Harmonious Fire

Chapter Three
The basement reeked, mould clung to the walls, and the whole place felt wrong. Charlie held his wand aloft, the light from the tip illuminating their path. Bill was behind them, his wand tip glowing dimly in their wake. Harry was buzzing, a breakthrough like this could tip the odds in their favour, Charlie was talking away, telling the story of how they had come to catch the rat,
"We knew we had been followed, Bill could smell him from a mile off, we were waiting for the best moment to take him out and he gave it to us on a plate. We've put a binding spell on him, so he can't turn. He's was squealing all the way here, gave me right fucking headache." Harry smirked in the darkness, the pleasure he would have in extracting information from the man who betrayed his parents was giving him chills. Finally they reached their destination, a small storage cupboard, just off the main passage. Charlie kicked the door open to reveal a whimpering form, hands and feet bound. Wormtail turned at the noise, on seeing Harry, his whimpering increased,
"Shut up Rat," Charlie aimed a sharp kick in the ribs, Harry pulled him back,
"Leave it, its not worth us becoming like them," he spat at the ground, close to Wormtail's head, Harry walked to stand next to the quivering figure, crouching down he said in a low, dangerous voice, "Well, well Peter, looks like your luck finally ran out. Tell me what I need to know and I'll send you back to your Master in tact. Don't, and I'll send you back in pieces." So much for not becoming like 'them'. Wormtail nodded pathetically, Harry's tone brightened, "Good! Bill, Charlie, thanks, I'll take it from here. You two go get some rest, you look exhausted." The two Weasley brothers obliged him, they knew that this was one prisoner Harry would want to himself. He watched them go, then turned to the man on the floor, and said with a menacing glint in the eyes, "Alone at last." Wormtail cowered on the floor, like the pathetic rat he was. Harry circled him, much like a vulture, his blood was fuming, and it was taking all of his self resolve not to just kill the rat and be done with it, but he restrained himself, he needed answers and Wormtail was going to give them to him. "I'm going to ask you once and once only, what is Voldemort looking for and who is he sending to retrieve it? You've got ten seconds. Tick, tick, tick." Wormtail stayed quiet, unmoving. Harry smiled, took out his wand and cast a Crucio crashing down. The rat screamed, writhing on the floor as the pain ripped through him. Harry grimaced, "Tick, tick, tick, clock is ticking, next one will be worse. Tell me what I want to know." Still nothing. Another Crucio. The rat began to squeal, he never did have much loyalty in him, Harry had to bend low to hear what he was saying, his voice had been reduced to a rasp from the excruciating pain tearing through him,
"They're being sent to London," Wormtail coughed, blood splattered the floor, "The Dark Lord, he's...he's wants something back, something that you took from him." Harry's eyebrow quirked,
"Something I stole? And what might that be?" Wormtail chuckled,
"Even I'm not prithee on that information. The Dark Lord only told two, his most trusted. Though they don't deserve it, filthy traitors." He spat out this last word, like it contaminated him, Harry's expression darkened,
"Who is he sending?" Wormtail, shook his head in fear,
"I can't, if he doesn't kill me, they will. I'm not...no!" Harry grabbed the back of Wormtail's head, and slammed it face first into the ground, bone and sinew crushed, and Wormtail's nose caved with a sickening crunch,
"WHO?!" Harry shouted, Wormtail cried, muttering under his breath,
"No, no, no. Kill me. They...no, no...." He seemed more afraid of the mystery Death Eater's wrath more then Voldemorts, his voice a hoarse whisper, "Its...its..Zabini, and..and his wife, and their...their host." Zabini. Harry's lip curled, Zabini and his wife. They were coming back to London, Harry shook Wormtail's head, blood splashed on his clothes,
"Who's their host?"
