the Dark Lord rose the second time. We're going into this as prepared as we can and we can start by reinstating the Order of the Phoenix."

Many people murmured their agreement and Ginny waited for them to quiet down. "Harry of course will lead this group and we are inviting old members we still trust and adding a few additional ones we believe are trustworthy."

After their first meeting, Harry called a bunch of people over for their first mission. "I think we should have a stakeout in front of Lestrange's manor. If pureblood manors are a running thing for headquarters then maybe Lestrange is running this gig inside his own home. I want all of you to stakeout for 5 days. Terry will lead you all. Report back every night."

Harry found the Order tended to be more productive when battling these Dark times because they didn't have the same legal restrictions the ministry did. And Harry himself had had experiences with the ministry being utterly stupid and corrupt.

He had grown increasingly worried when it had been weeks since he had last heard from Draco and Hermione. He had a terrible feeling that only intensified when Adelia went missing and London returned. Valentina had returned and had been interrogated thoroughly but had revealed she had a legitimate alibi again. She had shown proof that she had some interschool field trip discussion with Krum which was still shady because it was the pair of them as each other's alibis, but it was enough to clear them both.

Molly had recovered nicely and was now busy preparing dinner for the Order members who were staying here. Everyone was cleaning up a bit since 12 Grimmauld Place hadn't been used since the war ended.

Harry was just checking on Albus and James who had been put down for a nap in one of the spare rooms when there came a shrill cry downstairs. He hurried down and made his way to the kitchen where everyone was crowding. "What's wrong?" he asked Andromeda who was standing closest.

"George was flooing to see what he missed because he had to close up shop when the flames began flickering. Apparently he's stuck." she said peering over heads to get a better luck.

"Stuck?" Harry muttered. He shoved his way closer and knelt down to speak with George. His face was filled with panic and confusion as he stared up at Harry.

"Harry? I can't pull my head back up. It's like...stuck in the floo." George said finding no other way to put it.

Harry was speechless what the hell was happening now? Percy came skittering in his eyes darting from Harry to George and back to Harry. His glasses were askew and his face was flushed from running.
"Harry we're getting reports that people's heads are getting...stuck in the floo. As head of the transportation department I thought it'd be best to let you know. I have my team spreading out to cover certain areas. We're checking each house with a report of having this issue and we're working very diligently to solve it. Although we've never dealt with anything even remotely like this so this is completely foreign territory. I was just about to go and-"

"Perce if you haven't noticed my bloody head is stuck bending into magical fire. Get your team to work faster because I already have only ear, I only have one face." George snapped. Percy looked mildly offended and strode off back to his department.

Harry sighed and kissed Ginny before returning to the ministry to deal with heads in fireplaces.

They had thrown Hermione a filthy blanket early the next morning when Draco caused a ruckus shouting about how her temperature was becoming very cold. He had a rough whipping on the back for that. Hermione blinked tears away as she remained bound to the wall watching as Krum whipped Draco. The way the rope marred his beautiful pale back.

Krum had classes to teach so luckily he stopped earlier. Hermione was unbound and crawled closer to Draco and stroked his back gently kissing it softly. She stroked his hair and cradled his face in her lap. The unspoken question hanging in the air. What were they going to do?

They had spoken after Adelia and Krum left. There was definitely something much more serious and detailed going on that they had no idea about. Who was she? Where was Ara? Why were they apart of Lestrange's plan? What greater good were they fighting for? How would they warn the ministry that they were looking for the wrong thing? And how were the getting the hell out of here?

"Draco...after...Krum's torture with me and speaking with both him and Adelia, I've realized something." Hermione murmured. Draco stared up at her his eyes telling her to go on. She couldn't meet his stare as she blinked tears away. "They said we'd never get out. They weren't even remotely concerned that we heard important intel-"

"We're getting out of here Mya, I will not let us die here." Draco said firmly.

