Amid the Deadly Silence

Prologue:

Hermione and Draco had been engaged for six months, and during that time, they planned their wedding. When she told Ginny, Harry, and Ron, they were surprisingly happy for her. She was happier than she had ever been, and with the man she was meant to be with forever.

Draco had transformed into a wonderful person. Though he still had his Slytherin moments, and he was usually only sweet and generous to Hermione, he had changed. And she loved him even more for it. She was going to spend the rest of her life with Draco Malfoy. If someone had told her that when she first met him, she would have laughed and hexed them into oblivion; now, she couldn't see it any other way. She truly cared for the beautiful blond.

Their wedding was set for December twenty-fifth, and Hermione was excited as ever. Though her father wasn't going to be there to walk her down the aisle, she had asked Mr. Weasley if he would have the honour of doing it. When she'd asked him, tears streamed from his eyes and he'd accepted immediately. She was sad that her parents weren't alive to see their daughter marry, but she knew that if they were there, they'd be proud of her. She was leading a happy life, and she knew it was exactly what they had wanted for her.

***

"Hermione, love, I've got coffee and blueberry muffins," Draco announced as he sat down next to her, bringing her away from her deep thoughts.

"Lovely," Hermione answered absentmindedly, kissing him.

Draco started to cut the tops off of the muffin. Hermione watched in wonder; he didn't like the bottom of the muffin. She laughed lightly and observed him. Draco glanced up with a puzzled look on his face.

"What in Merlin's name are you laughing at?" he questioned.

"You eat the same muffins everyday, and every time you cut the tops off. You don't find that a little funny?" she asked, stifling a giggle.

Draco frowned. "No, not really. The bottoms are burnt. Why would I want them?"

Hermione just stared and smiled again. "I love you, Draco."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, love. It never does get old, does it?" he wondered aloud.

"You'll always be so self-contained, won't you? Always looking in the mirror, admiring your gorgeous face and beautiful body..." Hermione trailed off, eyeing him.

"Ah, so you've noticed, have you? I was under the impression you loved me for my personality," Draco teased.

"Well, no, not at all, actually. You're lucky you have such a pretty face," Hermione joked, "or I wouldn't have ever given you the time of day!" She grinned slyly.

"Oh really? I'm pretty, now, am I? And all this time, I thought I had a beautiful face and a gorgeous body fit for a god..." Draco continued, drawing his face closer to hers.

"Yeah, I'd say that's about right," Hermione whispered, kissing him.

"Are we skipping breakfast, then, and going straight to dessert?" Draco asked mischievously, winking at her.

"Only if you want," Hermione whispered, leaning in to kiss him again. And then, there was a knock at the door. They both groaned.

"Who in the bloody hell would call at this hour of the morning?" Draco grumbled as he grudgingly moved towards the door. He opened it, glaring madly at the person on the other side. "What do you want?"

Hermione tried to see who it was, but Draco blocked the doorway so she couldn't see. "Who is it," she called out to him.

"Some man named Greg. Says he knows you...rather well," Draco drawled, slamming the door.

"What are you talking about, Draco? I don't know anyone named-" Hermione caught a glimpse of the man in front of her and instantly remembered him as one of the men she had dated after her original break-up with Draco.

"I think you know very well what I'm talking about, Granger. He misses you," he stated harshly, holding up a bouquet. "And look, he brought you lilies. Wasn't that sweet of him?" Draco strode over to the garbage can and tossed the flowers callously inside.

"What? Draco, listen, it's nothing like you think it is," Hermione stood, trying to explain. "We dated a long time ago. Long before you and I bumped into each other-"

"No, no. Please, say hello to your friend. I have to get to work," Draco snapped, pushing past the man still standing in the doorway and slamming the door again.

Hermione stared at the spot where Draco had just stood. He was so stubborn. She finally walked over and opened the door to Greg. "What could you possibly be doing here?"

"I missed you, and I thought... If I had known that, uh," he faltered, trying to find the right words.

