More Important Things

A/N:  Whew!  It’s finally here!  A brand spanking new chapter.  I apologize for the long wait.  I have just started a new job and I’m trying to adjust to this new schedule as well as juggle a million other things.  Hope you all like it, read and enjoy.  Ah, Draco, Draco, Draco….

 

Surrender

And when there's nowhere else to run

Is there room for one more son

These changes ain't changing me

The cold-hearted boy I used to be

Yeah, you know you got to help me out

Yeah, oh don't you put me on the blackburner

You know you got to help me out

You're gonna bring yourself down

Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down

I got soul, but I'm not a soldier

I got soul, but I'm not a soldier

...

Over and out, last call for sin

While everyone's lost, the battle is won

With all these things that I've done

All these things that I've done

(All These Things That I’ve Done—The Killers)

~*~

As soon as Harry apparated, he noticed the flurry of aurors and ministry officials that surrounded St. Mungo’s.  The night air was cold and he could see his breath coming from him in little puffs.  He quickly put up the hood of his robe to disguise himself as Tonks moved by his side.  “Kinglsey’s over there,” she said softly, leading the small group from Hogwarts forward through the crowd that seemed to be growing.  Harry could hear people begging the aurors to let them in, asking the condition of loved ones inside the hospital.  Once in awhile there was a loud explosion and screams erupted from the crowd.

“There you are,” Kingsley said when they approached.  “The rest of the Order is over here.”  He led them to a small group of people where Moody and Remus stood together, eyeing the structure in front of them.

“How many are there?” Harry asked.

Kingsley shook his head.  “I don’t know.  A few people managed to escape in the beginning but since we’ve arrived they’ve sealed off all entrances and exits from the second floor up.  We’ve managed to slip a few aurors in and they’ve cleared a path for the rest of us.”

Harry looked at the building; the dark mark shimmered in the night sky.  A shiver ran through him suddenly.  Something just…didn’t feel right.  “Are we sure this isn’t like last time?” he asked.  “You know, like London?”

“There’s no way of knowing but I’ve put extra aurors around Hogwarts.”  A feeling of fear swept through Harry when he realized that he had asked Hermione to stay behind.  Memories of the castle being attacked last year, the infiltration this year, oh God, maybe leaving her behind was a bad idea.  Maybe he put her directly in harms way.  Oh shit, Peter was still in the castle!!

A loud explosion from somewhere inside the hospital yanked his attention back to the situation at present.  Screams erupted from the crowds.  “We’ve got to go in,” Harry said, marching forward.

Kingsley led the way, taking them to the doors of the deserted first floor.  Once bustling with activity, the floor was oddly quiet.  No patients in various states of malady, no mediwitches and wizards bustling about.  It was eerily quiet and abandoned.  Papers were scattered all over the floor, desks were vacant.  The hairs on the back of Harry’s neck stood on end.  There was a feeling of unease that settled in the pit of his stomach, something was wrong, something was off.

“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” Tonks whispered.

“I agree,” Remus piped up. 

“Everyone is on the upper floors,” Kingsley instructed, nodding his head above him.  “We’ll go in pairs.  Potter and Tonks, you’re up first.”

Wands drawn and at the ready, Harry and Tonks approached the door.  Tonks indicated that she would step through first and when it was all clear, Harry would follow.  Moody and Lupin lined up behind him. 

The door was unlocked and opened as Tonks stepped through.  A short moment later, Harry heard her whisper that it was okay and he stepped through the door. 

It promptly shut behind him.

“What the hell was that?” Moody asked as he jumped back, startled.

“I don’t know,” Kingsley said as Lupin stepped forward and touched the door.  He was promptly rewarded with a terrible shock and he withdrew his hand quickly. 

“Kingsley, I thought you said you scanned this place,” Remus said. 

Kingsley’s communicator crackled to life as an auror’s voice pierced the silence.  “Sir, we can’t get through the doors, it’s delivering a shock every time one of us has come in contact with it.”

“Did you hear that?” Remus exclaimed.  He was doing his best from becoming frantic with worry. 

Once again, the communicator crackled.  “Sir, we have a situation on the South side of the building.”

“Let me guess.  You can’t get into the building,” Kingsley sighed.  He was watching as Moody inspected the door.

“Sir, how did you know?”

Kingsley ignored him and turned to an auror at his side.  “See if you can come in contact with Potter and Tonks,” he said then looked at Moody.  “What is it?”

“It’s some sort of barrier, it was set off somehow like a trap,” he answered.

“Trap?” Lupin spoke out.  “What kind of trap?  Kingsley and his team swept the area and they didn’t find anything.”

“It could be something that wasn’t present until something set it off,” Moody explained.

Lupin turned slightly pale.  “It happened when Harry walked past the door.”  Kingsley sighed and rubbed his bald head.  “Get our curse breaker team in here.  We’ve got to find a way to get past this.  Harry is trapped in there without any help and no one knows what’s waiting for him on the other side.”

Lupin frowned and looked back at the door.  Tonks, his beloved, was in there with him.

~*~

Harry felt it as soon as he walked past the barrier, a shiver that ran down his spine.  Tonks must have sensed it too because she paused in mid-stride and looked back at him.  “I don’t know,” Harry mouthed back in silence, shaking his head.  He could hear shouting coming from somewhere above him and people screaming.  He didn’t like this.  He felt alone and vulnerable.  He had no idea what he was up against, how many Death Eaters were up there, how many innocent people were up here.

