Voldemort Ascendant

Chapter ten: By His Heart Betrayed

Hermione´s face had become Sally-Ann´s face. Hidden beneath the invisibility cloak, Justin´s face had become Edward´s, just like his voice. Edward´s face was flushed, the real Sally-Ann clutched his hand tightly and looked at her feet, her face pinched and pale. Parvati was clearly breathless, Kevin and Derek remained stoically still and silent whilst Colin and Dennis Creevey stood closely and quietly spoke between themselves.

`It´s time,´ Hermione said softly. A huge lump had lodged itself in her throat, and no matter how she tried, she couldn´t seem to speak around it. Her face felt as if it were on fire, her chest felt as if it were clamped. `Are you both ready?´ she asked breathlessly, and her voice was thin, stretched.

The real Edward gave a curt nod, gripping his wand tightly in his right hand, whilst Justin´s fake voice hoarsely muttered `yeah´. `Be careful!´ Parvati whispered, her voice unnaturally high pitched. The Creevey brothers watched wide eyed. As the trio reached the kitchen door, Sally-Ann suddenly broke her silence to call out `Edward - remember, I love you!´

The hallways were blessedly empty as they made their way down to the dungeons. Every few steps, Justin´s foot came down hard on the back of Hermione´s heel, causing her to stumble repeatedly. She didn´t have the heart to say anything, hardly noticed at all. Her breaths were shallow, when she exhaled it was with a shudder. Calm down, Hermione. Calm down. Beside her, Edward´s face was fixed in a hard, almost angry expression. `What´s wrong?´ she asked softly, but Edward simply shook his head.

`Nerves,´ he reply shortly, and continued to look directly ahead.

The walk down continued, painfully slow despite the speed at which they walked. Light, have the dungeons always been so far away? Hermione asked herself, and stumbled as Justin´s foot landed on her heel once more. She didn´t feel it. Breathe. Breathe deeply. Focus. Concentrate. What is the first thing you do when you get in there? You look at the floor as Edward pays Travers. You move to your cell as if everything is fine and dandy. In the cell, Edward casts the cloaking spell over himself and I take the invisibility cloak. Then we both move out of the cell. She repeated the instructions to herself over and over, memorising them, searching for faults or weaknesses. The fact that she found none did little to reassure her.

Several steps ahead of her, Edward stopped and reached for a door handle. `We´re here,´ he said quietly, and pushed the door open.

***

The girl´s eyes were wide, long-lashed, and glistened faintly. Her lips parted slightly and the tip of her tongue ducked out to lightly lick her lips. It was obvious what she wanted; every part of her conveyed her readiness, her willingness. Taking her hand, Draco Malfoy shook his head slightly. `Not here. I have another place in mind,´ he said, then leaned over and whispered in her ear.

The girl´s eyes widened even more, shock, excitement and titillation fleeing over her pretty features. She giggled coyly and held a hand to her mouth, tilting her head to the side. `But Draco . . . that´s ever so naughty!´ she giggled again, and stumbled as Draco pulled her forward. Nearly running to keep up with Draco´s long, confident strides, the girl´s mind whirled over what Draco had just said to her.

`Excited?´ Draco threw at her over his shoulder, without bothering to slow down at all.

`Of course! I´ve never been to the dungeons before,´ she replied, stumbling once more.

***

Closing the door behind Justin, Edward turned and moved to the centre of the old common room. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he took several steps towards the three hallways that led to the cells. `Travers?´ he called, peering down the centre hallway. `Travers!´ He paused, waiting for a response, then walked back to Hermione. They exchanged a pained look, and Edward swallowed loudly.

`Fuck,´ Justin hissed from behind them. `Where the fuck is the old bastard?´

Hermione took a subtle step backwards and the heel of her foot landed soundly on Justin´s toes. He sucked in his breath in pain, but understood the message she was conveying. He promptly shut up.

`Travers? Are you in here?´ Edward called out once more. When there was still no response, he turned to Hermione. `What should we do?´ he asked softly, and cast his eyes around the common room furtively.

`What would we normally do?´ she asked quietly. `Has this ever happened before?´

Edward nodded. `Once . . . I left a few knuts on the chair and we went to our normal room. When we came out, he was slouched in the chair, listening to us like usual. He winked at me as we left. Should we . . .?´

Hermione bit her lip and slowly nodded. `I guess so . . . I don´t like this, but I don´t want to turn back, either. I´m not sure I could go through with this if we don´t do it now.´

`Right then,´ Edward said, and took Hermione´s hand. Dropping a half-dozen knuts on a chair in the common room, Edward led Hermione to the same cell they´d been taken to before. As Edward´s hand reached for the cell´s door handle, Hermione held her breath. The door opened with a soft `click´. Allowing Justin to climb through first, she went through and was followed closely by Edward, who closed the door firmly behind him.

