Occlumency was a skill few people were able to master. Draco received his training from both his father and Snape. Lucius taught him all the ways someone would try to dig into his mind, and Snape taught him all of the methods to lock it away.

Draco was rapidly blinking; emotions disheveled behind fracturing dams of occlusion. The meeting had to begin eventually, and the question on everyone's mind was why their friends and colleagues had never returned while Draco and Blaise stood before them.

It was far from the first time Draco had chosen to apparate on his own rather than traveling with the group. Still, his composure was fracturing, just enough for Hermione to notice.

"Why were you hours late?" Lucius snapped.

"We happened upon rebels once we apparated to Luxemburg. We had to verify their documentation," Draco answered quickly, fidgeting with his ring.

"That should only take minutes," Lucius countered.

"I had to detour again when Mosby arrived," Draco answered without thinking. He took a long blink after, immediately realizing his mistake.

"Why?" Lucius asked.

Draco remained silent, failing to come up with an answer.

"Mosby!" Lucius barked and the elf stepped up from his spot in the back of the room. "Why did you interrupt my son's mission?"

"Erm," Mosby squeaked, looking down and troubling his fingers. "Mistress commanded Mosby to fetch Master Draco at once."

Lucius inhaled sharply through his nose, sitting up straight and looking away from Draco with a small nod. "Was the situation rectified?"

"That will be all, Mosby," Draco said, dismissing the elf. Once he disappeared with a crack, Draco continued more confidently. "I went to her immediately. Her injuries were minor, but I had to stay until she was pacified."

Lucius changed the subject quickly, wanting to avoid any more discussion on what he assumed was Narcissa's condition. As Lucius recalled the events in London, Draco began slipping further into dismay. He was rapidly twirling his ring, running his hand through his hair as he kept looking at the door. It was times like these Neddy would have already stepped in to provide a distraction.

Hermione walked beside him as silently as she could and reached into her bag. She took one of the persevered rose petals from the bouquet he made her, and carefully dropped one into his half-filled goblet of wine–a small reminder that he was not alone.

Once Draco's eyes locked in on the floating petal he exhaled slightly. He grabbed the stem of the goblet and turned it, intently watching the petal bump against the edges as he occluded his mind further. It worked for the remainder of the meeting. It wasn't until Dolohov walked in to deliver a message that Draco lost it completely. Fortunately, he wasn't the only one.

"Our intelligence within the Order has confirmed it, Lucius," Dolohov said, looking over Draco and his friends. "The rest of your unit was captured and killed."

There was an uproar and shouting followed by a mass exodus as Lucius instructed them to go on a hunt for any Order member they could get their hands on. Theo and Blaise left with the others, but their target was someone else entirely.

Hermione lost Draco in the chaos and ran to their rooms in search of him. She heard a crash in the bathroom and slowly approached the doorway.

"Draco," whispered Hermione through her sobs. What had she done? How did everything go so horribly wrong?

Draco stopped his pacing and lunged towards the counter, vomiting into the sink. He coughed a few times before screaming–roaring–and grabbed a potion off the counter, shattering it against the other wall.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm so, so, sorry," she cried, taking a tentative step towards him.

"MERLIN- FUCK!" he hollered, ignoring her. The doors ripped off all the cabinets, hurtling around the room until they were nothing but splinters. "What the fuck! What- why- I-"

He put his hands on either side of the sink and swore, coughing as he choked down the sick making its way up his throat again and letting his head hang. Hermione reached out her hand and touched his arm, and he retracted like she burned him.

"Leave, Granger! Get away from me! I can't protect you. I can't- everyone is-"

"Draco, this isn't your fault," she choked.

"Goyle went there for me!" he wailed. "To be by my side. I didn't even give him a second thought!"

"You didn't know any of it," Hermione said.

Draco grasped the material of the front of his shirt and dry heaved into the sink–all his barriers crashing down as his dams broke and his previously suppressed emotions flooded through him.

