Chapter 10 “ You’re Not Alone
Draco tiptoed past his aunt and father towards what he knew to be Hermione’s chair. He knelt next to it and whispered just loud enough for her to hear.
“It’s me, Hermione. Don’t be afraid.”
Hermione, still completely covered by the cloak, reached out to touch him, finding him to the left.
Lucius and Bellatrix were in the hall having a heated discussion on whether or not they should bring back Hermione alive as a bargaining chip or just finish the family off as a whole. Draco took the opportunity to tell Hermione their plan.
“Look, we need to sneak you back into the bedroom. Ron is ready to take you to the Burrow.”
Hermione bit her tongue and tried to quietly express her frustration.
“Back to the Burrow? How does he plan on doing that? Sneak to a fireplace and floo back? Try Apparating on a whim?”
“The Knight Bus. It’s our only option. He will sneak you out the window, and Harry and I will use our invisibility cloaks to try to head my aunt and father out.
She shook her head even though he was unable to see it. “No, I’m not running away”you’ll be killed!”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Granger.”
“You know what I meant. You made Voldemort angry, not to mention your aunt and father. Forgiveness is not in their nature, especially for defending a Mudblood like me.”
“Hermione, you could bring us help if you were able to get to the Burrow.”
At that moment they heard silence. Draco moved stealthily towards the hall. When she noticed he was no longer there, she went towards the bedroom as she was asked to go, assuming that was the direction he was headed in.
The younger Malfoy stopped before turning the corner, and he reached out as he felt her sneak by. He silently cursed under his breath, as she was just out of his reach and proceeded to follow when he heard a gasp.
Draco’s heart fell.
As he turned the corner, he found himself face to (cloaked) face with a Death Eater holding a wand to Hermione’s throat, her back to her hooded enemy. Draco prepared to make himself known, watching the situation in front of him unfold quickly.
Harry and Ron listened carefully from behind the bedroom door.
Bellatrix quietly cackled at the situation.
“Well, well, well… I’ve caught myself a Mudblood witch! What do you think, my dear? Do we kill you quickly or let you die a slow, excruciatingly painful death?”
Lucius volunteered his opinion. “I’d say slowly is best.”
Draco jumped. His father was standing approximately five feet behind him! Draco slowly moved to the wall farthest from him and the one closest to Hermione.
Bellatrix nodded towards Lucius, encouraging him to begin his torture. He raised his wand.
“Cruc””
Draco threw his cloak off and yelled, “NO!” He held his wand to his father’s chest.
Lucius laughed but at the same time showed a look of shock and horror that his son was not only alive but he was defending a Mudblood.
“Draco,” he drawled, “What are you doing here? Why are you defending this worthless piece of filth?”
Draco stood up straight and walked a step closer. He took a quavering breath before speaking.
“Hermione is my friend and a better person than anyone in this room could ever dream of being.”
Hearing this, Harry and Ron walked out of the room they had been secluded in, both of their wands pointed at Bellatrix from behind. Lucius smirked.
“Oh, isn’t this a cozy picture… The-Boy-Who-Refuses-To-Die and his sidekick.”
Ron kept his wand aimed at the witch in front of him, and, without taking his eyes off of her said, “Let Hermione go, Bellatrix. She’s done nothing to you.” His hands were quivering from the adrenaline and the sight of Hermione so helpless in front of him.
Hermione was visibly shaking. It became very quiet for a few moments. Suddenly, they heard a series of pops and were surrounded by a witch and two wizards.
Tonks, Bill Weasley and Remus Lupin, sent by the Order, immediately rushed to help the teens.
Bellatrix pointed her wand at Remus Lupin, and in the process, threw Hermione to the floor. Draco pulled her to a safe corner. As Bellatrix tried to throw a curse at Lupin, three more came at her from Tonks, Harry and Ron.
“Expelliarmus!”
“Incarcerous!”
“Furnunculus!”
The combination of spells worked surprisingly well. Bill looked at them for a split moment and commented, “That last one was brilliant, Ron. Who taught you that?” Ron nodded towards his best friend sitting in the corner with the Slytherin.
Draco looked in the direction of his aunt. Her wand was down the hall due to the disarming spell. She was bound with ropes and covered in boils. Lucius sneered and raised his wand in the direction of Ron, who was turned towards his brother but was suddenly hit with a curse from behind.
“Petrificus Totalus!”