Justin quickly pulled off the invisibility cloak and held it out to Hermione. `I´m not sure I like this, Hermione,´ he said quickly and quietly. `Why isn´t Travers out there?´

Edward shrugged. `Maybe he went to take a piss,´ he said casually, but his eyes never met Justin´s.

`We can´t worry about that now, Justin. Let´s just get this over and done with,´ Hermione said softly, and reached for the invisibility cloak. To her shame, her fingers trembled as she took it. She all but snatched the cloak and draped it around her body. `Let´s go, Edward,´ she said, doing her best to effect a `no nonsense´ tone of voice.

`Wait,´ Edward said quickly, sending a frantic look towards the door and wondering where Hermione had disappeared to. `I need to cast the cloaking spell!´ he hissed, and Hermione´s head suddenly reappeared near the door.

`Shit,´ she said. `Sorry . . .´ Fuck, Granger, you nearly blew it and you haven´t even left the cell yet.

Edward cast the spell and promptly faded into the darkness of the room. Hermione readjusted the invisibility cloak and stepped up to the door behind him, stepping through quietly and allowing him to close the door behind her. Moving swiftly yet silently to the common room, they remained close to each other so as not to lose each other. In the common room they both looked around. Travers was still nowhere to be seen, and the knuts remained in a haphazard pile on the chair. `I´ll go deal with the dementors,´ Edward whispered. `Make your way to Harry´s cell, I´ll join you there in a minute.´

Hermione found his hand and squeezed it silently, then moved towards the far hallway, all the time quietly fearing what she´d find in Harry´s cell.

***

`Is your hair naturally so pale, Draco? It really is a very pretty colour . . . I mean, not pretty! But you know, it´s very sexy . . . I envy your colouring, to tell the truth,´ the girl rambled, panting with her effort to keep up with Draco. `And those beautiful long dark eyelashes of yours are just so striking with your pale eyes and white skin . . . is it natural, or is it a charm? Not that I´m accusing you of using charms on your looks . . . or even needing to use charms on your looks . . . what would Pansy say if she knew you were with me tonight?´ the girl giggled, then stumbled and fell against Draco´s back with an inelegant `oomph!´

Stopping, Draco rolled his eyes dramatically. `You better be worth the trouble,´ he muttered in exasperation, and promptly withdrew his hand from hers, forcing her to raise herself to her feet without his help.

`What was that?´ the girl asked, dusting her hands over her arse.

Ignoring her question, Draco took her hand once more, and this time walked a little slower, not for the first time cursing the fact that the dungeons were so far from his own sleeping quarters. It really was more than a little troublesome constantly having to escort these silly fangirls down to the dungeons. Why can´t they just shut the fuck up and walk in silence? he wondered to himself, and continued making his way to the dungeons.

***

Making his way silently down the middle hallway, Edward suddenly felt that cold tug at his sanity that indicated that, like last time, the dementors were huddling at the far end of the hall, feeding off some unnamed prisoner that was unfortunate enough to be housed within the dungeons. Pulling out his wand, he did his best to think of happy times, happy moments, his brothers, his Mother and Father. Anything to keep the waking nightmares at bay. The faint sound of screams tickled at his ears, and he was able to estimate just how far the dementors were. Taking a few more steps forward, he caught a glimpse of a pasty white face hovering up ahead. There, he said to himself, and held up his wand. `Expecto patronum!´ he said clearly into the darkness, and watched in satisfaction as a large, proud raven swept out of his wand in a blaze of blue and silver light, heading directly towards the dementors.

Without warning, an amused voice spoke into the darkness behind him. `Who´s there, eh? Headmaster Malfoy don´t like what you´ve been doing to his dementors. Right peevish about it, he is. Give yourself up an´ I promise to put in a good word for ya. Don´t mind tormenting them creepy dementors myself every now and then, but can´t `ave you kids sneaking in and messing with them like this. Come on, where are you?´

Travers! Edward realised, and mentally swore. Panicking, he went over his options. Could he get past Travers? What´s the point, he´ll just end the patronus spell and come after you anyway . . . shit! Casting a look over his shoulder, he noted that the raven continued to keep the dementors safely fenced at the far end of the hallway. Returning his attention to Travers, he realised with mounting panic that Travers was coming closer to him, his wand at the ready. Any closer and he´s going to see me, regardless of the shadow spell . . . that´s if he doesn´t walk into me first! Coming to the decision that there was no other choice, Edward raised his wand. `Avada Kedavra´ he said softly, and the green flare of death struck Travers in the chest. Without a word, the Death Eater fell to the ground, dead. Turning to check that his patronus spell continued to hold the dementors in place, Edward quickly made his way back to the common room then started up the far left hallway, making his way to Hermione.

