A/N: Worked really hard to try and get a little closure for you all for the holidays. Big thanks to Kelly and Claire for their help on this one!

Chapter Four

May 9th, 2005

He had not been prepared to see her again. Harry thought he had been, what with detailed planning of her rescue that took the full six months she had been imprisoned in a dungeon—and then some. Seeing the look of hatred and disgust on her face as she set eyes on him for the first time in seven years hurt like the Killing Curse. It was not a stabbing, throbbing pain, but instead was cold and all consuming. It sucked the air right out of him.

Of course, he had looked like Draco at the time.

Now, however, as the Polyjuice began to fade, her eyes widened, and Harry felt consumed by the light in them. Light that he had once worried would have been dulled after years of being held prisoner by Death Eaters. But she was still in there. She was still Hermione. His Hermione now. It felt strange, and nothing like other magic that he had touched in rituals before, but he could feel the bond between them. A bond tied by a Death Eater who had no idea that he had just married Hermione Granger to a very much alive Harry Potter.

Harry took a moment, grasping her hand and placing her palm against his cheek, letting her feel the stubble of his beard grow rapidly in while his jaw squared, shifting from Draco's sharp angles to Harry's softer features.

Tears welled in her eyes. "Oh my god."

He smiled at her, whispering, "You said you'd go with me."

"It's you? But you're—"

"Out of time," Harry interrupted, shaking the blond from his hair just as the crowd around them gasped. His wand was already in his hand, faster than lightning. Pushing Hermione behind him, he said, "Stay close to me." Death Eaters around them drew their wands, expressions of shock, horror, and rage filled the room. Harry, however, was grinning. He had been waiting years to do this. "Now!"

The majority of young Death Eaters spun, turning on their comrades, and the room filling with blinding light of spells being cast all at once.

Harry often hated that fighting was a reflex. He wasn't proud of how swiftly he was able to draw his wand, nor how easily he could disarm the less trained Death Eaters. He did not often enjoy the fact that his blood was set on fire by the rush that came from having someone actually offer him a decent duel, rather than a quick defeat. The war wasn't supposed to have gotten this far. It should have ended years ago at Hogwarts. When the last Killing Curse he had taken to the chest hadn't killed him at all, but sent him to King's Cross where Dumbledore explained everything. Harry had not been pleased to have been used, nor was he thrilled with the idea that he still had much to do. However, the Elder Wand was his by right, and as long as Voldemort thought him dead, Harry could bide his time and strike at the right moment.

Except he had not been able to move.

When he woke, while Death Eaters hovered around their fallen Dark Lord—the blast from the Killing Curse having knocked the man off his feet—Bellatrix Lestrange, in her insanity and anger, unleashed a barrage of spells at Harry's unconscious body. All things he learned much later when Hogwarts was a ruin and Voldemort was King of this dystopian world.

"Avada—"

"Sectumsempra!" Harry yelled, slashing his wand out toward the oncoming Death Eater in a quick jerk. While he had been able to perfect the curse over the years, he also knew exactly how to make smooth cuts versus jagged—and more painful—lacerations. Harry's instinct these days was to meet the Killing Curse with the viciousness it and its caster deserved. Blood spurted, painting a nearby wall, and a cry of pain escaped from the man's throat.

Harry scowled at the unknown wizard. He hated not knowing his enemies by face and name. The black Dark Mark on the arm was still red—brand new. Harry could not believe that after everything, people were still willing to become Death Eaters.

The rest, the crowd of people who screamed and drew their wands in a panic, were nothing more than innocent—or not so innocent—bystanders. People who had been Imperiused, threatened into submission, or ordered to look the other way or else. "Get out," Harry ordered them. There was a loud cracking sound of Apparition that Harry knew was backup arriving. His own people, of course, considering Voldemort's would have had access through the Floo Network. The wards that he and Theo had placed up the night before—not to mention the ones they spent hours deconstructing—would allow a one-way access point to their people while preventing Death Eaters from escaping. It had taken Bill and Luna the better part of the six months to get the Arithmancy right on the spells.

The civilians rushed toward the exits where Harry's men were waiting to Obliviate the evening from their memories. Voldemort and his Death Eaters believed Harry to be dead, and he would be damned if they thought otherwise due to the panicked memory of one escaped wizard.

