Triumvirate

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the songs included in this fanfic nor do I make money off them. These stories are for entertainment only

~
I thought that I had everything
I didn't know what life could bring
But now I see, honestly

You're the one thing I got right
The only one I let inside
Now I can breathe, cause you're here with me


And if I let you down
I'll turn it all around
Cause I would never let you go


I will be - Avril Lavigne
~

It took two weeks to track them down, they might as well have gone back to Venice for all Hermione cared. She was tired, exhausted.

She’d grown used to sleeping in his arms, now the night felt dark and cold and when she did sleep she was plagued by nightmares.

Nightmares of him. Of his death, his pain.

And dreams of Harry watching them.

She pushed Ron’s team as hard as she could. Pushed herself harder. The constant search and squabbles with Ron were wearing on her.

She hung her head one night in her small room, fighting tears. This couldn’t be happening.

The door burst open and one of Ron’s lieutenants rushed into the room. “Found him!” she crowed.

Hermione was on her feet and out the door before the woman finished speaking.

“Where?” she called imperiously as she moved towards the door leading into the night.

“Paris catacombs.”

She nodded, “Less than an hour away, lets hurry shall we? Once we have him, we will return here and have the others open the floo network so we can pass through. It will save time”

“But over such a distance?” one asked.

Copper eyes silenced then, “Got a better idea?” Those eyes swept the room but no one seemed eager to stand up to her. If she said it would work then it would. Simple.

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Draco closed his eyes against the pain shooting through his limbs. Time had ceased to move for him, he knew neither day nor night, aside from the small fluttering in his chest to alert him of the dawn. He believed that an eternity had passed in his dark, dank prison.

The magically charged chains were cold like ice against his skin, burning his flesh, cutting deep. His arms lifted over his head and he was starting to wonder if the chains kept them from going numb just out of spite.

He was perched on the very tips of his bare toes, the chains not long enough to allow him even that small comfort. His back was shredded from the whipping they’d given him and his nerves screamed from the Cruciatus.

Again and again they’d struck, asking where she was.

She.

Hermione.

Once long ago, the frightened boy that had been Draco would have told everything he knew and then some. But Draco feared no pain and now, even death didn’t scare him. His future in the balance of two forms far too painful to face.

They’d seen. She’d seen.

Hermione Granger. Her face danced behind his eyelids. He could have told them something, anything and perhaps hastened his death. He could have. She was no doubt far and safe away. But he refused to betray her, not even in his mind. Why was that?

Her smile was so warm when she had looked up at him from the bed linens. Her eyes so sad when they had seen his draconian form.

For a moment he had let her in, past that winter he held so dear and she remained there. But it was better this way. Hermione was not for him. She was still good, pure. And he would never be again.

He would miss her though, for the duration of his life, which he was certain wasn’t long. He’d miss Harry too. He’d miss seeing the world they made. Where bloodlines and aristocracy weren’t the most important things out there.

Things he’d learned too late.

Friendship. Loyalty. Sacrifice. Honor. Joy. Love….

‘Yeah’ he thought, ‘I love her. Somehow’.

“Ready for another round Malfoy?” the cackling voice asked, followed by the snap of the whip.

Draco pulled himself back to the grim reality, “You know if you keep beating me you are going to turn me on” he drawled, too tired to care what they did now. He was resigned.

But resignation doesn’t make a hit to the manhood any less painful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and the others hurried through the catacombs. The way was uncertain and perilous. Already two of the team had fallen down shafts that went straight down for goodness knew how long. Only quick thinking had kept them safe.

Hermione tried following sounds, but the whispering echoes seemed to come from everywhere. With great reluctance she split the group, muttering a binding spell so they would be able to find the entrance and each other once again.

Now she hurried forward. She wasn’t afraid. She was a master dueler and Harry had sent her a new wand. Bless him.

“Lumos Maxima!” she cried when she heard footsteps and breathing just ahead.

The brilliant flare of light stunned the death eater and Hermione acted quickly. “Expelliarmus!”

The death eater lunged at her but the tip her wand brought him up short as it jabbed into the fatty underside of his chin. “Where is he?”

The death eater clamped his lips shut and much to his shock Hermione smiled, “I do so love it when we do things the hard way. Are you married? No? Children? Not yet? Such a shame.”

The death eater began to whimper and twitch as his pants suddenly felt as through they were filled with ants. Hermione froze him so he couldn’t bat an eyelash. All he could do was stand and feel.

“Now” she said sweetly, “Wasn’t there something you wanted to tell me?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco was dreaming. He had to be. Through the pain of the lashes and the brutal punches, he felt….alive. Renewed. He felt her.

The pounding kept coming and Draco his lip split…again. He’d tried wandless magic here but couldn’t get no response. He’d love to kill the lot of them. Or be killed. At this point it didn’t really matter.

“Stop Margoyle” another voice ordered, “Dark lord wants him alive. Thinks he’ll be very useful with that new form under the Imperious curse. Why he could fly right to them, and kill them all. Save us a lot of hassle. So break him all you want but no killin”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione felt him long before she saw him. A strange tug in her chest, pulling her, drawing her, urging her. The closer she got the more the spot in the back of her neck began to throb pleasantly. She nearly rolled her eyes at her own outrageous libido. She was on a rescue mission for crying out loud!

