Hermione shifted slightly in her sleep, but didn’t realize that she was not lying on her Hogwarts bed. She slept for another hour or so while Draco sat nearby watching her. He watched as she took in slow, deep breaths and exhaled it in the same fashion. He wanted to hold her while she slept, but there was no room for him to move without rousing her. There was barely any light in the small compartment that he woke up in. Draco thought it amusing how the only stream of sunlight in their prison happened to illuminate Hermione’s angelic face, he sighed and continued to watch her peaceful sleep.
Hermione wrinkled her nose as something itchy rested itself on it. When the itch didn’t go away, she opened her eyes and crossed them to see what was there. But once she took in where she was, the itch didn’t seem to matter anymore. She tried to sit herself up in the cramped room, but the most she could do was tuck her knees into her chest.
“Hey there,” Draco greeted, in a very blasé sort of way.
Hermione’s heart missed a beat as she heard a voice come from nowhere. The room was so dark, and the sun in her eyes prevented her from realizing she had a roommate.
“Draco? Is that you?” Hermione asked timidly.
Draco laughed softly. “Who else do think I am?”
“Where are we?” she continued, ignoring him.
“I don’t know. What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Harry.”
“Oh,” Draco replied, rather disappointed. He was glad that she couldn’t see him in the dark; he was sure his face didn’t have the nicest look on it right now.
“I remember talking to Harry. Then…” Hermione paused to think about what happened next.
“Then you came to find me,” he finished for her.
“Right.” As the past slowly clawed its way back into her mind, Hermione gasped. “Was that Voldemort?! How did he get into Hogwarts? How did he know about the Room of Requirement? What does he want?”
“Whoa. Slow down there. Breathe, okay?”
“BREATHE?! Draco! That was the evilest man alive back there! And we’re his prisoners for God knows what. Oh no. Harry!”
“Would you stop saying his name?!” Draco shouted, rather frustrated that all Hermione could think about now was Harry Potter. Hermione flinched as she felt Draco’s anger.
“Do you know why we’re here?”
There was a long silence, which only made Hermione more nervous. She heard Draco shift his position so that they could better see each other, then she made out his figure in the dark.
“Voldemort came for me,” he said at last.
“What? What do you mean he”“
“You know what I mean, Hermione. He wanted me to join his Death Eaters.”
“What did you say?” she questioned, a little too suspiciously.
“What the hell do you think I said?! Do you think we’d be here right now if I agreed? You know, this is all your fault. If you didn’t make me fall in love with you, I would have joined in a blink of an eye, but now I have to think about how you’d respond, and how you’d”“
“I never asked you to love me,” Hermione replied bitterly.
Draco sighed. “The point is…Voldemort is probably thinking of some twisted plan to make me join him.”
“Why does he want you so badly?”
“Because I’m the best looking eighteen year old wizard out there with a brain; who doesn’t want me?” he commented sarcastically.
“Ha ha. You are so conceited, Draco.”
Draco smiled devilishly. “Bet you Harry couldn’t make you laugh at a time like this.”
Hermione smiled, noting that what Draco had said was probably true. She let out a sigh and tried to stretch her body. Suddenly, the wall she was leaning on opened and she fell right through, allowing sunlight to bath the little closet and blind Draco. Draco let out an involuntary cry as he clamped his eyes shut and held his arms up at face height.
“Get out,” demanded a cruel, deep voice.
Draco tried to ease his eyes into the brightness, instantly on the search to make sure Hermione was okay. He slowly crawled out of the room and was relieved to see her sitting on the floor where she fell. His bones felt old and cramped, making him move at snail pace.
“You okay?”
Draco saw Hermione nod right before he got knocked out again.
Murmuring. Everywhere. Where am I? Draco moved his head slowly and opened his eyes. Black bodies filled the room that he was in. Draco was sitting on a chair, but couldn’t move. They must have used the binding spell on me. A black mass moved towards him. He saw the man remove his mask.
“Dad…” Draco managed to get out. He closed his eyes, trying to conserve his energy
“Can you still call me that?” Lucius replied harshly. “My own son, I found out recently, stunned me and left me there to rot. He dared to change his name and declare himself independent of his honorable family. Then he befriended a filthy Mudblood and defied the Dark Lord. If you can still call me your father after that…”
“Now, now, Lucius. Put your arm down, I do not want Draco to be harmed.”
