Draco's POV

May 2,1998

He followed the sound of her cries down the nearly deserted hall as the battle raged on outside the castle walls. He fought to stay present as her whimpers brought on a rush of memories.

His psychotic aunts deranged laughter, blood droplets trickling down olive skin that wrapped tightly around malnourished flesh and bone. Flashes of chestnut curls stick against sweat-soaked skin. She begged for it to end, claims of innocence falling from her lips smattered with blood.

Yes, he would know the sound of Hermione Grangers' screams anywhere. He had been forced to bear witness to her torture knowing there was nothing he could do for fear that any action on his part would cause harm to the only person in the world he cared for, Narcissa Malfoy.

Her weak cries bringing him back to the present, he cast a disillusionment and silencing charm to conceal himself from both death eaters and order members alike. Creeping forward he could see a small alcove bathed in shadow where the noises were projecting from. He crept close enough to see who the offender was and exactly what they were doing. The sight brought a cold sweat over his body and what little was in his stomach threatened to come up. Clamping down hard on his occlumency walls he gathered his wits about him.

Dolohov had Granger bent over a side table with one of his hands roughly holding her down between her shoulder blades. Her top had been ripped down the middle of her back and was hanging off of her shoulders. The sound of Dolohov's soft but quick grunts, as he thrust into Granger, threatened to break what little control he had. He felt an unfamiliar sense of white-hot rage flood his senses as he witnessed yet another torture being pressed upon his former classmate. Once again trying to maintain a semblance of control he mutters into the quiet.

"Dolohov, I do believe the Dark Lord has made it clear in the past that he would prefer if you didn't play with his toys without permission. The mudblood you have your poor excuse for a cock shoved into happens to be Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend. I would think even you would have better sense than to defile her before asking the Dark Lord's permission." He tried to lean into the fear that he knew the Dark Lord held over his followers.

"The Malfoy brat is getting a little big for his britches is he now? Thinks he has earned the right to presume what the Dark Lord would want, eh? Well, I'll tell you what boy, after I'm finished tearing this mudbloods cunt to bits with my "poor excuse for a cock", I'll let you have a go and then we'll drag her to the Dark Lord. I will be rewarded for bringing her forward and knocking her down a peg. Stupid bitch thinks she can stand up to the likes of a Death eater like me. Put her right in her place I did." This close he could see blood trickle down Granger's thighs from the assault her body had sustained.

"Please Malfoy. Just end it." She begged.

He didn't think he could handle any more begging from her. He had truly had enough to last a lifetime. He gripped his wand tighter in his sweaty palms.

"You may be willing to soil your family name by sticking your prick in a mudblood but the Malfoy line has much higher standards than that. So I think I will have to pass up on your offer. We need to head back to the battle so leave your little toy behind and let's go." he tried to reason once again, knowing that he was out-skilled in a one-on-one battle with Dolohov who had decades of battle experience over him. Dolohov gave Malfoy an assessing look before turning back to Hermione, grabbing her shoulders roughly and thrusting roughly into her. She let out an anguished cry that sent a jolt through Malfoy's body sending him into motion without another thought.

"Stupify" He yelled and a shot of red light burst from his wand. Dolohov was much faster, casting a quick difindo the spell ricocheted off the stone wall. Pulling away from Hermione while simultaneously fixing his trousers, he turned to face Malfoy. He saw Granger fall to the floor in a whimpering heap and had to remind himself to stay focused if either of them were going to make it out of this alive.

"You sure you want to do this boy? I always knew you were weak but defending a mudblood? That's a new low even for a Malfoy." Dolohov's darkened yellow teeth bared in a foul grimace.