"I know not, but they say that he's wild, unpredictable. He doesn't take orders, doesn't follow anyone's lead but his own. The dragon they call him." At this, the rat passed out from the loss of blood, Harry left him to bleed. Dragon, it couldn't be. If that was who he thought it could be, no, it couldn't, he was dead. Harry had killed him with his own hands. But that nagging voice in the back of his head told him they had never found a body. Was it possible that Draco Malfoy was alive and well? The sun broke over the clouds, and Harry snarled. He needed to have a conversation with dear Hermione. He tore up the stairs and into the kitchen, where Hermione was bent over the table, the atmosphere reeked of magic, busting the door open he shouted,
"Did you know?!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The ancient villa stood, secluded in the mountains, their snowy tips glinting in the moonlight, it was beautiful, picturesque. He took it all in, standing on the balcony, looking out across the breathtaking scenery, anyone would be astounded, instantly lifted, the view did nothing to lighten his mood. He felt on edge, and not even the thousand cigarettes he had smoked in the past two days calmed him. He heard the door open, and turned, expecting to see Blaise, no one else had the gall to ever bother him, he was therefore surprised to see his best friend's wife standing, somewhat defiantly in front of him. He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise,
"Mrs. Zabini, what a surprise this is! What the fuck do you want?!" She tutted and shook her head, Blaise had told her not to go and see him, but like a good little Gryffindor she had ignored. Smiling slightly, she said,
"Draco, there's really is no need to use that tone now, is there? I've made the effort to come to see you, and you treat me like this? Whatever next?!" He chuckled,
"Ginny, seriously, what the fuck do you want?" She walked to the chest at the end of the bed and sat atop it, legs crossed,
"I want to talk to you," he scowled and made a, 'why the fuck' gesture with his hands, turning his back to her, she huffed, "Don't turn your back to me Draco Malfoy, you forget I'm married to your best friend, I know how to handle you now!" She got up and went over to him, getting right in his face so he couldn't ignore her,
"Yeah, so does he," Draco said lewdly, momentarily regaining some of his old charm, but that vanished almost as soon as it arrived, replaced by a look of annoyance. He pushed her away from him, and turned his back again. Ginny made a disproving face. She was well aware of her husbands 'relationship' with the blond, having accidently walked in on them a week after her wedding. She had been mad, but had looked past it, Draco missed Hermione and she knew that he needed the connection and like Hermione before her, she found it somewhat of a turn on. Now, they were returning to London, and from what Blaise had told her, they were planning on snatching Hermione from under her former flame's nose. She persisted with Draco, it always helped to be patient,
"I'm well aware of Blaise's ability to handle you, thank you very much, there's no need to remind me. Its your relationship with my best friend I want to talk about!" Draco scowled, and the mask went up. He hadn't said anything about Hermione since that night, granted he had been comatose for four months after his fight with Potter at Hogwarts. He had been barely conscious when Potter had sent him crashing through the Great Hall window, luckily for him the fall was broken by the Forest, but he had still sustained a numerous amount of broken bones and a fuck load of cuts and bruises. Blaise had sent a search party out for him as soon as he could, they had found him inches from death. Blaise had sat with him for days on end, or so he was told and was there the day he woke up from the coma. His body had needed the time to heal, he had been told it was a miracle he was still alive, some kind of higher power looking out for him, who the fuck knew. His back still bore the scars of the sectumsempra curse, three lines carved deep in his skin, a constant reminder of what he had lost that day. That was nothing though, the scars that he wore on the inside had taken the longest to heal, especially when he had heard that Hermione was marrying the Weasel. He couldn't believe that she had given up on him that easily, so he had to see for himself. He had gone to the church, watched from the shadows as she had walked down the aisle. His breath had caught in his throat, she looked better then he remembered, his whole being had cried out for her, but he had let her go. She was better off, what could he give her? A life on the run, a life in servitude to a monster? Only as she was pronounced Mrs. Weasley and turned to her family and friends, did he step, momentarily, out of the shadows. He couldn't be sure, but the look on her face was as though she had seen him, and that was when he had vowed. Vowed to finish it, take Voldemort and get her back, make the world theirs as he had promised. So here they were, about to return to London, and he was damned if he was going to come back without her. Ginny was looking at him expectantly, he sighed and gave in,
"I expect your husband has told you what we're planning?" She nodded, he smiled, a big fake, leave me alone smile, "Well then, there's nothing to talk about, is there? Bye bye." He unceremoniously shoved her out of the room, she made noises of protest but he just slammed the door in her face. Ginny hammered her fist on the door,
"DRACO!!! Don't you fucking keep me out of this!!! DRACO!!!" Behind her she heard a snigger, she turned, and shook her head, "I hate him," she said. Blaise walked to her and pulled her to him,
"Aww poor little Red, I told you not the bother him. But stubborn little bint you are, you had to anyway. So, what did he say?"
