Amid the Deadly Silence

Chapter 1: Magic Drained

Draco sat on the lumpy, hard chair in the hospital staring at the parchment in his shaking hands. He had read it about five times, but he still couldn't make sense of what the ending meant. It read:

Draco,

Please come to the address enclosed. I couldn't get back to Diagon Alley, so I Apparated to an old shack. I'm all right, but please do hurry.

Hermione

P.S. Shadows in the Dark

There was something behind the ending, but he just couldn't figure it out. Was she trying to tell him something? And if she was, how were four simple words going to give away a message? And why enclose a message? Was she in trouble? This worried Draco, and he was at a loss as to what he should do. He could go to this shack, assuming it wasn't a trap, or he could find a way to decipher those words to figure out what they meant. But if Hermione was in danger, he didn't want to waste any more time than he had already.

Going on a whim, he pulled out his wand and tapped the paper, saying, "Shadows in the dark." All of a sudden, words starting forming under the original writing.

Don't come alone. Bring along Aurors or anyone you can find. I'm with Snape...and other Death Eaters. They want you for something...Here's the plan. Have whomever you end up getting surround the area and you should enter alone. It's the shack in the middle. Snape will be here and he promised not to kill you. Though I don't trust him, it's all I could do. Be sure to go over some kind of signal with the others so they'll know to come when you need them. Oh...Snape is coming back. Be careful...

Draco stared at it and he wondered why he felt so surprised at those words. Of course Snape had something to do with it. At least she had found a way to communicate with him without anyone knowing. He probably would have gone and gotten himself in a mess. Thinking quickly, he Apparated to Harry's house, determined to round up as many people as he could.

He arrived at the front door and knocked loudly. The door opened, and a smiling Ginny opened the door. "Hello, Draco. Have you and Hermione stopped by for a visit?" she greeted.

Draco moved past her, searching the room for Harry. "Where's Potter?" he questioned.

"He's in his study. Why, has something happened?" she answered, a worried look spreading across her face.

Instead of answering, Draco stormed upstairs and opened a door on the right without knocking. Inside, a baby was now crying, and Draco quickly shut the door again. The last thing he needed was some crying baby keeping him from going through the plan.

"What do you want Draco?" Harry asked from behind him. "What's so important that you find the need to wake up poor Arabella?" Draco turned around.

"Sorry, but that'll have to wait. Hermione's in trouble. Snape has her," Malfoy answered. "Diagon Alley was attacked. I can't believe you didn't hear anything about it..."

"Diagon Alley? When did this happen? Who's done it?" Harry demanded.

"The Death Eaters...they're back! Harry, listen to me. I need as many people as you can get your hands on. We've got to stop them and get Hermione."

"I'll do my best. Where is she?" Harry replied after a moment.

Draco gave him the address. Harry quickly Disapparated, leaving Malfoy with Ginny and a crying baby.

"Draco, do you want something to drink? Some tea perhaps?" Ginny asked quietly.

"No, no thanks," he replied.

Draco waited for five minutes before Harry returned. "Draco, I've gathered up a few Aurors. It's the best I could do. There are others on missions that I couldn't just pull them out of."

The blonde nodded in understanding and quickly Apparated near the shack Hermione had described to him. A rush of cold air met his skin, causing Draco to shiver. There was a slight wind blowing that made the leaves on the trees sway. After pulling his cloak closer to him, he pulled his wand out, lifted his head slightly and walked towards the shack that was now in view.

As Draco moved closer to the shabby looking shack, he could hear whispers all around him, which caused him to grip his wand tighter. When he got to the door, he looked back, hoping that the plan would work and he would be able to get Hermione safely. His hand reached towards the doorknob, but stopped and hovered over it as if it were a snake that would sink its venom into him at any moment. He breathed deeply and put his hand to it. Before he knew what was happening, he was pulled by an unknown force into the air. He felt himself being drained of all energy and somehow landed in a dark, cell like room.

Trying to grasp some kind of clue as to what had just happened, he glanced around the room. It seemed impossible to do so as it was so dark he couldn't even see himself. After cursing to himself, he heard a whimper near his left. Was there someone else in this room with him? He tried to see some kind of figure in the darkness, but failed. After a moment of hesitation, he whispered a small hello. No one answered. He tried again. He sighed and moved away, and then heard another whimper.

"Hello?" he said again, this time slightly agitated. "Please answer me if you can hear me!"

"I...c-can hear y-you," a girl's voice answered between sobs.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked her, inching closer towards where he thought she was.

"I think s-so," came her feeble reply. "Who a-are you?"