Tonks turned back and tried the door and received a nasty shock in response.  Harry stared at it and tried it himself, receiving the same result.  This couldn’t be happening.

“We aren’t trapped in here, are we?” Tonks asked in a whisper.  Harry didn’t know.  He moved down the corridor to try a door, than another and then another, all of the time getting a shock.   He heard Tonks using every charm she could think of in the book to get the door open.  She reached for her communicator and called out to the team on the other side. 

“Can you hear me?” she asked.   “Hello?”

Harry checked his own and found only static to be his reply.  Whatever had happened, had jammed their transmissions and if the tingling of his scar was any indication of things, it was that it was not good.  Not good at all.

He didn’t realize that Tonks was watching him when he removed his fingers from his forehead.  “It’s him isn’t it?” she asked.  “Is he here?”  He hated it when people asked him that.  It was a painful reminder of his connection to this fucked-up wizard.  He closed his eyes and tried to apparate but literally felt the sensation of being held down. 

“I can’t apparate,” he replied, instead.  A scream caught his attention, it came from one of the floors above.  The hospital was so large, he had no idea where he was going.  He stepped forward to one of the columns that had a map of the place on a plaque.  He was on the second floor, Magical Bugs.

“Shit,” he muttered and moved the collar of his t-shirt over his mouth and nose as he moved behind the large counter in the center of the reception area. 

“What is it?” Tonks asked.

“We’re on the Magical Bugs floor,” he replied as he rummaged through the items under the counters.

Tonks did the same as Harry and opened a door labeled “Supply”.  “Here we go, Harry,” she said, tossing him a mask.  Harry took it and put it over his mouth praying that he didn’t catch some sort of wizard flu or a weird strain of dragon pox.  Although it was the least of his worries right now.

“I suppose we should check the floors for any people,” she sighed and placed her hands on her hips as if she were preparing herself for a tedious chore.  In a way, he supposed that they were.

*

The floor was empty, he and Tonks had checked every room and found that all occupants were gone.  It left him with an uneasy feeling, not knowing whether they left of their own accord or forcefully.  Maybe both?  He couldn’t help but wonder their fates.  Staying close to Tonks, he kept a watchful eye out as she unlocked a door and opened it. 

“Wand where I can see it!” came a rough order as Tonks immediately came to halt.  Harry’s senses came on alert, wand arm raised and ready, itching to cast a hex to anything that moved.

“Reveal yourself!” she demanded.  Harry could see that Tonks was just as tense and caught off guard as the other voice had sounded.

“Nosebleed Nougat!” the voice shouted.

“Puking Pastille!” Tonks replied, lowering her wand.  Apparantly, whoever made up the code words where fans of Fred and George.

Harry stepped past the doorway and entered what looked like a stairwell with, and his heart leapt at this sight, approximately twenty other aurors.  The captain of the squad stepped forward and Harry recognized him as Mitchell McBride.  He didn’t see much of him when he was in training, he was in charge of some of their drills.  He was an okay kind of guy, treated him the same as any other auror that was training. 

“What the hell is going on?” he asked Tonks.  “We’ve been trying to get out of this forsaken place and every door out seems locked.”

“It’s locked down here too.  Have you been on the other floors?” she asked as the aurors filed into the room.  McBride moved out of the way so he could better speak with Tonks.

“Death Eaters,” he said grimly.  About twelve of them.”  Harry’s eyes widened as did Tonks’.  “I’ve got Theta team mixed in with my guys,” his voice lowered.  “They got Lester up on the third floor.  The team had to fall back into the stairwell just as we were going in.  They’ve been sealing off the doors to the different floors.  We went to the roof to get out but they’ve sealed that one as well, we were just about to try this one when you opened it.”  McBride stopped and looked at him and Tonks, scrutinizing them.  “Hey, what floor are we on?”

“Magical Bugs,” Tonks replied.

“MASKS!!” McBride barked out his order as his teams rapidly complied.  An auror walked up to them.

“Sir,” he said, “the doors here are locked as well.”

“Any civilians on this floor?” he asked.

“None,” Tonks replied.

“Were there any upstairs?” Harry spoke out for the first time.  McBride turned and looked at him.  His eyes narrowed in thought as he approached.  The mask covered most of Harry’s face but the auror slowly raised his wand and moved Harry’s bangs off of his forehead.  Harry jerked away, feeling every auror’s pair of eyes on him.

“Hmmm,” McBride said, stepping away from the young man.  “You two come alone?” he asked.

“There were others behind us,” Tonks answered.  “But—“ she stopped herself from saying more.  They both cast pathetically furtive glances his way.  He shot back with a look of defiance and annoyance and left to join the other aurors. 

This was not his fault.  In no way was this, his fault. 

As he walked across the room he could feel everyone’s eyes on him.  Eyebrows were raised, there were whispers.  He could still feel his scar tingling and he fought down the impulse to move his fingers to it to massage the ache away.  He looked up to see a familiar face among the crowd.  Jeff, from his training class, was seated with a small cluster of aurors.  He looked up at Harry as he approached.  Harry knelt down in front of him.

“Jeff,” Harry said his name in greeting.  The rookie auror looked up at Harry with a blank look on his face.

“He’s dead,” he said softly.  Harry’s brows furrowed in question.  “Nathan.  He’s dead.”

“There were too many of them,” another auror said softly. 