"I know. I know, but their confidence is not assuring. And...after Krum...if we were to spend years here Ara would grow up. With or without us she would grow. It makes me want to scream at how unfair it would be for our firstborn to grow and we'd miss everything. Her first words, her first steps, her first laugh. And I can't...I can't even begin to picture what Krum would do to her once she became a young woman." Hermione shuddered feeling sick picturing it. "I will not have my daughter raped."

Draco's eyes became stormy again as he sat up wincing slightly. He looked up at the ceiling before turning to face her. "Then we need to get her out before she begins to remember her time here. Our daughter will not grow up prisoner."

"They said she was apart of Lestrange's plan but not 'her' plan." Hermione said hugging her knees to her chest. "That means there's someone else calling the shots. Someone other than Lestrange. And if she's apart of Lestrange' plan…"

"They don't intend for her to live very long." Draco said his voice barely above a whisper. His head then spun to meet Hermione's eyes with an alarming understanding. "Mya we can't let Ara grow up here and we can't let them kill her. We're not outliving our daughter." he said with such brokenness and desperation it made her heart ache.

She nodded mutely. "I think I have an idea. But it might not work and we can't let anything slip or we'll be dead before they try to kill her. It's risky and we lose it all but we have to give Ara her best chance."

Draco reached for her hand holding it in his own and pressed it to his lips. "For Ara."

Their time as prisoners was not easy at all. They had stayed up nearly all day discussing every fine detail of the plan, Draco seemed fairly certain it would work but Hermione was worried they'd let something slip and it would be over before it even began. They both decided that this was for the best, and all they had to do was make sure they lived long enough to see the plan through. Krum came down early the next morning in a towering temper his wand ready. Valentina could be heard shouting curses at him before the door shut. Krum reinstalled the bars between them and turned his attention to Draco. If Krum was pissed, she feared to see how he would take it out on Draco.

Hermione was throwing herself against the bars between them as she watched Krum dunk Draco's head in and out of water. He was coughing and choking by time Krum paused to catch his breath. Hermione had never known true pain until she'd been forced to sit and watch the man she loved suffocated to near death by her ex. Hermione's screams were either ear splintering or silent at this point, she really couldn't tell. All she knew was the wretched pain spreading everywhere inside her as she sat helpless. He continued dunking him in and out before Hermione shouted an offer he couldn't refuse.

"STOP! And...I'll sleep with you willingly, scream when you want to and just stop, stop hurting him. I'll sleep with you." Hermione shouted crying hard as Krum stopped to consider her offer. Draco was barely conscious when Krum dropped him into a corner. But his eyes silently begged Hermione to take it back. Krum waved his wand relieving Draco of some of his dreariness.

"I want you alert enough to see your wife willingly shag me." Krum grinned before strutting into Hermione's cell and taking her right in front of Draco.

She hated every minute of it. The pain this was causing Draco, the way her body was being used but she did it. She screamed when he told her to, said the things he told her to and moaned when he ordered her to. She would do it again if it meant Draco lived.

After Krum was satisfied he struck her across the face before leaving them alone once more.

Hermione crawled to the bars between them and tried to see if Draco was breathing alright. "Draco? Love, are you okay?"

There was no response and then suddenly an anguished cry of frustration rang in the air. She looked in fright as Draco screamed and pounded the floor.

"It just doesn't fucking end!" he roared staggering to a standing position. His chest was heaving and his face was drained of color. "We have fought for over 20 years in a war that was never ours to start with. We won! And then what? How many times do we have to be screwed over till the universe decides it's good enough? Every time we smile and think it's over haha fuck no it's not. It just doesn't end does it? When they say our children should not be victims to our mistakes, that they shouldn't have to carry our cross and pay the price for our choices, the children always do don't they? They suffer the most because they are forced to play a game they were given no choice but to enter! It's not fucking fair! It was never their problem, there was never an option, it was never their choice...and people wonder why the new generations are just so fucked up. Parents are supposed to give their kids their best shot not throw them to the wolves to fend for themselves. How much longer till it's really over?" Draco said his voice breaking at the end. Hermione remained where she was tears tracking down her face. She knew his rant was not solely about Ara's unfortunate childhood but his too. They had both been thrust into the world of war and darkness at a young age. At least Hermione had grown up having a normal childhood.