Yanking the wand from a recently fallen Death Eater's hand, Harry spun to look at Hermione, who was standing statue-still, gaping at him. "Hermione, can you still use a wand?" Thrusting the bit of wood in her hand, he watched anxiously as she flicked it a few times, her hands shaking.

"I . . . I . . . it's not working."

"Shit," Theo complained as he approached them, a protective shield of magic he cast engulfing all three of them. "I was afraid of that." Harry turned, getting a look around the room, taking over the shielding while Theo cast diagnostic charms on Hermione to test her magic. "The collar's been on her for too long. It's not permanent, but she'll need to be rehabilitated."

"We don't have time for that now!"

Harry, long used to the biting tone of frustration, was fine ignoring Draco's impatience, but Hermione jumped, aiming the useless wand at the man. Instinctively, Harry reached out and grabbed it from her hand, a panicked look in his eyes. Draco hadn't even flinched as he stared the woman down, his features still shifting back to normal from the Polyjuiced form of Goyle.

"Just our luck! The brightest fucking witch with a wand back in her hand, and she can't even use the damned thing. Potter! Get her out of—"

Seeing a bright flash of light headed straight for the blond, Harry dove forward through the erected shield, knocking Draco to the ground just as an Entrail-Expelling Curse flew above them.

Draco expectedly shoved Harry off of him, punching him in the chest when they regained their footing.
"Arsehole! Stop doing that!"

Irritated, Harry grabbed Draco by the arm, pulling him inside the shield as Theo took over. "Draco, protect her." At the witch's shocked and appalled expression, Harry sighed. "Hermione, he'll keep you safe."

She shook her head, moving her back up against the shield. "But he's—"

Harry's face softened as he took her hands. "He's my friend."

Her eyes widened. "What?!"

"Occillopede!" Harry yelled, shooting a bright red curse at the feet of several Death Eaters, Dolohov amongst them. The ground broke open beneath them, just enough to make them stumble. One tripped over the rubble at his feet and fell forward. The echoing snap of a bone breaking was following by a scream. "Round them up and separate them."

Blaise rolled his eyes as he and Cassius moved in, flanking Harry. "We know the process, Potter."

"I mean it, Blaise! Follow protocol. Innocents are Obliviated and given a Portkey out."

Draco sneered, his lip curling in disgust at the way the supposed innocent people ran from the fray. "Back into a world filled with shit. They'll just end up at another revel when we let them go. Just because they're not murderers doesn't make them less guilty."

"I know," Harry said regretfully. "But if I followed your logic, then you'd be dead as well."

"Maybe I should have been a long time ago. After today, I know I'll wish I was."

Brow furrowing, Harry wanted to reach out to him but knew they didn't have time. Cassius and a few others moved to tend to the civilians, Blaise and Theo covering them as they did.

Harry watched, his heart beating painfully in his chest at the sight of Draco dutifully protecting Hermione as though she belonged to him. As though he loved her. Harry wondered how much of that was some sort of transference. Draco had not been a fan of this rescue mission from the start. It was too dangerous, and it showed the Death Eaters their hand. There was no going back to playing spy after today. Too many of the younger Death Eaters—Harry's people—would be in danger if they even tried.

Hermione did her best to ignore Draco entirely. "Are they . . . Are they . . . Are Malfoy and these others in the Order?"

Theo scoffed, offended, and sarcastically muttered, "Order."

"There is no Order, Hermione," Harry told her. "Or well . . . there is, but we're not apart of it."

Blaise dared to grin, the cheeky bastard. "He doesn't take to sacrifice very well anymore, this one. Terrible lamb."

Theo laughed. "Wolf in sheepskin, if you ask me."

Harry narrowed his eyes at them both. "I didn't. Hermione, I'll explain everything once we're out of here and back to our safe house.

Her lip quivered and Harry pulled her into his arms as she whispered, "Safe?"

"Yes. Safe. I will keep you safe, forever."

She pulled away from him just a few inches, looking up into his eyes as though she needed to constantly verify the exact shade of green. Her eyebrows raised half an inch. "We're married."