"If you had known that I had a fiancé, you wouldn't have come, is that it?" Hermione snapped at him.

"I heard you were getting married. I wanted to, er, see how you were doing," he answered uneasily.

"You wanted to try and get back with me." Hermione interpreted, rolling her eyes and pointing to the door. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Gregory. You are absolutely despicable!"

After Greg left, she picked up the mess Draco had left on the coffee table. It would all blow over soon, she told herself. He couldn't honestly think that she'd leave him for some pathetic man. She loved Draco, and only him. Why did he have to get so angry?

She could hardly believe that he was so hard-headed that he wouldn't even listen to her side of the story! He made her so irate sometimes! Taking a deep breath, she got dressed and Apparated to Draco's shop to try a fix the situation. When she looked through the door of the apothecary, Draco was sitting sullenly at the front desk, eyeing a particular potion with disgust. When she walked in, he looked up, and when he only saw her, he continued to stare at the potion as if he was trying to light it on fire.

"Draco, listen," she started, walking to the desk and grabbing his hand. "There's nothing happening between Gregory and me. Even when we were dating he meant nothing to me. I love you, and only you."

Draco snatched his hand away and stood up, walking into the back of the shop. Hermione stood immobile, feeling helpless as she watched him walk away. After a moment, she turned to leave, rendering trying to convince Draco to believe her as a pointless task.

"Hermione, wait," his voice called after her.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, not turning around.

"I'm sorry," he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her.

Hermione smiled softly, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Why do you get so angry all the time, Draco? You should trust me."

Draco shrugged. "I'm an ass, you know that."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. She turned around to see Draco's face contorted into the same sort of smile. "Well, you know it's true," he told her. "I'd like to hear anyone deny it."

"I don't think anyone would," she replied.

"So, we're alright, then?" he asked her, daring to move in closer proximity to her. When she didn't move away, he took that as a yes and kissed her. "I'll always love you, you know."

"I know. I'll love you-" Hermione wasn't able to finish what she was saying, for there was a sudden commotion outside of the shop. "What in Merlin's name is going on?"

The two rushed outside to see hooded figures slowly moving towards the centre of Diagon Alley. The exchanged worried glances and pulled their wands out from their cloaks. They hadn't cast any spells toward anyone yet, but it was only a matter of time. Nearby shoppers were running from stores, Disapparating as fast as they could. Women grabbed their children and men hurriedly closed their shops. There were a few, like Hermione and Draco, who had their wands out, staring worriedly at the ever-approaching shadows in the distance.

"Why aren't there any Aurors around?" Hermione whispered at him. "There are always one or two patrolling."

"This isn't a good sign," Draco muttered thoughtfully. He squinted his eyes to get a better look at the dark-clothed wizards, and furrowed his brow in displeasure. Raising his voice he said, "They're Death Eaters."

"Death Eaters?" one of the remaining people called out. "I thought You-Know-Who was defeated!"

"He was," Draco responded dolefully. "They've found a new leader by the looks of it."

"A new leader? What does this mean for us?" the man asked.

"Nothing good," Malfoy affirmed. "Someone needs to alert the Ministry."

"I can do it," another man called out. "I'll send out my Patronus."

There was a scream, and someone fell with a thud to the ground. Hermione turned around and saw a woman who, it seemed, had fainted. She was about to rush over to the woman when Draco grabbed her arm.

"You can't just leave. I don't want to lose you," he told her. His eyes were dark, unlike his usual silver, with worry.

Hermione looked up at him, pleading. "I can't leave her there! I've got to help her! I'll be fine. I'll Disapparate her to St. Mungos and be right back."

"I don't want you to get hurt," he whispered. "How will I know if you make it alright?"

"I'll be fine," she answered quietly, kissing him lightly. With one last look at Draco, she rushed over to the woman.

Meanwhile, Draco and a few others cast a shield in front of them, trying to delay the Death Eaters from entering. Hermione looked over nervously, gently picked up the woman and Disapparated to St. Mungos. She hurried through the glass window and through the halls. She ran up to the desk, looking around frantically.