"We have a plan Draco. And Ara will make it out of this. We have a plan and it will work, it has to." Hermione whispered watching as he leaned against the wall, his fists clenched tightly. She wasn't just trying to convince him of this but herself too. She had to believe that they were going to get Ara out of this, or she knew she'd never make it. What hope she had left was in this plan and she would sooner kiss Krum then let this plan fall. He sighed turning around to face her, his face devoid of the tears and despair that was there only a moment ago.

"Let's go over the plan again."

"So you're telling me, if we don't figure out a way to get these people's heads out of the flames, the flames will end up engulfing their heads whole?" Harry repeated not believing that this was really happening.

Percy nodded silently as he scanned his notes. "Harry, it was someone from my department. Only we have access over control of floo network. I don't know who but I think you and I have a good idea."

"Thalia Gordon. Where is she? And do you know how much time we have before we have piles of ashes in fireplaces?" Harry asked rubbing his forehead.

"By the end of the day is my best estimate. And she was supposed to be working with Terry Boot on making transportation safer and more trackable for aurors. Terry is in the order, if he can safely cover for her then I have no idea who else could have done this." Percy said sounding at lost for words for the first time in his life. "We have to fix this, Harry my brother is in there and I can't lose him too."

"I know Percy, I won't let George die. Can you find Terry and send him my way? I'm going to put out an alert that all floo communication and travelling is prohibited for the time being. We're closing off all access so if someone does try to use it, hopefully they won't be stuck too. Whoever did this is definitely the mole for your department and I really think it's Thalia. Whatever Lestrange did to her really is screwing up the ministry. If we can catch this person, we'll be that much closer to finding Lestrange." Harry feeling a massive migraine coming on.

What was this accomplishing? What was the motive? Why would someone want to dismantle proper access of the floo and use it to trap people inside? To kill them once the flames became real? But why?

Terry came jogging towards him worry stricken on his face. "Harry, Thalia was with me." he said his eyes widening with understanding. "Who else could it have been?"

Harry bit back a scream. If Thalia was indeed with Terry then who was it that altered the floo settings? They would have to work in the Department of Transportation to even have clearance but there were many other ways to get in without physically being inside.

"Gather all the people in the transportation department. I'm interrogating everyone and making sure no one was under the imperius curse." Harry said watching as Terry scurried off.

Fred had died in the war, there was no way Harry was going to be responsible for another Weasley's death. He was still at loss for words to hear that Thalia had a solid alibi. He spent the next couple hours interrogating every single member of the department. Not a single one seemed under the influence of imperius and he had had every single one's memory scanned for suspicious behaviour. Everyone had a legit alibi and at this point Harry really didn't know what to do.

"We're going to have to douse the fire right before it begins to engulf them. We'll have to have aurors and department workers in each house ready to dump water on the victims. The culprit remains unknown and we don't have any counterspell or solution to reverse whatever alterations they made to the floo network." Harry said speaking to Percy. "Assemble your charges and I'll gather some extra auror support. Everyone needs to be where they need to be in an hour. Until then, I'm going to have a chat with Thalia Gordon."

Lestrange payed them a visit the next day. He came sauntering in with their little portions of food smiling at them as if he were feeding his pets. "To see my dear nephew and his wife at my mercy is what I live for." he snarked.

Draco sneered and glared daggers at his uncle. "Leave the fucking food and get out of our sight."

"I don't think you're in any position to place demands are you?" Lestrange asked leaning casually against Hermione's cell bars.
"What do you need Ara for?" Hermione asked eyeing the man with disdain. "Why is she apart of your plan?"