“Yes master.” Draco saw his father put his mask back on and step away as another body came towards him.
“Draco, Draco, Draco. What am I to do with you?” Voldemort knelt down so that his face with parallel with Draco’s.
“Where’s Hermione?”
“Your girlfriend is safe…or she will be safe if you cooperate.”
“What do you want?” The more Draco talked, the weaker he felt. He opened his eyes so Voldemort knew that he was determined to get Hermione to safety. Voldemort smiled coldly.
“It’s quite simple. I told you before; I want you to become part of my army.”
“Why don’t you just put your mark on me right now then?” Draco questioned angrily.
Voldemort laughed. “It’s not that simple, my boy. The Dark Mark only lives on those who are true and deserving. The person who receives the Dark Mark must want it, he must desire it so that he can do my biddings. Unfortunately, when I tried it earlier, the spell did not work. I made this spell to make sure no one would join me just to stab me in the back. Quite ingenious isn’t it?”
Draco smirked. He wanted to tell Voldemort what a conceited bastard he was, but decided that that would only put Hermione in more danger. “How do I know you didn’t already kill her?”
Voldemort smiled. “How can her dead body be of any value to me? I need her alive so you will listen to me.”
“What makes you think I’d do all this for her?”
“It’s simple. The spell I cast on you, also my own creation, was not only a locator spell, but also a spell that would reveal your deepest desire. I made the spell so that it would get me something you can’t afford to lose.”
Draco felt a sharp pain in his chest. So Hermione is in danger because of me. Damn it. Why can’t I do anything right?
“Alright. If you guarantee that she’ll be okay and returned home, I’ll do whatever you want. Just…I want to see her. I want proof that she’s okay. I promise to join you right after,” Draco whispered in a tired voice. He let his head drop and he closed his eyes, telling Voldemort that he was his now.
Satisfied, Voldemort ordered two of his men to go fetch Hermione. Then he sent three of them to go get the things needed for the induction ceremony.
A couple minutes later, two men walked through the door with a girl in between them. Draco looked up, and there she was, unharmed. Hermione looked at him uncertainly. He gave her a little smile.
“Well? There she is. Shall we continue?” Voldemort questioned impatiently.
Draco turned his head to Voldemort. He hesitated but nodded determinedly.
“DRACO! What are you doing?!” Hermione shouted anguished.
Draco shut his eyes, trying to block out her voice.
“Don’t do this Draco! You can’t join him!”
“If I don’t join him, I’ll get you killed!” Draco replied softly in a shaky voice. His eyes were filled with pain as he watched her try to wrestle out of the Death Eaters’ grip.
“Don’t do this Draco…don’t!”
“Silencio!” Voldemort commanded as he pointed his hand at Hermione.
Hermione instantly fell silent. Draco returned his gaze to his future master.
The men who were sent to get the needed materials returned. Draco was horrified with what they brought back. There was a sharp knife, a cup, Voldemort’s wand, and a vial of blue potion. Voldemort grabbed his wand, placing it on Draco’s forearm, and started chanting his spell. Suddenly, the door flung open and a boy walked in, wand out, and anger plastered across his face.
Voldemort stopped the spell halfway through and looked up. He smiled. “Harry Potter.”
“Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted at once, making every wand in the room fly up and drop onto the floor.
“Avada Kedavra!” Voldemort replied, pointing his hand at Harry. Luckily, Harry moved fast enough to doge the spell. The Death Eaters started to advance on Harry when Voldemort demanded that they guard Draco; he wanted to fight Harry himself.
“I don’t know how you got here boy, but you won’t even get to live to regret it. Crucio!” Voldemort snarled. Harry rebounded the attack, but Voldemort quickly dodged it. “Expelliarmus!”
Harry’s wand flew out of his hand and at the same time, Voldemort shouted, “Crucio!”
