De-resurrection

CHAPTER FIVE (goodness! Is that the chapter already?!)

But I Would Die For You

But fate does iron wedges drive,

And always crowds itself betwixt

Andrew Marvell

Colours, deep and strong, like blood and bone, streaked the sky. The snow-laden fields of Buckinghamshire snatched the colours and soaked them deep into their hearts. Misty clouds sparked the light of the rising sun, and sparkled against the lightening sky. Harry squinted at Sirius and waited for him to decide.

'Still not sure,' he muttered. 'We need to know if the Muggles are on our trail, or not. I don't think they would be...'

'Sirius, they're still after you,' Harry reminded him gently.

'Bloody hell, I think you're right,' he frowned, looking at Harry through his shaggy fringe.

Harry smiled to himself.

'Well, all the same, if I just go dog whenever we're near Muggles we should be safe.'

'So, we're being Muggles?' Draco spat, a look of severe distaste on his face, and the makings of a sneer coming on.

'Yes. Let's check what you're wearing.' He looked at them all closely.

He passed Ginny in her faded, boot-legged jeans and tank-top under a fir-trimmed coat. He let Ron get away with his muddy combat trousers and black T-shirt with a hoody for warmth, it took him a while to let Harry wear a dark green shirt, new, dark blue jeans and a knee-length wool over-coat. Hermione of course, passed straight away in neatly cut black trousers and a red shirt, with a floor-length knitted cardigan in black. When Sirius turned to Draco, it was only to shake his head.

Draco had changed out of his prison gear into a pair of knee length black dragon-hide boots, black trousers, a black shirt and a long, black leather coat. He had his hands in his pockets and a mutinous expression on his face.

'I could be a... whadchimacallit? A Goth,' he protested.

'Maybe, but would a Goth be with normally dressed friends, walking a dog around the country?'

'I could be a very sociable Goth,' Draco objected.

'Fine. Whatever. It's just that, fade into the background is the idea, and people tend to notice Goths.'

'Go away, you... black-hater you,' Draco sneered feebly.

'If my surname is anything to go by, that's the last thing I am,' he grinned.

'You're just crushing my individuality!' Draco snapped.

'You're a teenager. The idea to crush you before you get too big.' Harry could tell Sirius was thoroughly enjoying this.

'Can the two of you shut up, please?' Hermione said witheringly.

'Yes, miss,' Draco said meekly.

-------

'And, the headlines this Monday morning-- Ministry uproar as vote passes for less rulings of secrecy, more on that later, after our main story.

'Recently convicted Draco Malfoy who murdered his father has escaped Azkaban. He is dangerous, and on the loose somewhere. He was said to have been aided in his escape by five others. One was identified as Sirius Black, the escaped convict still un-apprehended after three years. Another was confirmed to have been our own Harry Potter. Three others were with them, they have been named by the ministry as Muggle-born Hermione Granger, and Ronald and Virginia Weasley. We must ask ourselves: has the boy who lived turned over to the Dark side? Is releasing murderers now his game? We can only guess.'

The news reporter moved on after that, chatting about sport to a man named Amil Rochitt. But Molly did not hear a word. She knew it had to be a mistake. Ron and Ginny would never get caught up in something like that, it was too dangerous for them. Hermione would not do something like that either, Molly was sure of it. Harry? Well, sometimes he could be a bit rash, and she knew that he and Draco had been friends before the holidays.

'Charlie!' she shouted, staring up the stairs.

'What?' he called back.

'Ron and Ginny were on the radio, they're supposed to have got Draco Malfoy out of Azkaban. They're in deep trouble!'

'What?' He came pounding down the stairs, clutching a razor in one hand, with foam covering half of his face.

'Ginny and Ron, Harry and Hermione too, they're in trouble with the Ministry,' she told him, dabbing at her eyes with her apron. He gave her a big bear-hug, putting shaving foam all over the top of her head.

'They'll be alright. What was it for?'

'They smuggled Draco Malfoy out of Azkaban,' she told him.

'Ah, well. I'm sure they'll allow us to visit them once a year or so,' he grinned. 'Seriously. I can't think why they did it. Well, it's okay as long as they dropped the bastard in the sea when they got him.'

Molly frowned at him. He grinned, and rubbed the shaving foam into her hair.

'I'm sure there was a good reason for it.'

'No! how can you take this so lightly?' she cried. 'My little babies. My youngest two!'

'You never got upset when I was your youngest, and I got detained by the Ministry!' Charlie frowned.