“Fucking rookie,” said another.

Sorrow mixed with anger filled Harry as he thought of his friend.  One that he joked around with in training, the one who teased him mercilessly about that crazy night at the Long Legged Lass.  Just like so many others he knew and cared about, Nathan was gone. 

A sudden memory of Nathan blurting out the stripper story to Hermione came to mind and he laughed.  Jeff looked at him quizzically.  “I was just thinking of that night,” Harry said, chuckling to himself.  There was no need to elaborate.  Jeff immediately knew what he was talking about.  He began to laugh softly as well.  But it still hurt Harry, emotionally, to know that he would never again have a guy’s night out like he did that night.  His laughter slowly ceased as the precariousness of their situation fell upon him once again. 

Nathan was dead.

Nothing was going to bring him back.  And he had to push that aside to figure out how in the hell they were going to get out of this situation.  He had been staring straight ahead, lost in his thoughts that the sight before him didn’t register for a moment.  He shook his head in disbelief when he realized what was in front of him all along.  He and Tonks had checked every door out of the floor…except one.

“Where are you going?” Jeff whispered.

“Potter?” One of the aurors said in question.

Harry ignored them and walked straight ahead a few paces then came to a stop in front of the elevator doors.  He slowly drew out his wand.

“Oy, Tonks, McBride,” an auror called out to them, bringing their attentions at hand.

“Harry don’t,” Jeff said cautiously as he stood by his side.

“Let one of us do it,” an auror said, firmly moving him aside. 

“Wait!” Harry protested but Tonks pulled him back.

“Let him,” she said firmly.  Harry relented but not before feeling like a child being babysat.  “Go ahead White,” she said to the auror who, along with another, pried open the doors.

“Son of a--” White exclaimed and everyone hit the ground as a loud explosion came from elevator car.  Thick black smoke immediate filled the room.  “Get down!” Harry heard people yelling.  The mask protected his breathing but he still couldn’t see through the smoky darkness. He could hear people yelling and the sound of running.

“Grab their wands!” he heard one person say followed by a chorus of Expelliarmus and Protegos. 

Harry held onto his wand, not letting it fly out of his hand.  There were spells flying everywhere.  He cast his own disarming charm and heard the clatter of wood but he didn’t know if he disarmed a Death Eater or an Auror.  It was all very confusing. 

He was tackled to the ground by someone and his wand fell out of his hand and rolled away from him as he was pinned to the floor by a masked person, a Death Eater.

“Well, well, well, Mr. Potter,” the Death Eater sneered.  He grabbed a handful of Harry’s hair and lifted his head off of the floor only to slam it back down again.  Harry blinked away the stars that momentarily danced in front of his eyes as he delivered a punch to the Death Eater’s face and a hard kick to his abdomen.  The Death Eater cried out in pain, giving Harry enough time to shove the man off of him.  He reached for his wand and it flew back into his hand as he cast a quick stunning charm.

“Harry!!”

He heard Tonk’s yell and moved toward her.  The smoke was beginning to clear and he could start to distinguish robes in the smoke, although he still couldn’t tell who was who.  He blocked her stunning charm when she hit him. 

“Wotcher!” she exclaimed at what she had done.

“Tonks!” he yelled at her.  She reached out and grabbed him, pulling him close to her. 

“Stay by my side!” she ordered.  “Do not get out of my sight!  Harry?...Harry did you hear what I said?”

Harry immediately tuned her out when he saw a familiar figure in the smoke.

“Bellatrix,” he whispered.

“Harry what are you doing!” Tonks demanded when she reached out and grabbed him, nearly throwing him against the wall.

Bellatrix reached into her robe and pulled a small object out.  “EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!” Harry screamed as she tossed the object in the air.

Instantly, the room was flooded with a bright, bright light that penetrated and evaporated the smoke.  Harry gasped and covered his eyes, a dull burning pain radiated through his skull behind the sockets.  He heard Tonks cry out in surprise next to him.  He fell to his knees and in that moment he felt a hex hit him and all went black.

~*~

Draco sat on his bed, elbows resting on his knees, fingers steepled as he rested his chin on his index fingers.  He stared straight ahead at the bookshelf.  Many emotions swirled within him, the familiar pressure that he was under seemed a little heavier now that Nagini and Petttigrew were under the same roof as him.

He exhaled slowly as he stood up and walked forward.  He reached up to the shelf just above his eye level and pulled out a book.  Ironically, it was a muggle book.  The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. 

He held it open in his left hand and with his right index finger he traced the page gently, as if he were caressing it.  He flipped a few pages and there in the middle of the book was a cut out indentation.  Draco reached in and pulled out a delicate gold chain with a locket that hung from it. 

He stared at it.  Contemplated it, before putting it back inside the book.  He closed it and slid it back into its place on the shelf. 

He had stolen it from a pawn shop in Knockturn Alley.  Voldemort had sent some of his Death Eaters in search of it.  He was lucky to stumble upon it first.  Thoughts of how the Dark Lord would reward him had filled his mind.  The Dark Lord hadn’t said why it was important, only that it belonged in his family but a rumor, a whisper, made him hesitate to hand over the trinket.  He had overheard Severus Snape talking with McNair about how Bellatrix had sworn she had seen the mudblood Granger at a pawn shop looking for the exact same thing.  Was Potter after the locket as well?