"This woman's fainted. There are Death Eaters everywhere and I had nowhere else to take her! Please, can you put her somewhere safe?" Hermione asked.

The woman at the desk raised her eyebrows. "What? Is this some kind of joke? Death Eaters, everywhere? Maybe you should be the one who stays here, not that woman."

"I'm not mad, if that's what you mean. They're in Diagon Alley! Please, just tell me where I can put her. I have to leave immediately..."

"I'll take her," the woman replied dully. "You go on, dear. She'll be alright here."

"Thank you!" Hermione cried. She hurried away and when she got outside of the hospital, she Apparated back to Diagon Alley.

When she arrived, there were Death Eaters all over the place: there were some who were fighting with two or three wizards at once, some casting spells at everyone in their way. Hermione searched for some sign of Draco. She couldn't find him. A hooded man appeared in front of her. She quickly pulled out her wand and cried, "Expelliarmus!"

She missed by inches, and the hooded man sneered evilly. "You aren't very good at spell casting, are you Mudblood?"

"Stupefy!" she shouted. It missed again. What was wrong with her? She couldn't afford to cast useless spells!

"Crucio!" the Death Eater shouted. Hermione reacted quickly and jumped out of the way. "Ah, sneaky are we? No matter. I'll soon have you and the rest of those Mudbloods locked up."

Hermione ran, not trusting herself to cast any more spells. They rendered her useless if she couldn't even aim correctly.

"Incarcerous!" he cried after her. Suddenly, thick ropes wrapped themselves around her and she fell to the ground. He soon caught up with her and lifted her up with his wand. "That was easy. I expected you to put up more of a fight, Mudblood."

"Let me go!" she hissed, angrier with herself than anyone else. Why wasn't she able to cast spells correctly? More importantly, how was she going to get herself out of the mess she was in?

The man laughed and waved his wand. Hermione soon fell to the ground again, and everything was dark.

***

Draco searched around the now deserted Diagon Alley. The Death Eaters left just a few minutes before, and he still hadn't found Hermione. He was trying to make sense of what had happened. They came, started casting spells at them, but only captured certain people. The others, like Draco and the man he had answered to earlier, were unharmed and left confused. Why had they come? Were they looking for something in particular?

His thoughts wandered back to Hermione. He hadn't seen her come back from St. Mungos, and Draco hoped that she had been smart enough to stay hidden. With that thought, he Disapparated to St. Mungos, thinking that she may have stayed there. When he arrived, he hurried toward the main desk.

"Excuse me, but have you seen a bushy-haired witch around here?" he asked desperately.

The woman nodded. "She left here about an hour ago. She was a bit mad, you see. Talking about Death Eaters and such. She left a woman in my care."

"Are you positive she left? Did she tell you where she was going?" he questioned.

"She said something about Diagon Alley. That's all I heard," the woman replied. "Have you lost her?"

"If I hadn't, would I be asking you where she is?" Draco snapped, storming away.

He fell into a hard, overstuffed waiting chair and crossed his arms. Where could she be? The Death Eaters couldn't have taken her, could they? She knew how to defend herself, so why was he worried? She was probably at their flat right now, waiting for him to come back. Yes, that sounded reasonable enough. She was all right, he knew it. And even as he told himself this, he couldn't help but get the sneaking feeling that something was very, very wrong...

***

There was a sound of a metal gate slamming against more metal, a man grumbling as he made his way down the cells. Hermione jumped in alarm, unused to the sound of anything. She blinked her eyes, getting her eyes accustomed to the darkness. She had only been there for a few hours, and she wondered how she was going to get out of the mess she had gotten herself into.

She could end up in the cell forever if fate would have it. She shrugged off this idea immediately. She would find a way out. After all, she had been the smartest witch of her year when she'd attended Hogwarts. If only she was as confident as that girl was then. She could have gotten herself out of the mess right then and there. But there was that thing with her wand...why couldn't she defend herself? She knew there was something wrong, but she just couldn't figure out what it was...