***

Standing outside the cell that imprisoned Harry, Hermione shivered and pressed her ear against the doorway. She hadn´t heard a sound from the cell since she´d been there. You´ve only been here three minutes, you git! He may just be sleeping! she mentally berated herself. Stop jumping to the worst conclusions; it´s not going to get you anywhere. Hearing soft footsteps, she peered down the hallway and thought she could see a dark patch moving straight towards her. Although she knew it was time for Edward to be approaching, she still felt a cold stab of terror and fear, and cringed in pain as her heart started to beat unnaturally fast within her chest.

`Hermione?´ Edward whispered into the darkness, and Hermione sighed in overwhelming relief.

`Over here!´ she whispered in return, and allowed one hand to leave the invisibility cloak.

Edward joined her by the doorway. `I found Travers,´ he said softly, focusing his attention on the cell door.

`What?´ Hermione hissed. `Where?´

`Don´t worry about him, he won´t be bothering us. You´re sure this is Harry´s door? I thought he´d be yelling or something,´ Edward asked, trying to change the topic.

`Edward! Yes it´s Harry´s door . . . he might be sleeping or something. What happened to Travers?´

`He must have been waiting for us to return or something. He said Headmaster Malfoy didn´t like us messing with his dementors . . . but Travers himself seemed more amused than anything. I didn´t know what to do . . . so I killed him.´

`What!?´ Hermione hissed once more. `Shit . . . shit! That wasn´t part of the plan, Edward!´

Edward suddenly turned to Hermione angrily. `Travers waiting in the darkness for me wasn´t part of the plan either, Hermione!´ he whispered fiercely. `Now just shut up so I can figure out how they´ve locked this door,´ he said, and moved his wand over the cell door.

Hermione felt cold fear gripping her heart. What are we doing? Light, this isn´t going to work . . . we haven´t thought any of this through properly.

Suddenly the door clicked open. She found herself gaping in astonished surprise. `What´d you just do?´ she asked, forgetting to whisper.

`Shh,´ Edward hushed her. `It was just a standard locking charm on top of a normal lock. Travers must have placed it there or something.´ He paused, and Hermione stared vacantly into the dark cell. `Are you going to go in?´ Edward asked softly.

`I . . . yes. Of course,´ she replied, but didn´t move a muscle.

`Hermione?´ Edward said, and took a step towards her. `Do you want me to get him?´

`No! No . . . ` Hermione replied, continuing to stare into the darkness. `I´ll get him,´ she said, and took a slow step towards the doorway before stopping once more. `Edward?´ she asked.

`I´m here,´ he replied gently.

`Could you cast a gentle lighting spell? Nothing too bright . . . we don´t know when he last saw light. I don´t want to damage his eyes, but I need to be able to see him, to make sure he´s okay.´ Okay? she thought bitterly. You want to make sure the boy who has been tormented by dementors in a cell for the last two and a half years is okay?

Edward´s wand issued a gentle, faint light, and taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped into Harry´s cell.

***

It´s better here, don´t you think, Harry? Aren´t you glad I brought you here?

I guess, Harry replied, though his response was merely a thought. No one communicated with words here. Thoughts. Always thoughts.

I knew you´d like it. That´s what friends are for, right, Harry? Friends know each other. They know what they like. And I knew you´d love it here.

Thanks, Harry thought in response, though his mind was starting to wonder. Something was there . . . a tickle at the back of his brain. What´s that? He asked, frowning.

What´s what?

That. The tickle grew, becoming a subtle pinch, nagging, tugging at him gently. Don´t you feel it? There it is again . . . it´s growing.

No, I don´t feel it. There´s nothing there, Harry. Get over it, Ron replied, irritably.

Harry went to agree, but the feeling intensified to the point that he could no longer ignore it. I can´t . . . it´s there. Something´s coming, Ron.

Ron suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable. Ignore it, Harry. You mustn´t pay attention. It happens to all of us at first, but you mustn´t pay any attention to it. Just ignore it, Harry. Harry! Are you listening to me? Harry!

But it was there now, coming at him quickly, impatient, urging him for attention, demanding him to pay heed. Ron was yelling at him desperately, screaming at him to ignore it . . . but how could he, when it shook him to his core, invading his senses?

Harry! Don´t listen to it, Harry! You need to stay here! Stay with me, Harry! You owe it to me, Harry! You let me die once, are you just going to leave me here on my own again? HARRY! The voice echoed in his mind, throbbing through him . . . he was being torn in two, torn between Ron´s urging and the throbbing, the pinching, the demand that he pay heed, calling his name -

With a gasp, Harry woke up. Bright light, brighter than the sun, blinded his eyes.

And then a soft, beautiful voice filled the air.

