The door shut behind them and all was dark. Ron and Draco were both sprawled on the ground, disoriented from being pulled so quickly into the room.
There was a floating candelabra in the middle of the room, casting a pale, orange glow around it, however the room was very large, and Ron and Draco were still in the black of shadow.
Ron silently crawled over to the corner of the room, feeling as if he were going to be sick. He could hear Draco getting to his feet and shouting, "Who's there?"
Ron could see Draco's outlined as he approached the candelabra, and he was about to answer him, but another voice spoke from the other side of the room.
"Draco."
Ron and Draco froze, staring at the dim corner of the room opposite them. Ron could hear Harry and Hermione pounding on the door, trying to get in, but it was sealed well. Draco had turned towards it, and Ron did not move. Then, Lucius stepped into the light.
"Draco, my dear boy," Lucius said, but with obvious bitterness. "Wandering around with Potter."
Draco seemed lost for words, surprised that his father was in the room and apparently afraid at what would happen to him now that his father knew he was with Harry.
"Get over here." Lucius said calmly.
Draco hesitated, but walked slowly towards his father.
Lucius spoke as Draco came towards him, "Now, why is it, I wonder, that my son who has already dawdled in becoming a death eater in training, not to mention has not tried to break me from my cell in Azkaban nor contact his mother or any family in our circle..." he seemed to want to end this train of thoughts, "is protecting and fighting alongside Harry Potter, mortal enemy to the Dark lord?"
Ron watched silently from the corner, gripping his wand.
"I..." Draco said quietly and slowly, "I was luring Potter here on purpose."
Lucius raised his eyebrow, but Draco continued. "They helped me solve the riddle see, and I deduced that you would be here. That's what the end of the riddle meant. I…"
Ron was outraged. But a part of him felt that Draco didn't really mean it.
Lucius smiled, "Oh, is that so?" He looked at Draco for a moment and then his hand flew rapidly from his side, cuffing Draco's left cheek and sending him to the floor. "You lying little brat!"
Ron jumped from his corner and shouted, "Stop! Leave him alone!" His wand was raised at Lucius, who had been startled by the sudden appearance.
The door was abruptly blasted open and Harry and Hermione ran into the room. Hermione pointed her wand at the candelabra and shouted, "Doublicatio!"
The candelabra made a popping noise and began to replicate over and over so that the room was completely lit and candelabra's littered the floor.
Lucius shouted, "Stupefy!" He sent many red flashes at the group.
Hermione and Harry, however, both shouted, "Protega!" which shielded them, sending the spells ricocheting off of the walls. Ron, however was hit with a stunning spell and he fell over onto the floor.
Draco watched, a horrified look on his face as Harry ran over, muttering "Enervate," so that Ron was revived.
Lucius turned towards a table and waved his wand wildly, and the table lifted off of the red carpet beneath it and soared with quick speed at Hermione. She tried to move, but the table knocked her down, landing upside down on her. Harry ran over to get the table off of her and Ron, enraged, sent a fiery spell at Lucius, which grazed his left arm, but left him unhurt.
Draco moved towards Hermione as she tried sitting up. She was crying and holding her arm to her as it was obviously badly broken.
Lucius sent a chair hurtling towards Ron, its legs pointing at him, and it pinned him to the wall. He could not move and his wand was facing down, unhelpfully.
Lucius did some quick spell work and Harry found himself stuck to a wall in a think covering of sap.
Lucius stared at all of them and smiled; he had won. Draco looked as if he was on the verge of helping them when Lucius called to him, "Draco, let's go."
Draco looked at Harry and Ron and laughed, "Potty and Weasel, the ultimate prats!"
Ron swore loudly as the two Malfoy's left the room.
***
Hermione was howling in pain, as she held her arm to her side, her feet had been sapped to the floor and she could not move. Her wand was out of reach and to see her like this made Harry and Ron feel so bad for her. They kept talking to her, calming her down.
"Just in there!"
Harry lifted his head as he heard Ginny's voice.
"Ahhh!" She screamed.
Luna spoke next from down the long hall, "Stupefy!"
And then Harry heard Percy, "Oh my god! What is that?"
Ron tried looking out the door from where he was pinned, and he yelled "Oy! C'mon now, we're in here and Hermione needs help!"
Percy ran into the room with the two girls at his heels and he looked frightened at what he saw. Right away he burned away the sap from Hermione's ankles and she picked up her wand, sobbing and conjuring a cast for her arm.
Then Percy freed both Ron and Harry. They both ran to search the castle for the Malfoy's, but they didn't find more than a few wandering zombies. Percy then took them home.
***
Hermione lay on her bed in Ginny's room, her arm a bit off center, but lathered with numbing potion so that she wasn't in any severe pain.
Harry, Ginny, Luna and Ron were by her side, Ron continuously yelling about what a double-crosser Malfoy was.
"I knew it was an act!" he shouted to no one in particular. "No one so evil could become so nice so fast!"
Ron continued on as Harry excused himself to retrieve a sweater. He walked across the giant, eerily dark ballroom to Ron's room. While he walked over to his bed to grab a sweater, he noticed Draco's Trunk sitting on the bed.
He opened it with a sharp click, and saw that all of Draco's things were in it. Sitting on top of a green shirt was a small, silver pocket watch that bared the letter, D. Harry picked it up, examining it and noticing the other side had an, M. Harry didn't know why he put it in his pocket, but he did. He almost felt bad for Draco, but the strong flush of betrayal made Harry angry.
Disgusted, he locked Draco's Trunk, picked it up and brought it to the open window, where he threw it. It landed with a crash on the ground outside and Harry sighed heavily. He walked over to his bed, grabbing his sweater and he noticed an empty Droobles bubble gum wrapper on the floor.
The End
~LO