Harry dropped onto the floor, his whole body in pain. His screams pierced the room, and Voldemort laughed. Hermione, snapping herself out of shock, picked up a dropped wand and shot a stupefying spell at Voldemort. Amazingly, it hit him, but unfortunately, it didn’t knock him out. Harry was released from the Cruciatus Curse, and now Voldemort was going to attack Hermione. With every ounce of strength he had left, Harry launched himself onto the Dark Lord, cutting him off from cursing Hermione with Avada Kedavra. Voldemort hissed viciously, trying to throw Harry off of him, and just as he did, another man walked through the door.
It was Snape.
Voldemort, for some reason, gasped when he saw Snape. Then he eyed his men and Disapparted. Along with him, every Death Eater in the room left. Snape walked forward to Hermione and Harry.
“Are you okay?” he asked the both of them.
Harry nodded, and let himself collapse completely onto the floor. Hermione looked over at Draco, who was still sitting motionless on a chair.
“Finite Incantatem!” Snape ordered, pointing his wand at Draco.
At once, Draco slouched off the chair and like Harry, collapsed onto the ground. Hermione crawled her way towards him and put her hand on his face.
“Are you okay?” she asked softly.
Draco smiled. “Never better.” And he drifted off into unconsciousness.
Snape conjured two stretchers for Harry and Draco, then he led Hermione outside where a Transporter was waiting for them. This was the first time Hermione had actually seen a Transporter. She had only read about them in books before. Transporters were the ambulances in the magical world. It looked like a bluish sphere that floated a few inches off the floor. When Snape stepped into it, it expanded to make room, and as Hermione came in with the stretchers, it grew once more so that there was enough room for them all. At once, Healers appeared in the sphere to help with Draco and Harry. Hermione was amazed at how fast the Transporter moved. It took less than 30 seconds to get back to Hogwarts, and she didn’t feel any motion at all. The Healers helped get Harry and Draco inside; then Disapparted once the boys were under the care of Madam Pomfrey. Hermione spent the night sitting by their bedsides. Snape had left once Madam Pomfrey told him the boys would be all right. Hermione wondered why Voldemort was so afraid of Snape, and how Harry knew where they were, but it wasn’t long before her exhaustion wiped the thoughts out of her head and sent her to sleep.
“Hermione.”
Hermione felt a gentle push on her shoulders. “Hmmm...” she voiced, so the person would stop nudging her.
“Hermione, wake up.”
“Harry, shhh, don’t wake her up!”
“Hermione, you’re sleeping on Draco for heaven’s sake!”
At that, Hermione awoke and sat up. She yawned and stretched.
“Sorry, Draco,” she apologized after she brushed away all her sleepiness.
Draco smiled sneakily. “It didn’t bother me as much as it bothered Harry here.”
Harry swiftly smacked Draco across the head.
“Hey! What was that for?!”
“For getting Hermione in danger yesterday!”
Draco blinked, having no comeback to that.
“Harry, how’d you know where we were?” Hermione asked, straightening her hair.
“I followed you yesterday night. I figured once you thought I went to bed you’d go find him. So I opened my door and shut it and waited for you to leave the common room. I followed you a little after, and when I finally found you again, I saw Voldemort dragging you two away; therefore, I followed him. And he shut you guys up in a prison, so I couldn’t do anything then. I wrote a letter to Dumbledore telling him what happened, and I guess he sent Snape.”
“Yeah, what was up with Snape? Why did the Dark Lord seem to fear him?” Draco inquired.
“I don’t know. That was weird. We can ask Dumbledore later,” Harry replied.
“Harry, are you mad at me and Draco?”
“I was! I can’t believe you’d do that! Sneak off to be with him, God, it’s like some sappy love story; it makes me sick. And just the fact that you like him makes me sick. So yes, I was mad at you. And Draco, you git, you should have protected Hermione!”
“Oh yeah, cause I can do so much being unconscious and paralyzed, right?” Draco shot back.
“You should have never come in contact with her once you made your alliance with Voldemort!” Harry responded angrily.
“I DID NOT MAKE AN ALLIANCE WITH VOLDEMORT! You shut your mouth and watch what you say, Potter! And don’t you think that I didn’t do anything to try to keep her safe. Because I did. I almost became a Death Eater so they wouldn’t kill her. Doesn’t that say anything? Or am I just not allowed to be forgiven?”