`Harry? Harry, are you alright? It´s me, Harry. Hermione.´

***

It was with no small measure of gratitude that Draco arrived, finally, at the dungeons. Opening the door and pulling the fangirl through, he entered the old common room and looked around. A soft moan issued from the right hallway, and he snorted irritably. It always bothered him that every wizard and his snake had taken to using the dungeons as a place for trysts. He remembered fondly the days when he had been the only one. Noticing a pile of knuts on one of the chairs, he looked around. `Travers?´ he called, but received no response. Shrugging, he pocketed the knuts and sat on the seat. The girl smiled prettily. He scowled. `Well, what are you waiting for, you air headed bitch?´ he snapped. `Get on your knees.´

***

The cell was dark, but with some relief, Hermione noted it wasn´t as awful and fetid as she had been imagining. The light issuing from Edward´s wand was hardly enough to illuminate even half the room, but she dared not ask for more, fearing for Harry´s eyes should he wake. Entering the room properly, she cast her eyes around the room, searching for him. `Harry?´ she called softly. `Harry, are you in here? Harry?´

`There,´ Edward said softly, pointing to a dark figure in the far corner of the room, and holding his wand up high.

With a sob of relief, Hermione rushed to the figure and dropped to her knees, hardly aware of the cold stones beneath her knees. She reached for him, suddenly withdrew her hands, then reached for him again, almost terrified to touch him lest he break beneath her fingertips. `Harry?´ she whispered, and gently raised his head. `Edward, could you lower the light over here?´

Edward moved, and the light flooded over Harry´s face. Hermione choked back another sob. He was skeletally thin, and the messy black hair had a liberal sprinkling of grey through it. `Light,´ she whispered, and brushed one hand gently through his matted hair. His face was impossibly white, and his eyes seemed to be bruised as if he never slept. Instinctively she reached for one of his hands, and found herself not at all surprised to find it covered in scratches and bruises, as if he´d been wrestling with the stonewalls. She was comforted to notice that his chest rose regularly with his breathing. `Harry, wake up . . . can you hear me? Wake up, Harry . . . wake up,´ she continued, and then gently shook his shoulders. Looking up at Edward, her brow furrowed. `Do you think we ought to wake him with a spell?´ she asked, uncertain. `Would it be safe?´

Edward hesitated before answering. `I . . . I don´t know. What if he is mad? Maybe it´d be best if we just used a spell to carry him up to the kitchens?´

Hermione turned back to Harry, resting his head upon her lap. `I don´t know either,´ she replied. `Light, Harry, I´m just so glad you´re alive.´ Suddenly Harry twitched in her arms, and the bruised eyelids flickered. `Harry?´ she asked, surprised. `Harry, can you hear me? Harry, are you alright? It´s me, Harry,´ she said softly, and her eyes flooded with tears as the eyes finally fluttered open. `Hermione.´

Harry moaned, and his eyes fluttered closed again, squinting.

`Light, where are his glasses?´ Hermione said, rubbing her hand lightly over Harry´s cheek and turning to Edward. `He´s squinting - can you tone down that light a little, and then get rid of it altogether when we move him from the cell?´ Edward nodded and the light faded to the point that it was hardly there at all, but it seemed to comfort Harry somewhat.

`Hermione?´ he finally whispered, and opened his eyes once more. `I waited for you.´ The voice was thin, scratchy, barely there.

To Hermione, it was beautiful. Wiping at her own tears, she leaned down and dropped a gentle kiss on Harry´s forehead. `I know, Harry,´ she wept. `I know.´ When she finally dashed away her tears, she realised he´d passed out again.

***

Parvati was picking imaginary balls of lint from her skirt when Sally-Ann finally cracked. `I can´t take this anymore!´ she cried without warning, jarring everyone from their tense reveries. `I´m going to go get them!´ With that, she bolted from the kitchen.

`No Sally-Ann! Wait!´ Parvati cried, but it was too late; Sally-Ann disappeared through the doorway, slamming the kitchen door soundly behind her. `Damn,´ she hissed, and looked around her. The boys were all staring at her.

`Um . . . should we go after her?´ Derek finally asked.

Parvati bit her lip. `I don´t know. Shit. I hope she finds them . . . shit shit shit!´

`It´s the pressure,´ Colin said softly. `It´s getting to us all. I´m sure she´ll come back on her own if she doesn´t run into them first.´

`That´s not the point,´ Parvati replied. `Now is so not the time to be bolting off.´

`She should have known better,´ Derek said, casting a quick look at Kevin and giving a subtle shake of his head.

Parvati frowned, peering at them. `What was that?´ she asked suspiciously.

`What was what?´ Derek asked innocently.

`That. That . . . look you just gave Kevin. You know something.´ She said, stalking up to Derek and Kevin. Lifting her finger, she suddenly poked Derek in the chest. `Talk, Derek. If you and Kevin know something the rest of us don´t know, I want to know about it.´

Derek cast another furtive look at Kevin, then winced in pain as Parvati jabbed her finger into his ribs.

