Upside Down

I think you'll all like this chapter...well...kinda...

I'm so glad you all are enjoying this story so far...I like it to. It's a good break from the real life, and a break from my other story...(which you guys should read...)
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Draco had to physically fight back the grin that threatened to form when Ruby stashed her wand. She looked at Draco, smiled, and then began to do a strange little dance. Her feet seemed to glide over the floor. She put her hand up to her head, as if holding the brim of an invisible hat.

“What the bloody hell are you doing?” Draco asked, amused.

“I’m doin’ the moon-walk. Michael Jackson ain’t got nothin’ on me! Besides…I still got a nose….” she said.

Hermione put the plate of food in the kitchen and, shaking with mirth, levitated Ron’s body into a chair, where she bound him tight. If she was going to have to confront him about Draco and Narcissa, she was going to make damn sure that he couldn’t move when she did it.

“Okay…two options: one, we enervate him and try to logically explain your presence… two, we Obliviate him, douse him with firewhiskey and-“

“Set him on fire?” Ruby supplied, finishing her dance with a flourish. Draco burst out laughing, but it faded into pained grunts and he straightened his back, pressing his hands against the bandages. Hermione frowned.

“No…” she ground out. “Leave him in the chair and tell him he got drunk…” she said. Ruby snorted.

“That’s not as fun…” she said, sulking.

A sleepy grunt emanated from the sofa, and Narcissa’s head appeared over the back, her normally pristine hair stuck up at odd angles.

“Whazza matter?” she asked, seeing the negative expressions on Ruby and Hermione’s faces. She saw Ron’s body on the floor, and then looked back up at them. “Not part of it.” She said, and her head disappeared behind the couch again. Draco blinked.

“Anyway….since Weasel-face isn’t exactly known for his logical thinking….or for thinking at all….maybe we should go with the latter. Or with the American’s plan…I like that one.” He said, a hopeful expression on his face. Hermione pursed her lips, and put her hands on her hips.

“Malfoy…I won’t stand for you insulting my friends. Ron is just fiercely protective. And while it’s true he isn’t the brightest star in the sky, he certainly isn’t stupid! At least he graduated, unlike two behemoth rag-tags that used to hang around with you….” She said, throwing her nose into the air and sniffing daintily.

Draco snorted. “Those two idiots? They didn’t graduate until two years after me. I only let them ‘hang around’ because they were strong. I was the brains and they were the brawn. I helped them pass their classes in exchange for their bodily protection. Except for the last year. I was a bit…preoccupied that year.” He said softly. With failing to kill Dumbledore over his head, he had to face persecution from both sides. And what made it worse was that he had to look at the old man every single day.

That night had been the night Draco’s life had ended. He couldn’t bring himself to kill the old man. Dumbledore hadn’t done anything to him. His offer of safety for his mother and father had stayed him. Then Snape had come along, casting the ‘killing curse’ on Dumbledore. They found out a few days later (When Snape was well out of the way of the Dark Lord’s wrath) that the body Snape had kill was a doppelganger, a magic twin that had been programmed to stall Draco until Snape could come along.

The Dark Lord had been furious, and Draco had felt the business end of his wand for several weeks afterwards, being tortured to near insanity before his mother could convince Him that it wasn’t Draco’s fault.

Ruby’s hand waving in front of his face brought him out of his reverie.

“Hello? Anybody there? Cousin…I don’t think all the lights are on….” She said softly. Draco growled.

“I was lost in thought. So…what are we doing with freckle-face?” he asked. Ruby rolled her eyes.

“We (as in me) decided while you were ‘lost in thought’ that we would alter his memory and send him back home. Yay me…” she said, and clapped her hands happily. Draco nodded.

“Yes…..sounds fair. Then we can discuss going to my father…”

~~

Ron stood at the doorway, looking dazed. Ruby pressed the doorbell, and then did a swan-dive into the bush next to the door. Molly opened the door, and clicked her tongue.