Boy and man faced each other in a now silent standoff. Waiting for the other to make their next move. Malfoy knew his only advantage at this point was being physically more fit than the older man in front of him. True, he lost quite a bit of his muscle from the stress during the Dark Lord's stay at Malfoy manner but he knew he was still in better shape than the slightly overweight, grimy man in front of him. Choosing not to dignify Dolohov with a response Malfoy sent a silent stunner first to the left and then to the right of Dolohov hoping to catch him slightly off his guard. He took two quick steps forward and launched himself at the man. The sensation of falling forward and then a quick jarring swept through his body. Knowing he wasn't going to be able to beat Dolohov in a wand fight he made it a physical one. Quickly righting himself with both knees braced on either side of his opponent he brought his arm back and thrust it forward against Dolohov's nose. Feeling bone crack beneath his knuckles and blood spew across his hand didn't deter him from getting two more quick shots in before he was thrust off of Dolohov, toppling onto his back. He tried to quickly right himself before the older man was on him. A kick to the gut knocked the breath out of him.

"Now you did it, lad. Think you can-" his nasal voice stopped mid-sentence. Malfoy cracked his eyes open in time to see Dolohov's shocked expression turn to venomous rage. "You stupid mudblood whore!" He spewed. Granger was on her knees holding her wand in her shaking hands. She had shot a stunner that seemed to barely have nicked Dolohov's shoulder. In the time it took for Dolohov to turn from Hermione back to Draco, Draco had his wand out and cast the curse he had promised himself he never would. "Avada Kadavra" The killing curse softly fell from his lips. Barely a whisper but the impact was all the same. Dolohov's eyes glassed over and he fell to the floor next to Draco.

Reinforcing his mental walls Draco fought to drown out his feelings of shame and shock to evaluate later. "Granger!" He yelled as he rushed forward to her. Having more than a moment to take her in he was disgusted to see further damage upon her body. He gently took her chin in one hand and lifted her face so their eyes could meet. The once bright and haughty chocolate eyes of the girl he used to torment in school had been dulled to take on a lifeless sheen. Her once lively curls were still matted around her face, she had cuts up and down her arms and across her chest where her torn top hung loose against her shoulders. She must have managed to fix her muggle jeans while he was distracted with Dolohov.

"Granger, what can I do to help?" He implored with a soft voice and searching eyes.

"Why would you help me Malfoy? Shouldn't you be out there with the rest of the racist rapists and murderers? Won't you be missed?" It was more of a statement than a question but he decided to answer anyway. "I am weary to the bone with the Dark Lord's cause Granger, I didn't sign up for torture and murder, I didn't sign up for any of this shit to tell you the truth. We don't get to choose our family Granger as I am sure you are well aware. Let's get you fixed up enough so you can make it back to the brainless wonders." He attempted humor to take away from his prior statement.

"Do not insult Harry or Ron in front of me again Malfoy. While I appreciate your assistance you have no room to be judging others, especially Harry or Ron." Her old swotty tone leaked through.

"Ahh, there's the Granger we all know and love." The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. The half smile didn't meet his eyes. Malfoy stood and taking her hands he lifted her to her feet. With deft fingers he removed his black button-up and handed it over to Granger, leaving him in a simple white undershirt. She took the shirt gratefully and turned away to let her ripped top fall to the ground along with her mangled bra. She could feel the soft material against her skin as she tried to quickly button the top. Her fingers were still uncontrollably shaking from the assault she had experienced minutes before. She jumped as she felt a large warm hand softly rest against her shoulder.

"May I help you, Granger?" She didn't think she had ever heard such softness in his normally cold aristocratic voice.

"Only for the sake of time." She bit out. Turning to face him fully she tried to hold the shirt closed. Malfoy's long pale fingers made quick work of the buttons and she watched as he kept his eyes averted from her partially displayed breasts.

"Thank you, Malfoy. For everything. I need to find Harry and Ron but try to stay safe." She spoke hesitantly as this was new territory for the both of them. His one action of human decency didn't erase years of bullying and terrible life choices but that didn't mean she wished harm to befall him. The two held a loaded stare for a few more moments before Malfoy took a step back.

"You too Granger."