`Now, Derek!´

Kevin suddenly held up his hands in supplication. `Okay, okay! Tell her, Derek.´

***

`Take one of his arms,´ Edward instructed. `I´ll take the other one. We´ll keep the invisibility cloak over the three of us until we get to Justin´s cell, and we´ll work something out from there. I doubt there´s anyone about, but I don´t want to take that chance . . . they might have had some sort of sensor spell over the cell.´

`What?´ Hermione hissed, wrapping Harry´s limp arm around her shoulder. `I´ve never even heard of a sensor spell!´

`They use them sometimes. I didn´t detect one, but spells are constantly being developed these days . . . you can´t be too sure.´

`Why didn´t you tell me this before?´ Hermione demanded, as they awkwardly maneuvered Harry´s unconscious figure out the cell door.

`It didn´t occur to me until just now,´ Edward replied somewhat defensively. Quietly they half-carried, half-dragged Harry down the hallway, taking their time in order to be as gentle as possible to Harry´s damaged body.

`By the light, he weighs next to nothing,´ Hermione whispered.

`Shh,´ Edward suddenly hissed as they approached the common room. Falling silent, they heard a girl´s sob, and a low, nasty response that was distinctly male and full of arrogance.

`Draco Malfoy,´ Hermione mouthed to Edward. Nodding, Edward gestured for her to take a quiet step forward. Stepping into the common room, safely hidden by the invisibility cloak, they were able to get a look at what was happening.

Draco Malfoy sat sprawled in a seat, whilst a pretty young girl knelt at his feet, weeping. A red handprint marred her cheek.

`You silly bitch, what the hell did you think you were doing?´ he demanded, grabbing a handful of her hair. `I distinctly told you no teeth!´

An incredulous expression crossed Hermione´s face, and if not for Harry and Edward, she felt that she might have walked out there and slapped Malfoy herself. That pig! she thought angrily.

`Hermione,´ Edward whispered quietly. `Let´s get back to the cell before he stops yelling at her, okay?´

Hermione nodded, and, as quietly as possible, they crossed the common room, mindful of the invisibility cloak. At the cell door, Hermione peeked a look back at the scene. Draco still had a handful of the girl´s hair, and was now bent over her, snarling angrily into her face as she desperately tried to hold her robe together at the front. Shaking her head furiously, she hardly noticed Edward opening the cell door and ushering her within it.

Once inside, they gently lowered Harry to the floor, and Hermione threw off the invisibility cloak. Justin sat up guiltily, then his face split into a broad grin at the sight of Harry. `Harry!´ he whispered loudly, getting to his feet. `Is he okay?´ he asked enthusiastically.

Hermione nodded wearily. `I think so. At least, he woke up briefly and seemed okay . . . it´s not much to go by, but at least he wasn´t raving like a lunatic. But we´ve got a new problem . . . Draco Malfoy is in the common room.´

Justin´s eyes widened like saucers. `What?!´ he hissed. `How are sweet merry fuck are we going to get past him?´

Hermione rubbed at her forehead. `I don´t know. He was facing the dungeon door.´

`Can we wait for him to leave?´

Hermione shook her head. `That´s not an option. We need to get out of this place before they lock it up. It has to be done tonight, now that we´ve got Harry free.´

`Shit. Shit shit shit,´ Justin swore, and tossed a hand back through his hair. `What do we do?´

`We can just try and leave here like normal,´ Edward suggested. `Students frequently come down here for trysts, everyone knows that.´

`But this isn´t a normal tryst. I´m a mudblood. Sally-Ann is a mudblood. Won´t that garner Draco´s attention?´ Hermione asked.

Edward nodded. `Yes. But I don´t think he´ll stop us. We just need to make sure we get out of this place before he starts spreading rumours.´

`This is complicating things,´ Hermione said softly.

`What choice do we have?´ Edward asked, his wand held tightly in his hand. `Look, just get Harry beneath that invisibility cloak. Justin, you get under it with him . . . I´ll put the feather-light spell on him, it´ll make him easier to carry on your own-`

`Why didn´t you do that for us?´ Hermione asked suddenly.

`I forgot,´ Edward replied lamely. `Hermione, you´re just going to have to pretend to be Sally-Ann. Draco´s going to say some nasty shit, I guarantee. Just don´t say a word. Don´t let him bait you, or he´ll just keep us longer. If he realizes you´re no fun to bait, he´ll let us go all the quicker, alright?´

Reluctantly, Hermione nodded. `I have a bad feeling about this,´ Justin said whilst Edward cast the feather-light spell over Harry.

When they were ready, they stepped through the cell door.

***

When the girl - he´d forgotten her name as soon as she´d told it to him - fled the dungeon, bawling her silly head off, Draco had felt some measure of disappointment. It was still early, afterall, and what had promised to be a late, relaxing evening had quickly fizzled when he´d realised the stupid twit didn´t know how to give a head job. His disappointment had quickly turned to curiosity, and then outright delight, when he´d spotted Edward what´s-his-name leaving the dungeons with not just a girl, but one of the mudblood girls.