The smallest hint of colour peeked above the line of hair where Harry's beard was on his cheek. He cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Yeah. We are."

Spells stopped flying and everyone stopped moving. Harry let her go to look over his shoulder. The battle was over. What people survived were pinned up against a wall and held there magically by Theo, while Blaise dutifully collected their wands.

"What about them?" Hermione asked, leaving Draco's side to follow Harry as he walked through the rubble, staring at the people they had captured.

Draco shoved his way between Harry and Hermione, pointing his wand at the men against the wall. "Civilian, bribery, slave trade," he said, going down the line and listing the status of each, "civilian, murder, torture then murder, and my personal favourite . . ." He trailed off as he shoved the tip of his wand up under the throat of Thorfinn Rowle. He shoved hard, causing the tall Death Eater to choke.

Blaise sighed. "Can you not get such joy out of this?"

Draco glared at the Death Eater at his mercy. "This prick threatened to rape both Astoria and Pansy when they spoke out of turn."

Harry shook his head, helping the civilians down from the wall so that Theo didn't have to release the whole group and potentially lose control of their enemies. "Just deal with him." He turned just in time to see Hermione's eyes widen as Draco and the others executed the prisoners with non-verbal Severing Charms. Harry frowned, anxious as he reached out for her. He let out a heavy sigh of relief when she took his hand without hesitation.

They said nothing as Harry's men moved through the room, killing what enemies were still alive, and sparing the rest. Hermione's gaze rapidly followed the crowd, looking for familiar faces and frowning when she saw few. The recognisable light of Portkeys could be seen in the foyer, where Cassius Warrington was sending the civilians as far away from the scene as possible.

Hermione anchored herself against Harry's chest and soaked up the feel of him. Harry, likewise, pressed his lips to the top of her head and breathed in deep. "I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, silently begging him not to say another word.

"Harry?" Theo said, looking over his shoulder. "Dolohov is contained like you asked."

Harry stiffened in Hermione's embrace, his magic rolling over his skin in a wild burst of anger that felt like static. He gently pried Hermione away from him, brushing his thumb against her jaw. He did not release her until Draco was nearby, trusting her into the blond's care. "Everyone to the exits. Have the rooms all been cleared?"

"Pucey's down," Blaise said. "Shame too. He was a good little Imperiused puppet."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You saw what he and Flint did to those Muggle-borns."

Blaise held his hands up in supplication. "Not saying they didn't deserve it. Just . . . few Death Eaters take so well to the Imperius these days. Makes it a damn bit easier to have a man on the inside."

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he slowly approached the corner of the room where Theo had Dolohov pinned to the ground. "We won't have that anymore. It's us against them now."

"Better hurry," Theo muttered. "Once the wards fall, backup is likely to show. Distraction or not, we'll need to be well out of here and back at home base."

"Harry?" Hermione called out, looking panicked.

He pivoted to look at her. "You're safe. I swear it. Draco and the others will take you back to our camp. I'll be just behind you." He noticed the way her gaze fell on Dolohov as though she were contemplating whether or not she wanted to intervene.

He hated taking this revenge from her, but from the look of pure hatred she had on her face, Harry knew that they didn't have time for what she might like to have done to the man responsible for her imprisonment. He gave a nod to Draco and watched as he and the others vanished themselves and Hermione away with a Portkey. Only Theo remained behind.

"Everyone secure?"

"We did it," Theo said, relief evident in his tone. "There's not much time."

Harry knelt down in front of Dolohov, smirking as the man stared at him in shock and anger. "I don't have enough time to hurt you like I want to," he said. "But you'll still suffer for what you've done to her." Standing back up, Harry clapped Theo on the back.

Theo removed a Portkey from his pocket and tapped it with his wand. "Ready when you are."

Harry aimed his wand at Dolohov. "Fiendfyre!"

An inferno the size and shape of a basilisk emerged from the tip of Harry's wand, it's glaring eyes set on the terrified Death Eater in front of it. Harry wanted to watch. Felt it was his duty to make sure that the entire place was swallowed in flames, but he knew that they needed to leave.

"Portus!" Theo said, gripping Harry's shoulder as the magic carried them away.