Harry sighed, frustrated. In his heart, he had already forgiven Draco, and was very grateful that he was willing to sacrifice himself for Hermione.
“Hello? Can I have a say here?” Hermione interjected before Harry could start yelling at Draco again. “I made the decision to go see Draco, and I can take care of myself. I never asked the two of you to be my personal bodyguards! So all this talk about who’s fault it is that I was in danger is just a bunch of crap to me. I can take protect myself, honestly!”
“I know Hermione, but, if Voldemort does anything to you, it’d be our fault! We’d never forgive ourselves. You wouldn’t have to deal with Voldemort if you weren’t my friend,” Harry explained.
“Or mine,” Draco added in.
“She’s not your friend Draco, so you can shut up,” Harry commented.
“The hell she’s not, she’s my girlfriend!” Draco stated.
“And when did that happen?” Harry replied nastily.
“Let’s see…we’ve made out…we’ve been through a near death experience…and she’s slept on me…I think that qualifies as being my girlfriend.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “You’re so”“
“Will you two shut up?!” Hermione shouted. “Whether or not Draco is my boyfriend is not the issue right now!”
“So are you saying he is your boyfriend?” Harry asked, giving her a dangerous but friendly glare.
“Harry! Just be quiet okay? We have bigger things than our love life right now!”
The hospital wing doors swung open and two red heads came walking in.
“Hey guys! I missed you so much!” Ginny ran to and pulled Harry into a long hug. Ron was behind her and greeted them with “Hello”.
“McGonagall told us what happened,” Ron informed them. “Malfoy, you’re gonna pay for this!”
“Whoa now, get your facts straight before you start shooting at people, Weasley,” Draco replied.
“It’s not his fault Ron,” Hermione added.
“The hell it’s not! If it weren’t for him, you’d never have been kidnapped!” Ron shouted.
“But if it weren’t for him, I’d be dead!” Hermione stated.
“Hey Weasel! Guess what? Hermione’s my girlfriend,” Draco said tauntingly, sitting up and pulling Hermione towards him.
Ron’s jaw dropped. “This isn’t happening.”
Hermione glared at Draco, releasing her from his grip, and walked over to Ron. “Don’t listen to him Ron. He’s just trying to get to you and Harry.”
“Good, so you guys aren’t going out?”
Hermione didn’t know what to say. If she said yes (they were going out), she’d be admitting to herself and everyone that she wanted to be with Draco, but if she said no, she didn’t want Draco to be offended.
“Maybe,” she said at last.
“Eh, well, maybe is better than a no right?” Draco added in cheerfully.
Then, at the same time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione shouted, “Shut up Malfoy!”
Everyone cracked up. Draco grinned. “Okay, Ron.” He stopped suddenly, realizing he had just called Ron by his first name; Ron, at the same time, looked amazed and confused that Draco knew his first name. “The thing is,” Draco continued. “I went home for winter vacation…and I heard my parents fighting. My dad wanted me to join Voldemort this year, but my mom felt differently. Then the bastard killed my mother, and from then on, I was determined to leave every Malfoy particle in me behind.”
Hermione gasped. “Draco, you never told me”“
“I didn’t want you to feel sorry for me,” Draco explained, giving Hermione a meaningful look.
“Anyway, I came back to school, and tried to become friends with Harry and Hermione. I asked Hermione if she’d be friends with me; she said no, I was angry, and I started being Malfoy again. But then, she walks in on me after a shower, and we make out. So I guess I started liking her. The next day, I decided that I was insane, and that I didn’t like Hermione, but was just attracted to her because she was the first girl to see me without my shirt on. Harry and I fight when we see each other in the morning. I win”“
“No you didn’t, I just didn’t want to get up,” Harry interrupted.