“Ronald! How many times must I tell you not to drink and Apparate! *sigh* Come in, Ronald, you drunken deviant. I’ll have to see if we have any sobering up potion…”

Ruby had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Molly dragged Ron in by his ear, and shut the door. Ruby then used the port-key Hermione had made for her to go back to her cousin’s flat.

When she landed on solid ground, she fell over laughing.

“Oh! Oh gods! She called him a drunken deviant! I’m gonna pee myself…” she laughed. When she opened her eyes, she was met by the odd stares of Hermione, Narcissa, and Draco. She sighed softly. “It’s funny…” she said softly. Silence. “You people have no sense of humor…” she said, and stalked to her room. When she closed the door, Narcissa turned back to Hermione.

“I give you my word, Miss Granger, that my husband will not attack. Quite the opposite. He’ll be in your debt if you bring Draco and me back to him safely. Please….he can help you.” She said, putting her hands together in a begging motion.

Hermione took a deep breath. She had grown to like Narcissa…Draco she could live without. He was snarky, cruel, and exceptionally whiny. And Malfoy Senior….he was a force to be reckoned with. But….maybe he had changed. She had witnessed his heart-felt argument on behalf of his family…but she wasn’t part of his family…but she had saved them….ugh….life was so confusing…

“All right. We’ll go…” Hermione said. Draco snorted.

“Gods, Granger….don’t sound so excited.”

~~

Narcissa Apparated with Ruby, and Draco with Hermione. Hermione felt an odd tingle up her arm when Draco took her hand, but she chalked it up to hormones and focused on the task at hand. They were to talk to Lucius Malfoy and convince him to take his family to Kingsley (who, interestingly enough, had taken over most of the business for the Order when Dumbledore decided to leave his sole attention at the school) so that they could exchange information for amnesty. It was a simple plan, really…

Narcissa led the way, wand drawn, walking stealthily through the stately Manor lest they attract any Death Eaters that might be around. Ruby looked around, her mouth open.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph on a bicycle! This place is huge!” she whispered loudly. Draco cuffed her around the back of the head.

“Shh!” he hissed. She made a nasty face at him, but shut her mouth. Narcissa’s brows furrowed when she came to the door of the study. The door was shut. Lucius never shut the door to the study…

She carefully opened the door, peering around the doorframe. She saw nothing, so she pushed open the door a little more. Something solid stopped the door from opening all the way, and Narcissa pulled back immediately, thinking there was someone there. When there was no retribution, she motioned for the others to follow, and entered the room. She was immediately hit with the metallic twang of blood, and she began to panic.

Ruby entered second, her own wand drawn, and pulled a face. “Smells like Thanksgiving with vampires….” She mumbled. She tried to push the door open wider, but was met with the same resistance. She peered around the door, and gasped loudly, jumping away from the door so fast that she tripped and fell.

Draco entered next, quickly going to the back of the door to see what had spooked the normally fearless American. He put his hand to his mouth, and pushed the door away. His aunt Bellatrix was sitting up against the wall, her head slumped to the side, and blood dried on her face. A long sword that his father kept as a decoration above the mantle had been driven through her stomach, pinning her down. He knelt beside her, wincing when his bandages pulled.

“Aunt Bella?” he whispered softly. He jumped when she drew in a shaky, gurgled breath. “Shite….she’s still breathing.” He said softly. He reached out, and gently set her head right. “Aunt Bella? What happened? Are you alright?” he asked gently. Her eyes fluttered open, and widened when she saw him.

“Am…..I….d-dead?” she asked, her voice hoarse and scratchy. Draco shook his head, and pushed a strand of dark curly hair away from her face.

“No. Not yet, anyway. Where’s father, Auntie?” he asked her. She looked over at the sofa.

“He…..l-land….ed…..behind…..s-sofa…” she gurgled, and gave an agonized sob. Ruby went over to the sofa, and peeked over the edge.

“Oh it’s horrible!” Ruby said, recoiling. Narcissa rushed to the sofa, and howled when she saw Lucius.