A broad grin spreading over his face, Draco nodded his head in formal acknowledgement of Edward´s presence. `Edward. I had no idea that your taste ran to mudbloods. Tell me, are you into bestiality, too? I imagine there´s not much difference, really, is there?´

Edward´s hand suddenly tightened painfully around Hermione´s, and she wondered whether he was trying to remind her not to react, or whether he was simply as furious as she was at the comment. `Anything with a nice arse will do, Malfoy,´ Edward replied politely, and made his way towards the dungeon door.

`Leaving so soon?´ Draco called out, and rose to his feet. `If she has such a nice arse, won´t you share it with me, Edward? Slytherin to Slytherin? As you can see, my ride for the night just ran off on me . . . I´m willing to settle for what you´ve got there, though.´

Hermione fought back a gasp of pain as Edward´s hand tightened even more around her fist. She welcomed the pain; it distracted her from her urge to injure Draco´s masculinity. `I wouldn´t have picked you as one to settle for sloppy-seconds, Malfoy,´ Edward said without pausing, opening the dungeon door and rushing Hermione threw it. He remained behind for a moment, presenting Malfoy with an exaggerated bow that allowed Justin to carry Harry through the open door, then slammed the door shut behind him. Looking at Hermione and what he presumed was a space occupied by the invisible Justin, he said one word. `Run.´

***

Parvati was pacing the kitchen, her face pale and anxious, when the door to the room flew open and Justin staggered in carrying Harry, closely followed by Hermione and Edward. She immediately flew across the room, helping Justin to lower Harry´s body to the kitchen floor, whilst Hermione and Edward, both panting frantically from their run, bent over to catch their breath.

`Is he okay?´ Parvati asked quietly, keeping her eyes directly on Harry.

`I think so,´ Hermione gasped out, looking around the kitchen. `Parvati . . . where´s Sally-Ann?´

Parvati suddenly cast a furtive glance at Kevin and Derek, who meekly stared at the floor. `She . . . ` Across the room, Kevin gave a slight shake of his head. `She dashed out of the kitchen a few minutes ago. She said she was looking for you.´

`What?´ Edward exploded. `By the light, why didn´t you stop her? This is the last thing we need right now!"

`I tried to!´ Parvati yelled back. `She was sitting here doing shit-all, then suddenly leapt to her feet, cried that she couldn´t take any more waiting, and that she was going to find you! She said all that as she ran out the kitchen door!´

`We decided against looking for her,´ Kevin defended, `because we didn´t want to divide the group any more than it´s already divided.´

Hermione rubbed her head. `Fuckity-fuck,´ she moaned, slumping into a seat. `This is the last thing we need right now, it really is.´

`Why?´ Colin, more astute than the others, picked up on Hermione´s undertones. `Has something gone wrong?´ he asked from across the kitchen.

Hermione closed her eyes and rubbed at the back of her neck. `Travers was waiting for us in the dungeons . . . Edward had to kill him. And then Draco Malfoy appeared out of nowhere with one of his fangirls, and saw us leaving the dungeon.´

`What do we do now?´ Justin asked, keeping a close eye on Harry. `You said we have to leave this place as soon as possible . . . but with Sally-Ann missing . . .´ he trailed off, unsure how to finish.

`I´ll go look for her,´ Edward said, standing up, but Hermione immediately stopped him.

`No, Edward . . . I´ll look for her. I want you to take the other´s and stick to the plan. I´ll meet with you by the hall, understand?´ Hermione looked sternly around the kitchen, briefly meeting each person´s eyes. `I trust Edward. He has as much reason as the rest of us to want to leave this place. I want you to accept Edward the way you accept me-`

Parvati interrupted with a nervous laugh. `Hermione, you´re acting as if you´re not coming with us.´

Hermione met Parvati´s eyes. `This plan isn´t going off the way we planned, Parvati. I want you all to place your trust in Edward if something should happen, that´s all.´

`You don´t have to trust me if you don´t want to,´ Edward suddenly said. `I understand why you might not trust me. And I´m willing to offer my wand to any of you if you feel you could put it to better use.´

No one said a word, nor made a move to take Edward´s wand when he held it out. Hermione felt a sense of relief. `Good. I´m going to go look for Sally-Ann, then. As for the rest of you, get a move on. I´ll meet you near the Great Hall.´

Before Hermione could leave, Parvati joined her by the door, whispering confidentially. `Hermione, there´s something you ought to know.´

`What is it?´ Hermione asked, her voice tired but accepting that whatever Parvati had to say, it wasn´t something she was going to like.