She peered into the darkness, noting that it lessened further up. A faint glow, like firelight. That was it.

That was where they had him.

She heard them taunting him, heard the dull impacts of the hits and kicks and she saw red.

Creeping closer, she nearly gasped at what she saw. The pale head, drooped against his powerful chest. His arms bound. His body bleeding.

And she knew in that moment that she would rather die than see him like that. Ever.

“Avada Kedava!” she shouted, sending the killing curse bouncing towards the man in the corner, spinning swiftly to take down a second. The third, the one beating Draco she saved. She froze him and spat the Cruciatus at him.

Then she stared down at him coldly, “Sectumsempra” she whispered with hate. The cuts appeared swiftly, blood spilling on the floor.

“Mercy” he breathed as she removed the petrifying charm.

“Mercy?” she asked and she smiled looking around the dingy room, “I’ll leave you for the rats. Ask them for mercy”.
She turned from him and hurried to where Draco hung. Her eyes welled at the damage to his body even as she forced herself to leave the man wounded behind her. This was war and he’d have done far worse.

“Draco?” she called softly, but he didn’t answer. He didn’t even move. Not even a twitch. “Oh you can’t be dead”.

She stepped between his spread legs, noting that his toes were raw and bleeding, as he hung. She pushed her hands gently into his once pale hair and swept it back as she lifted his bruised face. “Draco?”

Freeing one hand she lifted her wand towards the chains and muttered the spell to unlock them. She could barely hold his weight. “Draco? Please say something, open your eyes” her voice took on a frantic edge.

“Hermione!” Ron shouted from some distance, “We’ve cleared out the lot of them, where are you?”

“Here!” she shouted back, “Ron, hurry, help me!”

Fear slipped into her stomach like cold snakes twisting and sliding. Her hands and clothing marred with Draco’s blood and she wanted to vomit.

Her small hand slid to his throat, feeling the pulse there and she nearly sagged with relief. It wasn’t fast or strong, but it was present. That was enough at present.

“Hang on for me Draco please?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A voice. A sweet voice. Not course, or hard or angry. It reached him in the darkness he’d been waiting in.

It must be heaven he thought, since heaven in his mind was Hermione. Odd that her voice should be what angels sounded like.

“Draco!” she wailed.

It hurt to breathe, it hurt to open his eyes. Yet somehow he managed both. Slowly he peeled back those swollen eyelids as far as he could. To see bushy hair and wide copper eyes.

His cracked lips moved, “Mine”

She lifted his face gently once more, “Draco?”

His tongue touched the torn edge of his mouth and she gasped happily. “You’re alive!” she all but climbed him like a tree in her haste.

His groans and hisses brought her to her senses and she stepped away a bit, “I’m sorry” she said then, “I’ve been terrified for you, looking everywhere!”

“Mine” he said again and she pressed her lips softly to his, backing off at his small hiss of pain.

“Nnno” he mumbled through his pain, “L…li..ke”

She smiled at his pained words, leaning closer she whispered a simple healing spell to seal the cuts on his lips. “Better?”

“Mmm” he replied, feeling her lips against his.

“Mione!” Ron shouted and she looked up just as he entered the room. He was out of breath and looking around furiously, his wand ready. “You ok?”

She nodded, glancing up at Draco. “I need a hand though”

Ron looked warily at the beaten Malfoy. There was no illusion to him now. He had seen him turn into a dragon. “Mione…” he hedged.

Hermione lost her temper, “He’s the third Ron one of us now get your freckled arse over here and help me or I swear by the forelock of Nicodemus that I will tell Harry.”

Ron flinched, “Fine. Merlin but you sound downright mean” he said moving forward, “Don’t get all slithery on my Malfoy”.

Hermione stomped on Ron’s toes. “Knock it off!”

Ron said nothing, merely took the leaner man over his shoulder and motioned Hermione to lead them out.

“Can’t you think of something more comfortable than that?” she sniped.

“No I can’t” Ron snapped back, “You want I should levitate him? What if there are more outside?”

“S’okay” Draco rasped, though his ribs didn’t agree, “I’m leaving…all…..matters”

Hermione was silent though she cast worried glances at Draco.

Once outside, they hurried back to their quarters.

Ron heaved Draco onto a wooly couch and watched Hermione call her people in London.

“We have him. Activate the floo system. Twenty minutes only.”

“How many to come through?” came the polite voice on the other end.

Hermione leaned closer, “Fourteen, anything more than that and you kill them. Understood?”

“Of course ma’am. Fourteen only. One moment please?”

Hermione looked at Ron, “This will have to be fast. It will take us to headquarters. Harry will want to see us. All of us.”

Ron nodded as a voice chimed in, “Your connection is open Miss Granger, your party is free to enter”

Hermione ushered the team members through first, then Ron helped her lug Draco over.

"Bear with it just a little longer, we're nearly there. I'll be with you the whole time."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him and was whisked away.

Ron shook his head, “Bloody mental I am” then he too stepped into the fire and vanished.

It took only five minutes to get everyone into the network and true to Hermione’s orders the unfortunate death eaters that arrived mere minutes later and entered were burned to ash on the spot.

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