"I'm Draco," he answered, giving her a smile. He realised it did no good considering she couldn't see him. "What's your name?"

"R-Rose." The girl gave a small snivel and Draco could feel her next to him. Though it was dark, her eyes shined like the moon on a dark night. Despite her sadness, her eyes seemed the opposite, showing only happiness. This deeply puzzled him, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he needed to find out how she got here.

"How did you get here?" he questioned.

The girl gave a small shudder and sighed before she spoke, this time with more stability than before. "I was with my parents. We were in Diagon Alley shopping for school supplies. It was going to be my second year at Hogwarts, and my parents wanted to get me a broom so I could be like Harry Potter... So we were in the broom shop and then there was a loud bang and everyone started screaming and running. My father ran outside to see what was going on and..." The girl then let out a sob and Draco felt helpless. After a moment, she took in a deep breath and continued.

"And a green light shot across the window and I watched as my father fall to the ground. A girl appeared beside him instantly, as if out of nowhere, and tried to cast a spell at whoever had killed my father. Something was wrong with her wand...And my mother told me to run to the back of the store and to wait for her to come back. I did, and the last I saw of her was her running outside past another green light...

"I ran to the back and hid and that's where I stayed for about an hour. Eventually I heard footsteps and I thought it was my mother coming back. That was until they got heavier as they moved closer, and I realised I was in trouble. I tried to run, and when I reached the end of the room, I pulled out my wand and tried to cast a defensive spell on him. I know, that sounds stupid and pointless, and it was. But not because it was a bad spell, but because my wand wouldn't even cast a spell. It's like...all of its power was drained away. The man got closer and everything went black... The next thing I know, I'm here all alone," she finished.

"I'm so sorry," Draco answered. "About your dad and mum, I mean. I'll get us out of here, I promise. Wherever we are..."

"Thanks, Draco. You're a caring person," she replied, and Draco nodded before he realised that again she couldn't see him. "You know? There's something strange about your eyes. They're grey like a wolf's, but they don't have that cold feeling. They're sad, though. Are you sad?" she asked him.

Draco was taken aback by Rose's abrupt honesty and didn't know how to answer.

"I'm sorry," Rose told him. "I said too much. My mum always said that one day speaking my mind would get me into trouble." She laughed slightly, causing Draco to laugh as well.

"It's alright," Draco replied.

There were footsteps heard and Rose squealed and hurried off into a corner. They edged closer until they stopped in front of their room. Metal slammed against the wall and Draco found himself pulled up by his arm. He was thrown into another room before he could do anything and looked up to see Snape staring down at him.

"Draco," he said in a deep, nasally voice. "Nice of you to stop by."

"What do you want?" Draco demanded, pushing himself up.

"You know what I want," Snape replied simply. "And you will do what I ask or..." He moved his hand towards where, Draco saw with a pang of fear, Hermione was hung against the wall by chains. "Well, she won't be alive much longer."

Draco stared at Hermione sadly. Her lifeless body hung low and her eyes were closed, as if she was in a deep sleep. There were gashes on her arms and face, and it took everything Draco had in him not to run over to her.

"If you join us, you and the Mudblood will not be harmed and she'll be free to go live her miserable life as a worker. If you don't...Well, you'll just have to join anyway. I made an Unbreakable Vow with her that I may not harm you, but that doesn't mean I can't kill her, or force you to join the Death Eaters. What say you, Malfoy? What side are you on?" he questioned.

Draco reached for his wand, which he was surprised to find was still there. He raised it, but Snape stared at it and laughed.

"That won't do you any good," Snape told him coldly. "You power was drained as soon as you touched that doorknob."

"I'd rather die than join with you, Snape. Why can't you get it through your fucking head?" Draco snapped. "And you will not harm Hermione. You touch her and I'll kill you with my bare hands if I have to!"

"So naïve, Draco, even now. You think that you could stand a chance against power? You're lacking logic, Malfoy," Snape mused. He then raised his wand and pointed it towards Hermione. "Say goodbye, Draco."

Draco ran in front of her. "Don't touch her!" he shouted, his eyes blazing with fury.

Snape suddenly flew backwards and hit his head against the wall, his eyes fluttering shut instantly. Draco took a step back, shocked at what he had just done. He didn't have much time to think because he wanted to get Hermione to safety. Draco quickly searched for the keys, and unlocked the chains binding her. He carried her out of the shack and ran to where Harry had said the Aurors were going to be. There were none in sight, and looking back regretfully as he realised he couldn't keep his promise to Rose, Draco Apparated to St. Mungos.