Draco took the locket and hid it, not turning it over to the Dark Lord.  He saw opportunity to buy his freedom.  A little homework and Draco discovered that the Dark Lord had split his soul into six objects.  What they were, he didn’t really know but he had a very good idea that the locket he had in his possession was one of them. 

When he returned to school, Hermione’s forced confession that Potter was indeed after the horcrux made what he had in his possession more valuable.  In his hands, he held the tide of the war.  Return the locket to Voldemort and be rewarded beyond his wildest dreams or give it to Potter and rest his future on a kid his own age to defeat the greatest wizard that ever lived. 

Believe it or not.  It truly was a conundrum.

And having Nagini here, hunting for the damned thing didn’t make it any easier.  He didn’t want his hand to be forced.  If Nagini found the horcrux and reported back to the Dark Lord that he had it all along.  He was a dead man.

*

These pensive and morbid thoughts followed him as he paced the halls of the Hogwarts, wondering where, exactly, the snake was.  He passed by some large windows in the front of the castle and a small figure caught his attention.

It was Hermione.

She was running from what seemed like Hagrid’s hut to the castle.  He felt the familiar pang of longing that he was beginning to associate with her.  He watched her for a few more moments before curiosity led him to seek out her destination within the castle.

She was in the dungeons talking to that poor excuse for a Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew.  He stuck to the shadows as he heard Peter hint at a trap that Potty could very well likely be walking into at St. Mungo’s.  He watched her frantic reaction and he had to stifle the little flame of envy that sparked within him.  What would it be like to have someone care that much about him?  The only person that did was murdered by his own father.

He had been resting against the stone wall, listening to Hermione and Pettigrew’s exchange.  His window of opportunity came when he heard Pettigrew’s proposition to retrieve Potty from the hospital. 

“No deal,” he said aloud, moving from his hiding spot.  The way she was looking at him filled him with elation that cut more deeply than any wound he had ever sustained.  He could see the hope in her eyes.  She was going to place all of her luck on him.  “Pettigrew isn’t the only Death Eater in the castle.”

“I wouldn’t trust him if I were you,” Peter said softly.  “He doesn’t like Harry.  He’ll bring him to the Dark Lord the first moment he gets.  He’s a Malfoy, power hungry.”

“Are you quite finished?” Hermione said, taking her eyes momentarily off of Draco and glared at the man who murdered Harry’s parents.  

“I’ll go and get him, Hermione,” Draco said softly, glaring over her head at Pettigrew.

“Mudblood lover,” Pettigrew hissed.  “I bet your mother is rolling in her grave.”

Draco moved forward but Hermione held him back.  “Don’t,” she told him.  “He isn’t worth the time.”

“Useless sack of shit,” Draco muttered.

Peter looked up at the two teens with a smirk on his face.  “I’m Harry Potter,” he mimicked and slid a finger across his throat in a mocking gesture of slitting it open.

Hermione needed to get out of here.  This man was making her sick.  He could see it on her face and he grinned maniacally.  “There’s a Death Eater out there that is so looking forward to his spoils of war when the Dark Lord defeats Harry Potter.  Perhaps you’ve heard of Antonin Dolohov?  He talks of nothing but you.  The Dark Lord intends to reward him greatly with Harry Potter’s mudblood.”

“You sick Son of a—“ Draco drew his wand to send a hex to Peter but the aurors were just a hair faster and quickly disarmed him by sending a strong stinging hex to his wand hand.  He cried out in pain and Hermione grabbed his injured appendage, whirling angrily to the aurors.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.  Peter shrieked and clapped hysterically in his prison.

“Sorry Miss Granger but we didn’t know where that hex was going,” one of the aurors said with authority.

“The Death Eater shouldn’t even be in here,” the other added.

“Fuck you!” Draco spat at them.

The aurors moved forward threateningly but Hermione stopped him.  “Call Shacklebolt over your communicator.  Tell him we have a plan to rescue Potter.”

“You’re seriously not thinking of—“

“Tell him!” Hermione demanded, taking Draco’s wand and dragging him out of the dungeons. 

“Fucking assholes,” Draco muttered when they were in the lighted corridor.

Hermione turned around and shoved him against the wall.  Draco smirked.  “Well if you want me that badly, there’s no need to get rough.  Although it is kind of a turn on.”

“Did you mean what you said?” she demanded.

“Hell yeah,” he grinned mischievously.

She tutted and rolled her eyes.  “About you going in and getting Harry.”

He looked at her for a long moment.  “Can you think of any other way to get him out?”

“Why should I trust you?” she demanded.

“You shouldn’t,” he replied.  “But there are two other ways this thing could end badly and since I know for a fact,” he lowered his voice, “that Potter hasn’t destroyed all the horcruxes, he’s a dead man either way he chooses.  And he knows it.”  Hermione turned and looked away from him, weighing her options as she gazed ahead.  She felt like a cornered animal, her nerves were all on end.  Harry could stay his course and all of the hostages in St. Mungo’s would surely perish, possibly including Harry.  Or Harry would turn himself over to the Dark Lord, unable to defeat him because he hadn’t destroyed all of the horcruxes. 

“It’s a one hundred percent guarantee that Potty is going to turn himself over to save whatever lives there are in the hospital,” Draco continued.  “You know this Hermione.” He walked over and stood in front of her.  “I’ll have him turn himself over to me.  I need for you to make a portkey that will take us back here.”

“Why would you do this?” she asked softly.