“Shut up, Potter, it’s my time to talk,” Draco replied, then continued. “I go back to Slytherin Tower and Voldemort is there. He says he wants me to become a Death Eater, I say no; he does some freaky spell on me, and then he leaves. I go outside, and once again, Harry and Hermione just keep running into me. The spell makes me say that I like Hermione, which I do, but I didn’t know it then. And then it starts this whole fight between the three of us. Hermione takes Harry and storms inside the castle, oh, and that’s after she slapped me. And then later that night, she came to find me again, but Voldemort was there, and he trapped us both, taking us to his base. Then, we woke up, and I got knocked out again. I woke up, and talked briefly with my father and Voldemort. They say if I don’t join, they’d kill Hermione; so of course I agreed”to join that is, if they gave me proof that she was still alive. They brought her in; I saw her, and then the ceremony started. Harry here, good thing, barged in halfway through the ceremony and started fighting with Voldemort. Then Snape came and Voldemort fled, for reasons unknown. And then here we are now. In the hospital, and all on the same side, if I may add. So you can stop trying to think of ways to get revenge. Okay? I’m a good guy now.” When Draco finished, everyone pretty much agreed with what he said.
“Well, don’t expect me to be your pal,” Ron told him. “I still despise your father.”
“Hey look! Something we have in common.” Draco smiled, and Ron laughed.
And that was how Draco became friends with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
Dumbledore appeared at the doors, looking tired, old, and sick. He walked over to the group and waved his salutations.
“Harry, Hermione, and Draco. If I could see you for a minute in my office please?”
The three of them looked at each other and nodded. Ron and Ginny asked if they could tag along; Dumbledore agreed.
Dumbledore’s office looked very different now. There were medical instruments everywhere, and a bed replaced the usual table. The only things that seemed the same were the portraits of the old Headmasters on the wall, and Phoenix sitting in his cage. Dumbledore took a seat at the far left corner of the room, and everyone followed.
“I am sure you have a lot of questions for me,” Dumbledore began slowly, once everyone was seated. “But there are some things I must tell you first.”
“As you can see, my health is no longer as strong as it was when you first entered this school. And I am afraid that I may not make it through the end of this year.” Dumbledore paused to breathe and think about how to word what he was going to say next. “There is a battle coming up. A battle for all. You will be fighting for much more than just your lives; you will be fighting for your friends, for truth, for justice, for the history of good, and much more. I cannot tell you how this fight will end, or whether I will be there with you when it ends, but I can tell you that if you work together, nothing can prevail. I have always hoped Slytherins and Gryffindors would one day unite; for they are the strongest houses of them all. And now I see here that you have indeed become one, and it brings me great joy. Use this bond to fight Voldemort. You shall not fear him. You shall see him as a threat to your friendship, and you shall fight for it. But most importantly, you must stay together; this is no longer something you can take on by yourself Harry, this is too powerful for any one person for fight themselves. I have been transferring most of my power to Snape; soon, he will be able to better protect Hogwarts should I no longer be able to. You must trust and respect him as you do me. I don’t know what else to say now. Except Good Luck.”
Harry stared at Dumbledore in disbelief. He can’t be leaving us now. He can’t leave us when we need him the most. Dumbledore has always promised to keep me safe, to always be there for me; he’s like a grandfather to me. How can he desert us at the time of greatest need? How can he expect us to defeat the greatest evil on our own? What about all his speeches and attempts to protect me? Is he going to throw that all away now?
Dumbledore got up out of his chair and led the group to the door. “This is where I leave you now. Don’t fear, you will win.”
One by one, they descended down the stairs and out into the hallway, none of them knowing what to make of what they had just heard.
“So Harry, is this what Dumbledore does every time you go up against Voldemort?” Draco asked, more seriously than sarcastically.
“Something’s wrong. He can’t ditch us now,” Harry replied.
“Of course something’s wrong! Can’t you see he’s dying?!” Draco stated.
“Don’t say that!” Harry shouted. “He’s not going to die.”
“You have to prepare yourself for it Harry, or it will destroy you in the end!” Draco warned.
“He’s right Harry, Dumbledore seems a bit old now. We need to start learning to depend on ourselves,” Ron admitted.
“But we’re not alone, we have each other,” Hermione added.
“And he said that’s all we need,” Ginny agreed.
“BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT OKAY!” Harry exclaimed.
Everyone was shocked to see Harry so angry.
“Harry, calm down,” Hermione said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“How can you tell me to calm down after you just heard?”
“If you’re going to freak out like this, it’s no wonder Voldemort has a chance to win,” Draco contributed.
Harry closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. After he exhaled it he felt much better. He opened his eyes again and nodded to the group.
“Okay then. Let’s get ready for war.”