"First Crabbe, that bloody fool. Fuck you, Vincent!" he spat under his breath before rambling on. "I should have made Neddy leave. I should have sent her away the moment she was freed. Daphne…I'm so sorry Daph. And fucking Goyle! Why is he always trading posts?! We make the orders for a reason! He's supposed to be where I tell him to!"

"It wasn't his fault," Hermione said, finally touching his arm. He leaned slightly into her.

"The only people I haven't killed are Pansy and my mother, and that is because I sent them to…" He looked up in the mirror and met her eyes. Hermione had tears streaming down her face as much as he did. "You have to leave, Hermione."

"I can't," she said simply. It was a fact he knew as well as she did.

Draco snatched her roughly by the arm, holding her tightly against him to face the mirror.

"Look at me, Granger. What do you see?" he said coldly to her reflection, and she squirmed slightly to loosen his hold before meeting his eyes. "I'm a Death Eater. What the fuck do you think I have to offer other than death?"

Hermione shook her head. "You're more than that-"

Draco reached across and yanked up his left sleeve. Hermione tried to turn around, and he gripped her jaw to force her face back to the mirror. "Look at it! You know what that is? Do you know how I got it? What it means? I'm a warrior of the Dark Lord. There are borders I can't cross, cities I can't enter because of my mark. Borders that were created to keep people like you safe from people like me."

Hermione pushed his hand down from her face, and he held it against her chest holding her firmly. He still had his left arm out, baring his mark for her to see.

"I see you. Your arm, your skin," Hermione said gently before running her fingers over the Dark Mark, causing the snake to coil around the skull.

His shoulders sagged, and Hermione felt heavier as he let her bare some of his weight. He brushed his lips against the side of her head, eyes closed as she leaned more into his touch.

"I need you so badly, Granger," he whispered. "But you don't want me like this."

"I want all of you. I love you," Hermione replied.

Draco gripped her jaw again, this time in the familiar way to bring their lips together. The kiss was frantic–desperate. The other times Draco had devoured her like this Hermione stopped him to talk things through first. This time, she needed it just as much.

He pushed down her denims, not taking time to unbutton them and her skin burned as it was forced past her hips. She reached behind and started pulling at his belt, succeeding in getting it out of the first loop before Draco jerked her hips back, and she had to throw her hands to the counter to catch herself. A hand pushed her hair to one side, and warm lips pressed against her pulse point as her heart pounded.

"Your heart is beating so fast," Draco sighed. "I don't want it to stop. I'd die if it stopped."

Hermione gasped as one of Draco's hands shoved up the front of her shirt while the other fumbled his trousers open. He shoved all the way inside her with one thrust, and Hermione moved one hand to the mirror to help leverage herself against him.

Draco gripped both of her hips as he thrusted into her. Her body reacted quickly, and she moaned his name, already feeling herself slip into a place only the two of them knew.

He released her hips and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against him, and she held onto his arms in return.

"You are an angel, Granger," Draco said next to her ear, slowing his pace. "How can you let Death Eaters fuck you?"

"Don't stop," she begged. The last thing she wanted to hear was how perfect Draco saw her. Not after today. She felt herself being lifted and then cool tiles beneath her as Draco laid them on the ground.

"My perfect Hermione. You're so sweet. So warm," he muttered against her lips as he started to lose himself. "I love you. I've always loved you."

Draco tucked one arm under Hermione's head, protecting her from the unforgiving tile as he fucked into her until they both found their release. As they caught their breath, Draco kept most of his weight off her, not wanting to crush her against the hard floor.

"I can't kill you too."

"Up and at 'em boys.o time to rest," Blaise said, slapping the side of Dolohov's face.

Cyrus was in the chair next to him, hardly maintaining consciousness as Theo continued with his interrogation. Cyrus legs were bound to the chair, but his hands were kept on the table–at first with a sticking charm, but over the last hours, with nails that Theo hammered in one by one.

The Malfoy dungeon had not held prisoners during Hermione's time there. Lucius' strict limits on access had most of the Death Eaters' captives taken to either the Nott or Lestrange estate. It made it all the more surprising when the boys showed up at their door in the middle of the night, dragging the two Death Eaters in tow with need of a place to work them.