“I have my reasons,” he replied.  She stared at him for a long time.  “What other choice to you have?  Time is already running out.  For all we know, Potty could’ve already hung himself.”  Hermione winced at his words.  “I’m sorry but I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you.  I’m the only chance you have…and you know this.”

~*~

“ARGH!!”

Harry cried out in pain at the sharp kick to the abdomen he received. 

“Leave him alone!” Tonks cried out.

Harry blinked his eyes.  He didn’t have his glasses on but he could see the fuzzy outlines of two groups of people on either side of the room.  The aurors were all grouped together, rope bound their arms and legs together so they couldn’t move.  On the other side were the innocents, the patients, mediwitches and wizards, nurses and other staff, huddled in fear as Fenrir snarled and growled at them to keep them at bay.  Harry himself was on the floor, hands tied behind his back, his mouth bound and gagged. 

McNair stepped forward and kicked Harry again.  Harry groaned and rolled over on his back.

“Stop it!!” one of the nurses cried out.  “Leave him alone!”

Fenrir stepped forward.  “Did you say something?” he demanded of her, snarling and showing his fangs as saliva dripped from his mouth and fell to the floor. 

“Mwammph!” Harry spoke out.

“Let him loose!” Bellatrix demanded.  “I think the wee baby Potter wishes to say something.”  McNair stepped forward and yanked the gag out of Harry’s mouth.

“Go ahead Potter,” he said with a grin.  “What were you going to say?”

“Fuck you,” Harry smiled up at him.  McNair growled and punched Harry in the face.  He felt as if his jaw had broken, as if his cheek was strained through the sides of his mouth.  McNair hit him again and he could taste blood in his mouth.  He spat out the red stained saliva that suddenly flooded his mouth.  Another hit and he felt a blinding pain in his nose.  He saw the spray of his own blood pollute the floor.

“Okay!  Okay!” Harry cried out.  McNair grabbed his hair and yanked his head up.  “Shit, I forgot what I was going to say.”  McNair snorted and shoved Harry’s face back into the ground.

“Rest yourself, McNair,” Rodolphus LeStrange stepped forward.  He glanced at the innocent people in the corner of the room.  “There are other ways we can get him to surrender.”   He nodded to a Death Eater who marched past the werewolf and grabbed the nurse who had spoken out in protest earlier.  Harry squirmed on the ground shouting out protests and profanities.  The aurors joined him and the other hostages just cried out and huddled closer together.

Bellatrix stepped forward.  “Surrender Potter,” she demanded.

Harry looked up at the frightened young woman.  She was trembling but she shook her head slightly in protest.  He so desperately wanted to give in. 

“Leave her alone,” he pleaded.

“I love it when Potter begs,” Rodolphus laughed.  “Just surrender to us and we’ll let the pretty lady go.”

“Harry don’t,” Tonks said and there was a murmur of consent in the room.

“SHUT UP!” Fenrir roared bringing the room to silence.  “One of you is next.”

Harry looked at the nurse.  “Don’t,” she mouthed to him and held her head up high.  Harry turned away from her.

“I never though much of your puny Voldemort anyway,” the nurse said aloud.

“Avada Kedavra!” 

With a flash of green light from Rodolphus’ wand, the nurse fell lifeless to the floor.  There was a silence in the room.  Harry shut his eyes a little tighter, desperately trying to block out the darkness that was trying to creep in. 

“Are you ready to surrender now, Potter?” Bellatrix asked.  “Or do you need more convincing?”
~*~

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Ron demanded as he marched forward.

Hermione held him back.  “Ron,” she said with a tone of warning in her voice, keeping her friend at bay.  Draco was behind Hermione, looking at Ron with a smug look on his face.  “He’s going to get Harry.”

“What?!” Ron shrieked, bringing the attention of the Order to him.  A few aurors looked over in their direction.

“What is going on here?” Kingsley marched over to them.  “Granger.  Malfoy.  What are you two doing out of the castle?”

“The aurors let us go,” Hermione explained.  “We may have a plan to rescue Harry.  I spoke to Peter a while ago and he told us that Harry may be walking into a trap that would spring the moment he sets foot inside of St. Mungo’s.”

Lupin stepped forward.  “Peter said this?” he asked. 

Hermione looked at him.  “He was right, wasn’t he?  The building is sealed, no one can get in or out.”

“Precisely,” Kingsley cut in.  “So how are you going to manage to get in there and retrieve Harry?”

Hermione looked up at Draco, who cleared his throat.  “I can get past the barriers.”

“I bet you can,” Ron said with disgust.  “Why should we trust you?  You would be aching to bring Harry to You-Know-Who.”

“This could work,” Lupin said quietly and thoughtfully.  He looked up at Shacklebolt and Moody.  “Although I think we should send someone in with you.”

“No,” Draco shook his head.  “No deal. I won’t do it.”

Hermione stormed up to him.  “You said you would!”

“Yeah, I said I would go and get him!  I didn’t agree to taking anyone else with me.”

“Tough shit, Malfoy.  We have, what we could say kindly, trust issues with you.  You honestly don’t think we’re just going to let you stroll on in there and deliver Harry over to You-Know-Who in a nice little package with a bow, do you?” Ron demanded.  “I’m going with you.”

“Fuck you, Weasel,” Draco snarled.

“No, fuck you!” Ron shot back and stepped forward.