"You'll see very soon my dear. She is an essential part to complete my plan. In fact, I think I'll let you two have a front row seat to the show." he grinned cheekily. "I can promise a very good show."
"Screw you," Draco glowered. "Why are you even keeping us alive? We're not apart of your plan so why leave us rotting down here?"
"Because it's fun. Work can be stressful and tiring and sometimes we all need some entertainment." he said his eyes gliding over Hermione, causing a flare of anger in Draco's chest. "Besides, we want you to see your daughter's fate before we dispose of you."

"What fate?" Hermione yelled her frustration growing. "We deserve to know what's going to happen to our daughter."

"You will get to see what happens very soon, I assure you. I understand your both impatient but I can guarantee you will hate the show, but you will get a very good view of it." he said his eyes twinkling with excitement. Draco felt a strong urge to squeeze the man's neck until his face turned blue. But he had to stick to the plan, a single slip up and it was over.

"Are you going to kill her?" Hermione said her voice barely audible. "We're never getting out of here, and you have our daughter, we're at your mercy, please, are you going to kill her?"

Lestrange eyed her with disgust before cocking his head to the side looking thoughtful. "That is apart of my plan yes,"

Hermione let out a strangled cry as she used her hand to cover her mouth. This part was apart of their plan but didn't require much acting. They were going to murder his little girl.

"Why are you doing this? What have we done to you?" Hermione said struggling to keep it together.

"I hate you for being a mudblood and tarnishing the Malfoy name. Draco my dearest nephew I despise you for turning on the Dark Lord and marrying a mudblood. Ruining the Malfoy name. I hate what you both stand for and now you've produced unacceptable offspring. I hate everything about you and everything you believe in. You are the reason my wife is dead, you are the reason the Dark Lord fell you are the reason everything your parents and I had worked for since before you were born!" Lestrange ranted his face turning a beet red that greatly resembled Ron.

"You have no one to blame but yourself for screwing yourselves over by joining a damned cause." Draco snarled. "You're just pissed that you lost, you always were a sour loser weren't you Uncle? You're just taking it out on us because it's the only way your dark little heart knows how to mourn isn't it?"

"SHUT UP!" Lestrange roared sending the cruciatus curse at Draco knocking the wind out of him as pain flared in his body. "You deserve to die and die painfully. You deserve to have everything you care about torn from you and destroyed right in front of you! Irony is a bitch."

"You're a son of a bitch." Hermione yelled gripping the bars separating her from freedom tightly in her grip. "You are a cruel pathetic man who's just looking for someone to blame for your loss. Your wife died. She was murdered by one of us, your leader was destroyed right in front of you and your a wanted criminal by the ministry! Face reality Lestrange, your life is in shambles and the only way you can make yourself feel better is to bring pain onto others!"

"Why the little mudblood is trying to communicate!" Lestrange said clapping his hands together. "While your little desperate speech was admirable, you're going to have to do better than that."

"Why are you waiting? Kill us now or later what's the difference to you?" Draco said his voice lost of all emotion, hiding how truly broken he felt.

"The rest of the plan must fall into action before Ara's part comes into play." Lestrange said crossing his arms. "And I will be ever merciful and allow you both to watch as I use her frail body to fulfill my plan."

Hermione unsuccessfully stifled her sob and pressed her needs to her chest rocking back and forth as tears trailed down her cheeks. "You fucking monster."

"The pair of you will never understand why we do what we do. You will never understand the purpose of this cause and you will never see reason. You've both been brainwashed by the ministry's bull crap." Lestrange seethed hissing at both of them.

"Who's we?" Draco said loudly standing to face his uncle. "Who are you taking orders from? We were under the impression you were in charge of this terror, but who is she dear uncle? Who are you taking orders from?" Draco said walking closer and closer to him.

"Enough!" he roared aiming a punch at Draco which he deftly avoided. "I will see you both on your daughter's last living day."

With that he disappeared up the stairs leaving them to darkness. Taking with him their dignity and hope. Leaving instead, tears and terror but the first part of their plan was already in motion.