"Mostly...mostly he told me to fuck off," he chuckled again, then tipped her head upwards, kissing her deeply. She shoved him off, "BLAISE! Take this seriously! You can't drag me to London, then bugger off and leave me, to go rescue Hermione! I can help for fuck's sake! Just let me!" He tugged her hand and pulled her into their room down the corridor, slamming the door behind them, turned to her and said,
"Keep it down lover," there was the slight edge of anger to his voice that she had come to recognise, "You want to whole fucking world to know what's going on? Besides I think its prudent to keep Draco as calm as we can." The anger was replaced with an edge of despair, Blaise sunk onto the bed and rubbed his temples. This whole fucking situation was giving him a headache, Draco was taking it out of him. Keeping him calm and alive was proving more challenging then it used to be. Draco was on his last warning with the Dark Lord and knowing the blonds voilatile nature as Blaise did, he knew it wouldn't be long before time would run out for his lover. This was why the plan to get Hermione back had to work, and for the plan to work he needed Draco focused, and to not let his anger get the better of him. He felt the bed next to him sink a little, turning his head he found himself staring into his wife's eyes, which were starting to brim up,
"I'm sorry baby," she whispered, "I should have listened to you." He put his arm around her and pulled her on top of him,
"I shouldn't have snapped at you cara, I apologise. Its just, Draco, he....I'm worried about him." She kissed him lightly on the forehead, then ran her hand down his front, unbuttoning his silk, black shirt,
"He'll be fine, baby. We just need to get Hermione back. He'll be fine." Blaise covered her lips with his, and allowed the lust for the woman on top of him overcome the concern he felt for the man he loved.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Did you know?!" She looked up, Harry was raging at her. His clothes were splashed with blood and the look in his eyes was wild. He came right for her, "Did you know?!" He yelled again, getting right up close to her, she drew herself to full height and shouted back,
"Did I know what?!" He grabbed her arms and shook,
"That you dearly departed lover is still alive and well!!" Hermione's eyes glazed over, and she became limp in his grasp,
"What?" She rasped, "He.....he's alive? How? Who...who told you?" Harry let go of her, she slid to the floor in a dazed heap. Mrs Weasley, bustled over to her, and tried to put an arm round her shoulder but Hermione shrugged it off. Harry walked to her and crouched down,
"Wormtail. Bill and Charlie caught him, he's in the basement. He said Zabini and his partner are coming back to London. Dragon, is what they call him. Dragon, Draco, see the connection?!" He shook his head, then looked down at her again, "You really didn't know?" She looked up at him, her eyes darkening,
"Do you honestly think I'd be fucking sitting here if I knew?!" She snarled. Harry was taken aback, he stood and backed up,
"Get the fuck out of here then! I'm done with you." To his intense surprise, she started to laugh, he was dumbstruck, "What could possibly be funny?" She looked up, a mad glint in her eye, then smirked, a truly Malfoy-esque smirk,
"If it is true, if he really is alive, I don't need to go anywhere. He'll be coming for me, and when he does, you are going to wish you died when your fucking parents did." Hermione pushed up from floor, and swept from the room, whistling to herself as she went. Harry's look turned dark, Mrs Weasley approached him and touched him lightly on the arm,
"Harry," she whispered, "If...if he does come for her, does..does it mean Ginny will be with him?" He shrugged her arm off, and turned to walk out of the room, stopping before he left, he said in a cold voice,
"As far as I'm concerned, Ginny Weasley is dead. Blaise Zabini's whore of a wife will never be welcome here." With that he strode from the room.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hermione had to know, she had to be sure. After the scene in the kitchen, she snuck down to the basement. The place was disgusting, dank and dark, the only light being from her wandtip, casting a gloom on her surroundings. She followed the passage round, stopping every now and then to listen for the whimpering of a rat, that would signal her getting closer to her target. The groaning got steadily louder and louder, until she was standing outside a small wooden door, barely attached on its hinges. She pushed it open and lo and behold there was Wormtail, writhing on the floor, blood dripping down his face. His whole body was shaking, leading her to believe that the information Harry gleaned from him was not asked for nicely. She approached cautiously,
"Wormtail," he looked up, and saw her. Shrinking back into the corner, he began to squeal again. She sighed, "For fuck's sake, its just a broken nose," with a swish of her wand, she fixed it. Then with one fail swoop, had him pinned against the wall with her power,
"Wh....what!!!" He began to whimper, she smiled sweetly.
"Is it true?"
"Is what true?" She shook her head, slamming his back into the wall again,
"Draco. Is he alive? Is he Blaise's partner, the dragon?" Wormtail began to shake, he knew of course who she was, but he had never before seen this side of her, mudbloods were not meant to wield this sort of power. She flicked her wrist, slamming him back again, "I asked you a fucking question worm, answer me!"
"I..I don't know! I've never seen him!" She tutted,
"Wrong answer," She swung her wand, magic energy cracked through the air, and a long gash appeared on the side of Wormtail's face, he screamed in agony. She smiled again, "I'm going to ask you again. Peter, is Draco alive?" He had no choice, if it was true and the Dragon was Malfoy, then the chances are he would be coming for Potter and his merry little gang anyway, if it wasn't he had nothing to lose telling this girl that he was, he had a feeling she was going to kill him anyway, or alternatively they would just leave him to starve in this horrible basement.
"Yes! Its true! Malfoy is alive." She let him go, turning on her heel, she sauntered out, calling,
"Thank you," over her shoulder in such innocent, sweet tones, that you'd never believe she just tortured a man for information. He scrambled after her, thinking that she was going to let her go, but she stopped and looked down on him, shaking her head, "No, no Peter. You get to stay here. I'm sure Draco will want to pleasure of killing you himself, he's always held you in such high disdain. And I, being the loving girlfriend that I am, won't deny him his pleasure, it makes him so fucking horny." With a wink she slammed and sealed the door, then skipped off into the gloom. All the while, Peter Pettigrew's screams of despair followed her.