“Hey, hey hey!” Moody said aloud as Shacklebolt and Lupin stepped between the two young men.

“This argument is pointless,” Draco said, shaking her head.  “The barrier won’t let anyone else into the building.  Only those that have the Dark Mark.”

“Oh, well how convenient for you!” Ron said sarcastically.

“He’s our best chance, Ron,” Hermione cut in.  She turned to Draco.  “The moment Harry surrenders to you,” Hermione continued on, “the wards around the hospital will drop.  Activate the portkey and the two of you will land out here.”

“We can then go in and free the hostages,” Kingsley added.

Hermione nodded.  “Precisely.  I’m not sure how quickly we can get an anti-apparition charm around the building to capture any lingering Death Eaters…”

“We’ll do the best we can,” Kingsley said thoughtfully.

“What about him?” Lupin nodded to Draco. “Even if he retrieves Harry, we’ll have to bring him in for some sort of charge.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Kingsley frowned.  “But for now, I’m willing to give this a try.”

Ron pulled Hermione to side.  “Unbelievable,” Ron muttered, shaking his head.  “You’re doing it again,” he said to her.  “You’re trusting that git of a Slytherin over Harry.”

“I’m doing no such thing.  I’m trying to help!” she shot back.

“And we aren’t doing the same thing?!” he retorted angrily.  “Don’t you trust enough in the Order?  In Harry to get out of this situation unscathed?”

“Of course I do,” she said agitatedly.  “I’m just trying to tip the scales in our favor.”

“With him?” Ron gestured to Malfoy. 

“Ron.” Hermione closed her eyes and exhaled his name with frustration.  “I am so done with this conversation.”

“I can’t believe you’d do this to Harry,” he snarled at her.

She swooped upon him.  “I am doing this for Harry!”

“NO!” Ron pointed a finger in her face.  “You’re asking me to trust my best friend’s life to his nemesis.  An arrogant prat who is best buddies with You-Know-Who!  I thought you would’ve learned better after all of this.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.  “I have learned many things after all of this.  I’ve learned that there isn’t just black and white, there are shades of grey as well.  And sometimes you have to step into the darkness to bring yourself back into the light.”  Ron looked away from her and snorted in disgust.

*

“We’ll get in there as soon as we can.  I have aurors stationed at all entrances and exits,” Kingsley was explaining to him.  Draco was pacing in agitation.  “The moment we see the two of you appear outside of the hospital we’ll set up the Disapparation charms and invade the building to release the hostages.”

They were standing with the Order, away from the crowd of people.  No one but a few aurors had realized that they were there.  Neville and Ron glanced at Hermione in worry then cast distrusting and hateful looks at Malfoy who had suddenly developed the nasty habit of chewing on his lower lip as he paced back and forth. 

Lupin walked up to Hermione.  “Are you sure about this?” he asked her.

“I can’t stand feeling helpless while he’s in there.”  She rubbed her arms as she shivered with nervous anticipation.  “I had to do something.”

“Are you ready?” Kingsley asked.  Hermione’s heart suddenly began to beat furiously and her palms began to sweat.  She looked over at Draco who had suddenly become very still and paled somewhat.  “Malfoy?” the auror repeated sternly, catching the Death Eater’s attention.  Draco exhaled sharply, glared at the auror then marched toward Hermione.

“Too late to back out now,” he whispered nervously.

She smirked.  “I guess I’ll just have to trust you don’t I?”  It was a horrible attempt at some last minute humor and her smirk was quickly wiped off of her face to let the situation sink in. 

The two of them stood there in silence for a moment.  Draco adjusted his cloak around him.  Hermione looked down at the mask in his hand, the standard skull mask of a Death Eater.  She shivered.

“Showtime, Granger,” he whispered.

“Wait,” she said, bringing her hand up.  “You may need a bit of help convincing him to go with you.”  She moved the sleeve of her sweater up and unclasped the delicate chain of the bracelet that Harry had given to her as a gift.  She had put it on after she had gone on that broom ride with Harry.  After her failed attempt to kiss him.  She had gone upstairs to her room to cry for losing him, taking out the bracelet to wear as a last memento of their once wonderful love for each other.

She unclasped it and reached out for Draco’s hand.  “Be careful,” she whispered to him as she clasped it on his wrist.  She looked up at him and found that he was looking down at her.  They were standing very close together.  They both looked away.  Hermione looked over his shoulder at St. Mungo’s in all its eerie stillness.  She looked back up at Draco and saw that he was staring determinedly everywhere but her.  She had chosen Harry over him.  She became painfully and awkwardly aware of that.  And yet, here she was, pinning all of her hopes on the person she rejected.  Why couldn’t she just let go of him?  He gave in and looked back down at her just as she looked away.  He was very aware of the fact that he was surrounded by Potty’s people. 

They stepped away from each other to diffuse a situation that they realized still had glowing embers.  He contemplated the jewelry she had placed on him.  It was a charm bracelet and he wondered what it meant to her.  How it would get Potty to trust him?  Did he give it to her?  He lifted a small heart on the chain and read the inscription. 

To Hermione

He flipped it over.

Love, Harry

Even though she was doing her best not to look at him after what he had done, he could still tell that she was blushing in the night air.  Merlin, he loved her for that.  He let go of the heart charm and placed the mask over his face.  She suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Draco—“ She stopped.

He didn’t look back at her.  He didn’t want her to see him with the mask on.  She let go of him and he moved forward toward St. Mungo’s.