"Look, I completely understand that you need to find out how Lestrange was somehow behind all this, but I was not kidnapped by him so how could I remember anything about something that didn't happen? I told you I was in Lebanon for a funeral. Your culprit is still probably roaming the halls of the ministry as we speak, while you waste your time talking to me. I was not kidnapped and I would appreciate it if you stopped assuming I was." Thalia said her arms crossed in defiance.

"But we have an eyewitness who saw Lestrange carrying you out from your house. So therefore you were kidnapped you just don't remember it. So Thalia, you could be doing things you aren't doing by choice. I'm not assuming you were kidnapped I know you were. We just need to find a way to release you from Lestrange's control." Harry said also crossing his arms, meeting the women's stare dead on.

Thalia's lip curled and she leaned forward so they were nose to nose. "Just because you're desperate to catch the culprit does not mean you have the right to question all these women about where they've been and assume we've been kidnapped when I know I wasn't."

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Very well, you may leave." he waited as she curtly exited the room slamming the door on her way out.

Harry followed shortly and met Percy who hurriedly informed him that all their workers were stationed and waiting for the fire to begin changing from green to orange before dousing the victim with water.

"I sent Terry to Grimmauld to deal with George since he's an Order member." Percy said his brow creased with worry. "It shouldn't be much longer now."
"Thalia is in the clear for now. Percy do you have any idea who from your department would be capable or likely to do this? It has to be someone from your department. Has anyone been acting suspicious lately?" Harry asked grasping at straws.

"Not that I can think of. They're all fairly scared when they report back to me so I haven't noticed much of a difference. Ah, Squirvish just reported back, he successfully doused one woman's fire. I'll let you know when everyone has been doused and we'll immediately start investigating the inside of the fireplaces to look for alterations." Percy said before scurrying off.

Harry's secretary Olga approached him looking harassed and mildly pissed off which was a strange expression to see on the old woman's face.

"This goblin has been irritating me all afternoon to speak with you. I told him you were booked off dealing with the latest crisis but he has been ever persistent." she huffed turning and leaving the goblin with Harry.

"Rodswank is my name lightning boy. I am here on behalf of Gringotts to remind you of an issue we had a long time ago that you seem to have forgotten about." he said sounding just as irritated as poor old Olga.

"What issue?" Harry asked really wishing to be anywhere else but there.

"Almost half a year ago you were investigating a breach at Gringotts if you can remember. Someone had changed the wards and gained access into the vaults." Rodswank explained watching Harry for any sign of recognition.

"Right but it was recorded that nothing of value had been stolen." Harry said not seeing where this was going.

"Yes. But recently we were going through some death eater's old accounts counting money to make sure nothing was taken out because there had been some fraud reports. We reached the Lestrange vault and money has been withdrawn almost weekly in large increments."

Harry sat upright in his chair staring wide eyed at Rodswank. "You mean Lestrange has been able to make withdraws without having been inside Gringotts?"

"Him or someone who works at Gringotts. But none of the goblins have made any contact with him and we have to be there in order to open the vault. So what I'm trying to say is-"

"There's a mole at Gringotts." Harry breathed clenching his fists in anger. "How much money?"
"More money than any normal witch/wizards withdraws to sustain themselves. Bellatrix's ashes were removed from the vault too." Rodswank said uncomfortably saying her name.

Harry felt as if a cold bucket of water had been dumped on top of him. How was Lestrange withdrawing so much money without actually entering Gringotts and why would someone take Bellatrix's ashes? And then, Harry felt as if he were 11 years old again, hearing the Philosopher's Stone had been taken.

"Did you complete gathering your memories Adelia?" the woman asked tapping her nails on the desk impatiently.

"Yes I did." Adelia responded bowing her head. "I finished two weeks ago after I ensured London successfully staggered around the streets. She has already been interrogated and they bought her divorce story. I have my return planned for the following week."

"Excellent. And Lestrange did you and your men successfully jam the floo network in place?" the woman asked eyeing Lestrange with disdain. Desperate fools were always the easiest to manipulate.