"I told you everything. I don't know who set it up. Only that the portkey was a trap and that the travelers would be executed by the Order," Cyrus gargled, mouth full of saliva and blood.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe you," Draco drawled from the shadows. He rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.

"Search my mind!" yelled Cyrus.

Draco snorted. "As if I'd trust anything I'd find in there."

"I have no reason to lie!"

"You tried to get Zabini and I killed!" Draco shouted. "Not to mention the stunt your dog pulled with Theo. Don't think we forgot about that."

He tapped the dagger to the side of his head as he spoke, and Cyrus followed the item with his eyes. It was the dagger he had gifted Hermione, and there was no knowing what abilities had been absorbed by the goblin made blade.

"Fine! We made a deal with the beast. We let him have his pick of who he wanted in exchange for his allegiance," Dolohov shouted.

"Shut up, Antonin!" Cyrus barked.

"Aha! Now we are getting somewhere!" Blaise said excitedly before taking the hammer from Theo and coming down hard on Cyrus' hand, causing him to yell out in pain. "We must not tell lies, Mr. Greengrass."

Hermione watched them from the other side of the dungeon bars. She knew the boys had a variety of responsibilities within their ranks, interrogations being one of them, but she had never seen their performance until now. She transfigured into her animagus form in order to hear better and get closer.

"Get out of here, love," Draco said, but Hermione stayed in place.

She needed to find out what they knew just as much as they did. Someone had to have exposed Cyrus to their plan. However, the first few hours were spent trying to get his informant from him, and both men were still holding strong.

"Go on, pet. We'll be up once we're finished." Theo looked around the room subtly, trying to locate her.

"Who are you talking to?" Dolohov said, turning his head.

Blaise chuckled darkly. "Oh, Antonin, if you think we are scary…"

Dolohov took a deep shaky breath, looking around the dungeon.

"Have you not heard of the ghost of Malfoy Manor?" Theo drawled, leaning in to mock whisper in his ear. The boys circled that table, stepping in and out of the shadows.

"It lurks in the halls," Blaise began.

Theo spoke next. "Hiding in plain sight. Waiting for a chance…"

"Begging for an opportunity…"

"For someone…anyone to disgrace the great House of Malfoy."

"Sort of like your friend Greyback did when he attempted to lock Theo in the cellar," Blaise snarled, standing in Cyrus' line of sight. "Tell me, how has he recovered? Not all there I expect. The ghost doesn't like when people try to hurt one of our own."

Cyrus looked between the younger men, finding them stern, unyielding. "Starting your own following, are you?"

Draco smirked. "Not so much a following as say, a pack. Your beast has probably told you all about what happens when you threaten a pack, I'm sure."

"Threaten one, you threaten us all," Blaise stated as a fact.

Theo spoke next, and Dolohov and Cyrus snapped their heads towards the low sound of his voice. "Hardly took Zabini and I any time to hunt you down."

"And we know it's been you targeting us for months. So, save yourself some pain and just tell us now," said Draco.

Cyrus looked around the room, exterior cracking as he was met with cold, primal stares. "You don't know anything."

Blaise turned, rushing the table towards Cyrus. He jumped, transforming mid-air, and landed in his fox form inches from his face. The older wizard gasped, shaking slightly as Blaise growled and snapped his sharp teeth.

"The fox lurking the grounds… It was you," Cyrus said with a shaky voice.

Draco spoke next from the shadows. "If you think his form is intimidating, wait until you see Nott's."

Theo kept his smirk on his face but narrowed his eyes. He crossed his arm, leaving his middle finger out in Draco's line of sight.

"Tell me again what we have not heard. I dare you," Draco hissed.

"Let us settle this civilly, I am sure we can come to an agreement," Cyrus panted. "What of Astoria?"

"What of your pathetic attempts to murder me?" Draco pressed.

"It's nothing personal, boy. Both you and your father have the Dark Lord's favor. I can't allow that," Cyrus said.

"The Malfoy family has always been in favor," Draco countered.

Cyrus narrowed his eyes, "Right you are. But until recently, the Greengrass and Malfoy families had a mutual understanding. I can't stand by and let your father hoard all the power without the guarantee of merging our houses."