~*~

“CRUCIO!!!!”

Harry cried out in pain as the curse reverberated throughout his body, setting his nerves on fire, feeling the breath leave his lungs, feeling as if every bone in his body was bending to the point of breaking.  Bellatrix lifted the curse and Harry coughed as he fought for his breath.

“We can’t just sit around and watch this,” Tonks hissed to McBride.

“We’ve got to find a way to get our wands back,” Jeff whispered. 

The aurors fell silent and still as they caught the attention of Rodolphus LeStrange.  He walked over to them, curious as to what all the whispering was about.  Harry looked up and saw where the Death Eater had his interests at and he quickly floundered for a distraction.

“Are you ready to surrender?” Bellatrix asked.  “Ready to kneel before the Dark Lord?”

“An action I’m sure you’re very familiar with,” Harry spat out.  “You know I’m surprised your husband is so tolerant of your…closeness with Voldemort.”

Rodolphus drew his attentions away from the aurors and back at Harry. 

Bellatrix smirked at Harry before she lifted her wand again and delivered yet another Cruciatus curse.  The pain was so great this time that Harry vomited.  He cursed her name with a string of colorful adjectives that Mrs. Weasley would’ve greatly frowned upon.

“Potty hit a little too close to the mark there, Bellatrix?”

The Death Eaters whirled around, wands drawn as Draco leaned lazily against the doorframe.

“What are you doing here?” McNair asked.

Draco smirked and stepped forward.  “And miss the torture of Harry Potter?  No, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”  He stopped at the mess before Harry and wrinkled his nose in disgust.  “I see you had the roast beef for dinner,” he said lazily.

“Fuck off, Malfoy,” Harry spat.  Draco shrugged.

“Peter told me what you were up to,” he said.

“Fucking rat,” Rodolphus hissed.

“I’m insulted that nobody thought to invite me to the party,” Draco frowned.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and sighed.  “There’s a reason why, you incompetent fool!  The Dark Lord doesn’t think very highly of you right now since you have failed in your last mission.”

“This is the same Dark Lord who murdered your sister, right?” Draco turned to look at her.  Bellatrix’s face was impassive.

“Actually, I’m looking at her murderer right now, you righteous brat.”

“That’s Righteous Death Eater Brat to you,” Draco shot back.  “And to think I was willing to play nice and deliver Potter to the Dark Lord as a way of making up for that botched mission.” 

Bellatrix snorted.  “You?”

Draco walked over to Harry and picked his head up by his hair.  “Do you honestly think Potty would just hand himself over to you like that?” he said softly.

“We have a way of…convincing him,” McNair’s eyes roamed over the hostages.

“Despite what we all believe, Potty does have a brain up there in this thick skull of his.” He turned and looked over at McNair.  “Unlike some of you.”  He smirked.  “He doesn’t have the horcruxes.  He knows that handing himself over would be like a death sentence.”

Draco made the mistake of turning away from Harry who took the opportunity to quickly move to his knees and knock his forehead with Draco’s face when he snapped back around.

Draco cursed and grabbed his nose.  Potty didn’t break it but it still bled.  “Son of a…”

Rodolphus had Harry under the Cruciatus again.  Draco watched as he slowly got to his feet and waited for LeStrange to lift it.  He wiped his face on the sleeve of his cloak and glared at Potter.

“Oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Harry gasped in pain.  Draco thought he looked rather pathetic.  The stink of his vomit was beginning to bother him so he cleaned it with a flick of his wand.  He walked back over to Harry and knelt down in front of him.  Harry glared at him and looked away.

“You’ll never know, Potter…” he said softly, how much I envy you, how much I hate you right now because you have her loyalty.  Her love.  He raised his voice again.  “To get to Potter, you can’t always go through his…alleged Hero-Complex.  You need to push just…the…right…buttons.” He pulled back his sleeve to reveal Hermione’s bracelet to him.

Harry’s eyes widened.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  It was the bracelet he had given Hermione.  And it was ON THE FERRET’S WRIST!!! 

“What the fuck?!” he exclaimed.  “What did you do to her?”

Draco reached out and yanked Harry’s head back.  “Surrender to me and I’ll take you to your precious Hermione,” he sneered.

Draco could see the conflict in his eyes and knew that Harry knew he was enjoying it, just a little bit.  Harry turned away in disgust. 

“Oh we’re just wasting time!” Rodolphus said.  “Bring me another hostage.  That one,” he said pointing to one of the patients.

To Harry’s horror he had chosen Frank…

“Longbottom,” Bellatrix grinned.

McNair was standing by the other patients, grinning. 

“Just like old times,” Rodolphus said to Frank, clapping him on the back as if he was reuniting with an old friend.  Frank just stared straight ahead, oblivious to what was going on around him.

Bellatrix sighed lazily.  “You know the drill, ‘Dolphus.  Although it has been awhile since we’ve been acquainted with the Longbottoms.”

“Leave him alone!!” Harry said fiercely.

Draco grabbed a handful of Harry’s hair.  “Shut up!” he said fiercely.

Harry heard Rodolphus laughing fiercely.  He watched as Rodolphus made Frank Longbottom kneel then step back.  “What? No loud protests?” the Death Eater laughed.  “No pleading for your wife’s safety or the safety of your baby boy?”

“You Son of a Bitch!” Harry screamed. 