The elder Malfoy fell flat to the ground. Hermione smirked. Draco looked over to her.
“That smirk was worthy of a Malfoy, Granger. I’m rubbing off on you.”
Harry looked confused. “Who hit Lucius?”
Hermione pointed to the blonde wizard next to her. “You can thank this one here.”
Ron stepped over (“accidentally” stepping on) Bellatrix and extended his hand to Draco. Malfoy pulled himself up with Ron’s help and shook it. Hermione cleared her throat and Ron laughed as Harry helped her up as well.
“Sorry, Hermione.”
While the four students were cleaning themselves up and checked each other over, Bill and Tonks levitated the restrained Death Eaters off the floor. Lupin looked towards Harry.
“I’m not sure how safe you’ll be here now. You might think about getting a head start to headquarters tonight.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll run it by them.” He motioned with his hand in the direction of his friends.
Ron clapped Harry’s shoulder having overheard the conversation. “Too late, mate. We packed before dinner, remember? Let’s get out of here.”
Hermione joined them, cringing as she observed her childhood home. “I agree. I’d feel much safer away from here.”
Draco walked up towards the trio. “There’s no way I’m being left here, so I hope you’ve got some room for me as well.”
Tonks and Lupin Apparated with the Death Eaters and left. Fifteen minutes later, the teens made sure everything was cleaned up from the battle in the hall and furniture went back to their original spots. Bill locked up the house and did a final check of the Granger property. Everyone shrunk their things and walked to a quiet corner of the neighborhood, summoning the Knight Bus with their wands.
By the time Harry, Ron, Draco and Hermione walked in the door of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, the sun was peeking over the horizon. Everyone was exhausted. Harry told them to keep their voices down so as to not wake the others who were already there. Stepping in front of his friends, Ron whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, “And if anyone wakes that picture”” he pointed to an adjacent wall where a curtain was drawn “”I will hex you into next week, I will!”
Hermione motioned to Draco as if saying she would explain later.
Harry showed Malfoy to his room which was between his own and the bathroom. Hermione’s room was opposite of Harry’s, and Ron slept one floor higher because his snoring was so loud.
Once everyone was situated, Harry called for the house elf who appeared with a loud Crack!. Looking down, Harry greeted his loyal servant.
“Hello, Dobby. How are things?”
Looking at Harry, the house-elf seemed to suddenly realize who was speaking to him. “Oh, Harry Potter, sir! You has returned! His Dobby is so happy.” Bowing low, Dobby asked, “Would sir be wanting some breakfast?”
Harry shook his head, “No, Dobby, but I do have a favor to ask of you…”
Dobby interrupted, eager to please. “Anything, Harry Potter, sir!”
Harry knelt down so he was eye to eye with the elf. Dobby gripped the glistening white tea cozy he wore with anticipation radiating from his eyes.
“I have guests here, Dobby. Do you remember Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger?” Dobby nodded again. Harry continued, “They are in their rooms but there is one other guest that I need you to help in feeling welcome here. Give him whatever he requests. He is a good person, I promise.”
His eyes wide with attentiveness, Dobby asked, “Who is this person, Harry Potter?”
Taking a deep breath, he responded, “Draco Malfoy.”
Dobby’s face fell and he disappeared with a snap of his fingers. Harry panicked, “Wait, Dobby! It’s okay…”, but Dobby had already gone.
The house elf appeared seconds later in Draco’s room. The sound of Dobby appearing caused the blonde to grab his wand in case it was an intruder.
Dobby gasped. “Don’t be angry, Master Malfoy! I is only wanting to see if it is really you, sir.”
Draco sat up a bit higher in his bed and rubbed his eyes. “Dobby?” They smiled awkwardly at each other.
“Dobby, I’m sure we have a lot to discuss but can we talk another time? We have all had a long night, and I am exhausted.”
The house-elf agreed and bowed at the younger Malfoy, disappearing once again. Within minutes Draco’s head hit the pillow and he slept soundly until lunchtime.
Safe Haven by NikkiSue
Chapter Notes: I'm not beating around the bush... This is my favorite chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope my loyal and faithful readers (you!) enjoy reading it as well.Thank you to Rita Writer, the world's greatest long term beta as well as babekitty_92 for helping look over this one. Thanks to my mentor, Keryn for her assistance with wording too! I promised MsRowling that I would only take the characters out to play for a bit so I should return them after you read this.