"We did but they managed to save everyone." Lestrange said avoiding meeting the woman's eyes. The woman felt her blood boil at the incompetence of Lestrange. She bored her eyes into him waiting for him to glance upwards. After 6 minutes he finally chanced a glance up and began convulsing in pain as he slid off his chair and began writhing on the ground. She kept her eyes locked on him watching with vindictiveness as he rolled onto his knees kneeling before her.

"And how is your unsuccessful mission going to get us where we need to be?" she asked blinking to give him a chance to respond.

"I'm sorry…" he panted his chest heaving for air. "We didn't expect the Weasley to be one of them. And of course the red headed buffoon was with others and alerted the ministry right away."

She seared her eyes into his again sending him flat on his back screaming for mercy. She then stopped and walked over to him picking up one of his hands in hers admiring it's soft texture before drawing a dagger and slicing off one of his fingers. He wailed as he pathetically attempted to clutch his wounded hand.
"Let this be a reminder to everyone that each time you slip up, you lose a finger. Don't become fingerless or I promise you it'll be something much more essential to living that gets chopped off." she said softly. She disgustedly dropped Lestrange's hand before taking her place at the table again. "Krum. What have you successfully accomplished this week?" she said almost daring him to say he had been unsuccessful.

He cleared his throat and nervously clasped his hands together. "I successfully captured the Malfoys who are being held prisoner downstairs. Their child is being well taken care of as per request. I tortured both the parents also as per your requests and even shagged the mudblood." Krum finished almost a bit too proudly.

The woman smiled her first real smile and nodded in approval. "Excellent work Viktor. You may remain in charge of their punishment until I am ready to finish it off myself. I am the one to do the final deed is that understood?" she asked looking around the table seeing everyone nod. "Valentina did you manage to put in place the bomb at Hogwarts before you left?"
"Yes I did and it killed the little brat, the stupid aurors setting it off themselves. The people are absolutely furious." Valentina said bowing her head.

"That is just what we were aiming for. Remember, we need to ignite the flame in the people and then we can sweep in and extinguish it. We will take over and we will reinstate the wizarding world to it's former glory!" the woman cried to more shouts of agreement.

"Did you get the basilisk fang from the chamber while the aurors were distracted?" she asked her eyes meeting Valentina who flinched slightly.

"Yes I did it's in your office. Harry fucking Potter had the castle searched and found nothing of 'importance' missing." Valentina cackled.

"What of Thalia and London? DId they successfully infiltrate the ministry undetected?" the woman asked resettling herself.

"London's word was accepted but still highly doubted as well as Thalia's. The latest floo incident placed a lot of suspicion on her." Yaxley said clearing his throat.

"Suspicion was a given from the start. All we need is acceptance and it's enough to get what we need done. You all know what you have to do, I'll see you all very soon. Do not disappoint me." she said threateningly as she watched them disperse. Not a single word could be heard as they exited the room off to spread more darkness and despair.

She waited until the room was empty before making her way up the secret corridors in the castle to the room they were keeping Ara. Her red cloak billowed behind her as she entered the room at the top of the tower. The little brat was wailing in her crib so pathetically, she cringed and silenced the little spawn.

She reached out her pale hands to pick up the squealing demon and brought her closer to study. Such a small specimen was the reason behind so much destruction and pain. But it would be worth it, she was so close, she could simply feel it.

"You're going to help me ruin your parents aren't you? You're going to help me take back what is rightfully mine right? That's right you are! You're just a little spawn in this giant game aren't you? Yes you are!" she sang running her fingers through the child's soft fine hair. So much like her father's.

The child continued to cry it's small face twisting into an even uglier face. It opened it's eyes shining her mother's eyes up at her making her wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"Don't worry, mommy promises to take good care of you because you're very useful to mommy aren't you? Yes you are!" she hummed placing the child back into the crib.

She looked out the window at the snowy fields of Durmstrang before taking one last glance at the screaming child before making her way outside. The night was dark as she trekked across the fresh white snow. She made her way to the apparition point apparating back to London, her red cloak flashing in the moonlight.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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