"Are you sure? Snape said on his orders she was to be...taken care of?" a voice growled in the darkness, sending chills up her spine.

"Positive. He needs that Malfoy kid for some kind of arrangement. He believes that sorry excuse for a witch will persuade him," the other man answered.

Hermione moved as close as she would dare, not wanting to be caught listening in on their conversation. She held her breath and waited for them to continue.

"Right, right. Can you believe that, Taut? Pureblood with Mudblood? He's putting Lucius to shame, that boy is. He was taught better than that, surely," the man hissed, sounding repulsed at the thought.

"Draco has just as much mud in his blood as that stupid girl if he's dating her. Snape'll put him in his place," said the man called Taut. "What do you reckon he'll do with the girl once he's got Malfoy?"

"Toss her back in here, where she belongs. Maybe even give her to Greyback," the other man laughed. Hermione could almost feel the evil grin that was on his face, and she didn't like it one bit.

The metal door of the cell slammed open, revealing two shadowy figures. One grabbed Hermione roughly by the elbow, dragging her out and through the many cells. She tried to pull away, but the man was much stronger than she was and it was foolish to continue to tire herself out. Finally, they ended up in front of a shabby, dark looking house, and the other man knocked loudly.

"Leave the girl," a nasally voice replied from the other side. "You go back to the cells."

The man holding her grunted, opened the door, and after tossing her inside, shut the door to leave. Hermione glared venomously at the now-shut door and dusted off the dirt that had accumulated itself on her clothes. She looked around the room. It was almost as shabby as the outside: it was bare except for a few pieces of worn out furniture, and there were candles flaring to light up the room. There was dust inhabiting every surface, every nook and cranny.

"Hello, Ms. Granger," the cold voice greeted. "Nice of you to come by."

Hermione turned to see Snape, smiling evilly down at her. He stretched out his hand in attempt to help her up, but she just stared at it as if it were poisonous. "I don't bite," he told her, smirking.

Instead of taking his hand, she pushed herself up abruptly and moved closer to him so that her eyes were almost level with his. "What do you want with Draco?" she demanded.

"Why do you think that I would want Malfoy? It's you that's here, not him," Snape answered suspiciously.

"I overheard those men talking. You're trying to use me to get to Draco," she snapped. "And let me tell you something. It's not going to work. Draco's smarter than that. He knows you wouldn't hurt me."

"Oh, but wouldn't I?" he replied smoothly, tapping his fingers against the lopsided table. "You don't know why I need him so badly. I might resort to the worst."

Hermione said nothing, staring at him and wondering what she should do. Tap, tap, tap.

"Such a dilemma. Whatever will you do?" he said mockingly. Tap, tap, tap.

Hermione averted her gaze, jumping back whenever he would suddenly tap on the table. She needed more time to think. She needed a diversion to give her a little more time. Tap, tap, tap.

"A diversion, Granger? How...original of you. You won't be able to fool me," he replied dully, as if he was bored. "Perhaps there's something you want in return for Malfoy? Something...valuable? Your life, perhaps?"

"I'd rather die than give you what you want," she retorted.

"That could be arranged, if needed. No matter. We'll be contacting Draco anyway. He'll know you're here, and he'll come to save you. We were hoping that you'd cooperate, but since you do not seem to want to, your life will be a grave one...

"You could have had better. We could have protected you against new Muggleborn laws. You'll have to live separately from those of us who don't have tainted blood. You will live with your kind," he told her, not bothering to hide the content on his face.

Hermione thought quickly. If she could get Draco here, and then find a way to get him out, they could escape. But what if she couldn't? What if whatever the Death Eaters were going to do to Draco would kill him? He'd be dead, and she'd be alone. Should she risk it? Well, she thought bitterly, I don't really have much of a choice.

"Alright, fine. I'll help you get Draco, but you have to do something for me..."