If Draco’s condition had been rated on a scale of ten, it would have been a six. If the same scale had been applied to Lucius’ condition, it would have been an eleven. He was face down on the ground behind the sofa, one arm slung over his head in an attempt to defend himself. His back had been bared, and was criss-crossed with deep lacerations, and Hermione had a sneaking feeling that they weren’t whip lashes.

“What caused those cuts?” Hermione said softly, going on her knees beside the dark wizard. Ruby cleared her throat.

“I’m gonna take a stab in the dark here, but I think it was this…” she said, picking up what appeared to be a long bloody stick. Upon close inspection, Hermione realized it was a cane that had splintered on impact. Oh…the force that was needed….

“Lucius!” Narcissa wailed, falling to her knees next to her husband. She moved his arm away from his face, tears streaming from her eyes as she traced a gash that traveled from just above his eyebrow, slightly nicking his eyelid, and continuing over his cheek. She lowered her face, and pressed her lips to his forehead, gingerly pushing his hair out of his eyes. “Oh gods….he’s still warm…”

Hermione reached out, and pressed her fingers against Lucius’ throat, feeling for a pulse. She sighed softly when she felt a soft throb under her fingers. “He’s still alive…but only just. These cuts are infected…how long have they been here?” she asked, more to herself than anyone else.

“Th….three….d-days…..” the gurgled voice of Bellatrix. She struggled momentarily with her sword before sobbing softly and falling back against the wall, tears of agony streaming down her face. Ruby looked between the people kneeling at Lucius’ side, and then over at Bellatrix. She knew none of these people…all she saw were injured people…people who needed help. She went over to Bellatrix, and knelt at her side.

“What happened?” she asked her, reaching into her robe pocket to retrieve a handkerchief. She wet it against the tip of her wand, and began to gently wash the blood off of Bellatrix’s face. Bellatrix’s dark eyes rested on the American, and she relaxed under the gentle actions.

“H-he….betrayed….u-us.” She said. Ruby looked down at the sword protruding from her belly.

“Who?” she said, pushing aside her black Death Eater robes to reveal more of her wound.

“Th-the D-dark Lord…” she said, looking at Ruby as if she was crazy.

Hermione looked up, interested. The Dark Lord had betrayed Bellatrix Lestrange, his most loyal servant? How odd…

“Why did he betray you?” Ruby asked, trying to distract Bellatrix as she laid her hands on the handle of the sword.

“I a-asked….why he….k-killed my s-sister…” she burbled. Narcissa looked up from Lucius.

“You questioned his punishment of me?” she asked, touched. But as she formed a reply, Ruby pulled the sword out, and Bellatrix let out an unearthly scream. She screamed until she ran out of breath, and when she drew in a breath, she let it out as a tortured sob. Fresh blood poured from the wound, and she pressed her hands against it to stem the flow.

“Hold on, doll. I’m not gonna leave you hangin’.” She said softly, and pointed her wand at the wound. “Sanguis subsisto.” she murmured. The bleeding stemmed significantly, leaving only a gentle flow of blood. “We gotta get them back to the apartment…” Ruby said. Hermione’s head snapped up.

“I don’t have enough room for two more people! I have friends that come to my house! What if the Ministry decides to check up on you, Ruby? I can’t have three Marked Death Eaters in my home, and a woman who is wanted for aiding said Death Eaters…” she said. Bellatrix grunted.

“A-actually….L-Lucius…and….I….a-aren’t…M-Marked….an-nymore…” she said, and held up her unmarred left arm. “S-said….we….d-didn’t….des-deserve to….die in….his….service.” she added, looking sad. Hermione looked upward, and sighed softly.

“Why can’t life ever be normal?”
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Why indeed, Hermione, why indeed? Because it would make for a really crappy story, that's why! So...Lucius is in the mix...and once again, I couldn't resist adding Bella. I lurves me some Bella....crazy old badger! Anywho! Do tell me what you thought about this chapter. And the others. GO on, now. I won't bite.....hard....