"Why try to have me killed by the Order if I'm to join our families?" Draco said.

"I didn't set up the ambush. I only heard of it and saw an opportunity!" Cyrus insisted.

"To get Malfoy and Zabini killed," Theo said as he ignored Cyrus, voice full of contempt. "No doubt you also got news to Goyle, knowing he would trade posts. And as pathetic of an attempt it was, I also assume you didn't expect me to live long after handing me to Greyback."

Cyrus finally broke, the boy's lack of respect finally pushing him over the edge. "Because you all refuse to learn your place! Your fathers raised their sons to be weak, spoiled, entitled boys who are throwing away all our hard work–centuries of lineage, bloodlines, power! Pissed on your betrothals! The only one of you who's a morsel of a man is Zabini, and that is only because his mother taught him herself!"

Blaise hopped off the table and transformed back into his human form. Theo beat him to it, slamming the hammer into the side of Cyrus's face with a sickening crack. He groaned in pain, lulling his head to the side to spit out his teeth.

Dolohov caved instantly. "Enough of this! The Dark Lord grows more manic every day. It will only be a handful of years before everyone in his following notices."

"Your plan is to steal the Dark Lord's followers from under him?" Blaise said, turning to Dolohov.

Cyrus spoke for them next. "The muggles made it all too easy. Did you know they killed a mudblood the other day? Stole her from her muggle family and locked her up until she starved to death. At least that is what they claimed. There was no body left to examine.

You see, this is no longer the vision of a powerful wizard. It may have started that way, and surely, nothing will happen until the Dark Lord's time is up. But the muggle raids, the boundaries, the Statute of Secrecy… Magical people who tried to remain neutral now flee to us for protection. The wizarding world will hide no longer. We will not be forced back underground. The Dark Lord will do most of the work for us, and all we have to do is wait for him to grow weak. This is our time, Draco. Join us."

"The muggles are fighting for their lives in a war that we started. But you are wrong about one other thing. You will find yourself underground rather soon," Draco hissed. "You shouldn't have killed Goyle, Cyrus."

Cyrus laughed cruelly, his shoulders bouncing slightly as he looked back at Draco. "Such confidence. Oh, to be young. You haven't a chance, boys. You have no idea who we have on our side, do you?"

"And you have no idea who we have on ours," Draco countered.

"Ooo, going to tell your father, Draco?" Cyrus laughed. "Who do you have? The Lestranges? The Goyles, or what's left of them? Some witches and wizards that still bow in intimidation to the Malfoy name or are foolish enough to remain blindly loyal to the Dark Lord?"

"Witches, wizards… the muggle army," Draco sat on the table to the side of Cyrus hand, twirling the knife. He leaned in, almost to his ear to whisper as Cyrus visibly started to tremble with rage. "The Order of the Phoenix."

Cyrus' face was overcome with fury. "You're the rat? You filthy blood traitor-"

His words were cut short as Draco swiftly drug the blade across his throat. Blood started to spill out, choking him as he gasped for breath. Then, the cut on his neck started to turn black, spreading through his body until there was nothing left of him but ash.

"Avada Kedavra!" Blaise hit Dolohov as he started to shout, and he fell back in his chair lifeless.

The boys were silent. Theo walked up to Blaise, putting a hand on his shoulder that he quickly shook off as he walked away. He still needed to release the residual shock from the killing curse. Hermione remembered the feeling vividly.

"The beast?" Draco said to no one in particular.

"He's somewhere in the forest, licking his wounds. We'll find him," Theo promised.

"I believe Cyrus. He must have several others working with him. Not to mention someone high enough in the Order to know how to tag Theo," Draco continued to think out loud.

Draco sheathed the dagger back into its case, staring vacantly at the chair Cyrus had occupied. No longer needing to perform without an audience, the boys slumped, giving into their grief and exhausting.

Hermione transformed, walking into the light and looking around. Once she approached Draco, she took the dagger from him, tucking it into the waistband of her trousers. "This war is just starting, isn't it?"