Parvati´s eyes flickered nervously to Edward, was who peering curiously over Harry and preparing the shadow spell. `It´s about Kevin and Derek. They´ve seen some things that don´t bode well for tonight´s escape . . .´

***

Draco Malfoy loathed nothing more than being ignored. When Edward had stepped out of that dungeon without taking him seriously, he´d not only earned the other boy´s enmity, he´d piqued his insatiable, voyeuristic curiosity, and it was for this reason that Draco Malfoy had quietly followed Edward and his little mudblood lover as they´d dashed so quickly through the halls. Having traced them to the kitchens, he found a dark corner, cast a suitable cloaking spell, and waited. He was just beginning to suspect that he was wasting his time, when suddenly the kitchen door had opened, and out slipped one Hermione Granger. At first he´d been a little disappointed, presuming that the silly creature was off to do some midnight sweeping. But it hadn´t taken long for him to recognise those nervous looks, the silent footfall, the tense movements. This wasn´t the body language of someone going about her chores. This was someone that was Up to No Good. He promptly forgot all about Edward and his mudblood lover, and chose to focus on Hermione Granger instead. Was she out for some midnight liaison?

Following her through several hallways, watching as she constantly retraced her own steps, it wasn´t long before he grew tired. Come on, Granger. Do something interesting. She didn´t seem too keen to oblige, and it was with some irritation that he finally confronted her, sneaking up on her from behind and shoving her up against a wall where he pinned her with the weight of his body.

`Naughty naughty, mudblood. You know you shouldn´t be roaming around the halls at this time of night,´ he said softly, and pressed his body against hers.

`Dammit, Malfoy . . . let go of me!´ she hissed, and squirmed against him.

Enjoying the feel of her body against his own, he grinned at her and thrust his hips against hers, causing her to catch her breath and hold it. `Give me one good reason,´ he whispered against her ear.

Hermione felt the blood rush from her head and suddenly felt light headed as a result. Light, what does he want? He loathes mudbloods, why would he do this? Another voice interrupted this line of thought, savage and biting. Forget what he wants - don´t give yourself away! Remember what Edward said - ignore him and he´ll grow tired of this game. Don´t rise to his bait. Releasing her breath, she turned her face to his, and tried to ignore the fact that the slightest movement would bring his lips into contact with her own. `W-what . . .´ she paused, taking time to steady her voice. `What do you want, Malfoy?´

A slow, hot smile played over his lips, and he raised an eyebrow. Hermione was suddenly struck by how very similar he looked to his father. Too bad he lacks his father´s sophistication, she thought to herself, and found herself wondering where such a thought could have come from. `Well, Malfoy?´ she hissed.

He shifted his weight, and holding both her hands behind her back with one hand, he trailed one finger slowly down the column of her neck. `What do I want?´ he asked softly. `What are you offering?´ Grasping a handful of her apron, he suddenly tore it from the neckline down, and watched with interest as she started and cringed away from him.

`Remember who I am, Draco,´ she whispered. `I´m just some filthy mudblood . . . you don´t want me,´ she continued, trying desperately to free her hands.

Draco smirked, fascinated by the rise and fall of her chest. Do I want her? He suddenly wondered. She is just some filthy mudblood, he added to himself. But then his eyes traveled over what he could see of her. Beneath his body, she felt no different from any other female he´d ever slept with. Only this one was powerful, if his father was to be believed. More powerful than any other witch he´d ever known. And he liked it; he liked knowing that this witch, with all her power, was still vulnerable beneath him right now. `Maybe I do want you, Granger,´ he suddenly hissed, and, still holding her wrists with one hand, started to pull her skirt up. At his actions, she redoubled her struggles, squirming and trying to bite him.

`Stop it . . . stop it!´ Without warning, her foot suddenly collided soundly with his shin. Surprised, he released his grip on her, and she brought her knee up hard, narrowly missing his groin. Angered, he lashed out, striking her across the face and watching in satisfaction as she slumped, stunned, to the ground. He was about to continue his attack when a massive boom echoed throughout the castle; for a moment the ground seemed to shake. Less than a second later, hysterical screams filled the air, coming from the direction of the Great Hall. Leaning over, he snatched Hermione´s wrist and dragged her to her feet. Struggling against him, she cursed and attempted to slap him with her free hand. Only half focusing on her, he grabbed her free wrist and held her hands again with one of his own.

`You´re vile,´ she hissed, and continued to struggle against him.

`Cut it out, you venomous serpent,´ he spat in return, and shook her hard. Another boom echoed throughout the castle and more hysterical screams followed. `What the bloody hell is that?´ he asked out loud, and headed towards the Great Hall, dragging Hermione behind him.

Hermione, for her part, ceased the majority of her struggles when she realised that Draco was taking her towards the Great Hall. Surely you´ll be able to break away from him when he sees the dementors, she assured herself. Light, please let Harry be okay, whatever happens, she appealed, and walked submissively beside Draco.

The scene that met her eyes shocked her far more than she would have expected. Chaos was the only suitable word for it, chaos far greater than anything Edward had promised her. The students had clearly come running from the Great Hall at the sound of the great booms Edward had procured, only to be confronted by a dozen or so dementors that Edward had set loose from the dungeons. In the midst of the hundred or so students milling frantically between the Great Hall and the entrance of the school, she could just make out seven indistinct, shadowy forms, eagerly striving towards the doors of the school. Sally-Ann isn´t amongst them, she realised with a chill, and suddenly felt as if she´d failed them all. Failure . . . what good are you to them now? Without Sally-Ann, Edward will betray them all, and it´s your fault . . . you said you´d rescue her, and she´s dead now, all because of you, Hermione- becoming aware of her own thoughts, Hermione shook her head. Sally-Ann isn´t dead . . . with a start she realised it was the dementors leading her thoughts astray.