“Surrender,” Draco said to him in a fierce whisper.  “Surrender to me and I’ll take you to Hermione.”

Harry looked up at Draco then over at Frank.  Bellatrix had her eyes greedily on Frank Longbottom as her husband slowly pointed his wand at him.  He could hear Rodolphus laughing along with the other Death Eaters who were egging him on.  He didn’t know what would happen to Mr. Longbottom if he were hit again with the Cruciatus curse.  Would he die?  Would it turn his condition even worse? 

“Potter!” Draco hissed.  “I’ll take you to Hermione.”

Harry was tired and he just wanted this to end.  If Draco was telling the truth, he could see Hermione just one last time….

“I surrender.”

It was barely a whisper and Draco had nearly missed it.  But several things happened at once.  Alice Longbottom had attacked Rodolphus, bringing the Death Eaters attention to her and off of her husband.  Taking advantage of the distraction, the aurors rushed the Death Eaters who were caught unawares, except one.

Draco looked up and saw Professor Tonks headed his way.  He grabbed Harry and reached into his pocket for the portkey.  Harry felt a familiar tugging sensation and he heard Tonks scream, “NOOOO!!!”
*

Hermione shivered in the night air.  She was waiting, standing next to Neville, Ron and the twins who had joined the Order when summoned.  Days had passed.  Or at least it felt like it.  It felt so helpless to be standing around waiting for anything to happen.  There were wails and shouts coming from the crowd, directed at the Aurors who kept them at bay, demanding to know the status of their loved ones trapped inside the building.

She felt as if she were about to burst with impatience when Moody suddenly shouted,  “IT’S DOWN!!  IT’S DOWN!”

There was a swell of aurors and ministry officials swarming the building.  She heard shouts, from the crowd demanding to know what was going on, from the aurors shouting directions. 

“He’s okay,” she heard an auror shout.  There was a swell in the crowd before her…

…and then she saw him.

Harry was clinging to Malfoy.  He was pale and sweaty.  “HARRY!!” she screamed and Ron and Neville stepped forward.  She launched herself into the crowd that surrounded him and felt him wrap his arms around her, his weight nearly crushing her as he collapsed.  A camera flash went off and there was shouting all around her but she still clung to him.

“Take him to Hogwarts!” she heard Kingsley shout.  “Take all the injured to Hogwarts.”

~*~

“Hermione?”  His voice was barely a whisper.  Was he dreaming?  He slowly opened his eyes and saw her blurry outline. 

“Shh.  Just rest now, Harry,” she replied softly.

Where was he?  He didn’t know.  He just wanted to sleep and keep dreaming about Hermione.  So, he closed his eyes.

She was halfway sitting on the bed, holding onto his hand.  There were cuts and bruises on his face and body, a result of the torture they must have put him through.  She squeezed his hand gently.

“You’re serious?  You’re absolutely saw it?” she heard Neville ask from across the room.  His mother was in the hospital bed, a sleeping potion was given to her as she recovered from her wounds from a Death Eater attack.  An attack that, according to Tonks, Mrs. Longbottom had instigated.

“She attacked the Death Eater when your father was about to be hexed,” Tonks reaffirmed.

Neville brought both hands up, interlocked his fingers and set them at the back of his head.  He slowly exhaled.  “I can’t believe this,” he said softly.  Hermione didn’t know whether he was saying it in disbelief or a statement of self-preservation.  She wouldn’t blame him for the latter.

She turned back to Harry and watched him rest.  The cuts and bruises would heal and he would be out of there by this evening. 

“There you go Mr. Malfoy,” she heard Pomfrey announce.  “Right as rain.”  The mediwitch had fixed his bleeding nose.  She extracted her hand from Harry’s and padded softly after the Slytherin.

“Draco!” she whispered out in the corridor.  He stopped and turned around.  “Are you going to be alright?”

He touched a hand to the bridge of his nose.  “It was nothing.  I just had to wait my turn while she finished with…others.”

Hermione nodded and let the silence between them lengthen.  “Thank you.”

To Hermione’s surprise, he winced.  “Don’t,” he said.

Hermione frowned.  “It was a very brave thing you did.  You deserve some credit.”

He looked at her.  “I didn’t do it out of bravery or to get praised.”

Another silence fell between them.

“Here,” he said, walking up to her.  He reached out and took her hand, turning her palms up as he placed Harry’s bracelet in her hand, returning it to her.  He closed her fingers around it, hesitated a moment…then turned away.

Hermione didn’t know what to say.  Maybe not saying anything was best.  She looked once more at Draco then returned to the hospital wing.  As the door closed, he saw Hermione return to Potty’s bedside.  The papers tomorrow would tout the Gryffindor as a hero once more, even though most of the Death Eaters escaped, Potty would be credited with saving the lives of so many others.  Maybe he did deserve some credit for holding out for so long, hell, he really doubted the git would’ve given in.  That Gryffindor bravery was a foolhardy thing.  But right now, he was really hating that fact that he had to swallow the classic moral that the hero always gets the girl.

 

You've got your dumb friends

I know what they say

They tell you I'm difficult

But so are they

But they don't know me

Do they even know you?

All the things you hide from me

All the shit that you do

You were all the things I thought I knew

And I thought we could be

You were everything, everything that I wanted

We were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it

And all of the memories, so close to me, just fade away

All this time you were pretending

So much for my happy ending

(My Happy Ending—Avril Lavign)