`What the sweet merry fuck is going on here?´ Draco asked softly, then turned to stare at her. `You did this . . .´ he said slowly. `I know you did this . . .´ he looked as if he were about to say more, but his eyes raised from hers and looked over her head, and a look of respect and mild fear crossed his features. Turning, she realised what it was he had seen.

Lucius Malfoy was walking slowly down the main staircase. And walking meekly beside him was Sally-Ann Perks.

***

`Ah, Draco, I see you´ve apprehended one of our little escapees,´ Lucius Malfoy said. `You´re to be commended. I wouldn´t have thought you had it in you,´ he continued dryly, and swept past him into the midst of the panicking students. `Return to your rooms immediately, all of you,´ he said, hardly raising his voice at all. Nevertheless, the students instantly calmed down, leaving behind only the dementors and half a dozen or so indistinct shadows that hovered uncertainly at the foot of the stairs. `Finite Incantatum,´ he whispered with a flick of his wand, and immediately the shadows formed into the mudbloods and Edward. With some relief, Hermione noticed that Harry did not appear, and she presumed he was safely disguised by the invisibility cloak. The dementors suddenly edged closer to the group, but Lucius uttered several words that Hermione couldn´t understand, and the group reluctantly moved away, presumably returning to the dungeons. `At last, some privacy,´ Lucius finally remarked.

`Father, I-` Draco started, but his father silenced him with a simple look.

`Miss Perks, if you would kindly step forward,´ Lucius asked softly. When the girl stepped forward, Lucius lightly draped an arm around her shoulders. `I believe these individuals are friends of yours?´

Sally-Ann looked at the stones at her feet, and slowly nodded.

`Now, just for clarity . . . tell me which of these individuals organised this little escapade.´

Sally-Ann blanched visibly, and Edward suddenly stepped forward. `Sally-Ann, don´t answer him - you don´t have to do a thing he says!´ he yelled angrily, and took another furious step forward, stopping only when Lucius raised his wand.

`Ah, but you see, Sally-Ann does have to answer my questions. She´s rather obliged to. We have a little agreement, you see,´ Lucius said softly, and an amused smile lifted the corners of his lips. Hermione experienced a sinking feeling in her stomach, a feeling slowly replaced by the feel of internal change, as if her blood had become unbalanced. `Miss Perks here came to me with a story of your little escape plan,´ Lucius continued. `And in exchange for the information, I´ve promised that she´ll be granted freedom.´

Hermione´s blood continued to sing, and an immense pressure gathered around her heart. She knew with sudden clarity that Lucius was about to betray Sally-Ann, but couldn´t bring herself to act. Not yet.

`Now, Sally-Ann . . . if you´d be so kind as to tell me who planned all of this so that I might grant my end of our little bargain?´

At the bottom of the steps, Edward looked as if he were about to be sick. Shaking his head in denial, his eyes sought out Sally-Ann´s, reproachful, furious and disbelieving all at once. `Tell me it´s not true, Sally-Ann,´ he whispered. `Tell me you didn´t betray us all . . .´

Studiously avoiding Edward, Sally-Ann nodded her head towards Hermione. `Her,´ she said softly. `Hermione planned it. Hermione planned it all, from start to end. She tricked the rest of us into going along with it.´

Hermione felt nothing emotionally. Her body was coming alive, and this time she recognized the changes for what they were. Looking at Sally-Ann, she understood why the other girl was doing what she was doing. She never truly thought this plan would work. She´s trying to ensure her own freedom, and at the same time trying to make sure only one of us is punished. She doesn´t hate me, she simply believes it is better that I alone am punished, rather than all of us. Sally-Ann´s eyes briefly met Hermione´s, and whatever she saw there made Sally-Ann gasp and pale.

`Ah, my thanks, Sally-Ann. And now to fulfill my end of the bargain. Now to set you free from your life of imprisonment,´ Lucius said with a smile.

Watching as Lucius raised his wand, Hermione felt her blood, ice cold and mercurial, rush to her heart. As the green light blazed from the end of Lucius´s wand, Hermione spun, snatching Draco´s wand from his robe and turning to the small group of mudbloods beside her. `Incolumitas turbo,´ she hissed, and before anyone could move, the muggle-borns disappeared from sight as a silver aura blazed around Hermione. Satisfied that they were safe, she watched, emotionless, as Sally-Ann´s body slumped lifeless to the floor. In that moment, Lucius pointed his wand at her.

`Dormio,´ he said softly. Senseless, Hermione dropped to the floor.