'I did.'

'Did not.'

'I DID.'

'Yes, you did.'

'I'm going to have a word with them. I'll call Percy.' She ran over to the fireplace and hurled a pot of purple glitter into the flames. 'Percy Weasley,' she told it.

Percy's head came into view, revolving slowly.

'Mum? Did you hear...?'

'Yes. What is this all about?' she demanded.

'Well, you know the Malfoy boy went to prison? Well, there was a lot of complaint that it wasn't a fair verdict. I think it's perfectly illegal to rescue him, but all the same... They went in while he was in the exercise yard, and they all apparated out. The wards are only against people being removed via apparation, so seeing as he did it himself, they were only cut short. It seems they made it out, though.'

'Yes. But why are Ginny and Ron in on this?'

'Well, I don't know about Ron, but Ginny's going out with Malfoy,' Fred said, coming in and dumping some foul smelling concoction on the table, then going through the kitchen cupboards.

'She's what?' they all cried in unison.

'Going-out-with-Malfoy,' Fred said very slowly, emphasising each word for their benefit.

'A Malfoy?' Charlie spat. 'That girl is a traitor and should be shot.'

'But he's a murderer!' Percy protested.

'She never told me she had a boyfriend!' Molly cried, outraged.

'That's probably 'cos it started right about the time he went to prison. You know what they're saying? They say You-know-who was using the Imperius curse on Malfoy, and he was trying to kill Ginny, but Harry saved her. It hit a mirror, and killed his father,' Fred told them in conspiratorial tones, buttering his toast slowly as he leaned in to talk to them in his hushed voice.

'Well, well, well,' Percy mused. 'I don't know about the rest of them, but that "You-know-who cursed me" approach never works too well.'

'I didn't say it had to. Stick the little bugger away for life, if you ask me,' Fred shrugged, stuffing toast into his mouth.

'We didn't ask you.'

'No need to be harsh!' he retreated.

'Sorry, was I scaring you?' Percy asked in simpering tones. 'I have to go, mum. I'll talk to you soon.'

'Bye dear,' she smiled, then turned to the table and sat heavily in a chair. 'It's such hard work,' she sighed.

'What is?' Fred asked sweetly, stirring the ingredients in his stinking jam-jar with the handle of a spoon.

-------

It was blisteringly cold in the fields. Sirius was not clear on their destination, but he said they had one. It was just about enough for Ginny.

She walked next to Draco all day, listening to him complain and joke about everything. It was wonderful, and definitely worth almost getting killed for. It felt more like an outing than being on the run. By about lunchtime they were in a village. It was small and quite pretty, and had a large, snow-covered green in the middle. There was an iced-over pond, with little children pushing rocks across it. All the cottages were gathered around it, with little lanes leading off, and a pub called the Cock and Rabbit. A brightly painted white signpost told them they were in The Lee.

Suddenly, Harry was walking a large black dog, and they crossed the road to the snowy area in the middle of the village. Ginny tried to copy exactly what Hermione and Harry did, probably failing miserably. She was watching Harry and Hermione chatting about school-work, obviously not their own, when there was a horrible sensation down the back of her neck. She spun angrily to see Ron sprinting away from her with a hand full of snow. She snatched up a handful in her mittens, and ran after him.

It deteriorated rapidly after that. Harry was pelting Hermione with snowballs, as she desperately tried to seek shelter behind Ron, who betrayed her without a moment's hesitation by dropping snow on her head. Ginny was watching them and choking with laughter, when Draco came up behind her, saying, 'I think they should really grow up.'

'I think they're just fine...' she said, turning to talk to him, when he grabbed her waist and skilfully spun her upside-down.

'Come and get her!' he called to the others, and they all ran over to start shoving snow up her top.

She screamed and screamed as hard as she could, loving every minute. Then she jerked her legs quickly, and with a startled oath, Draco dropped her and fell down on top of her into the snow. With sever disregard for niceties, she started to stuff snow into his trousers. He squealed like a little girl and writhed viciously, embedding himself deeply in the snow. Sirius entertained himself by wagging his tail in everyone's faces when they were down.

But it was all over before long. It was too cold, and Draco was complaining of frostbite in his groin. Hermione had pulled a muscle laughing, and now she sat there, wheezing and clutching her side. Ron was shaking snow out of his shirt, and a considerable pile built up at his feet. Harry was rubbing the lenses of his glasses with his coat, still chuckling slightly. Sirius just sat there, wagging his tail. Ginny was tingling all over.

They dusted themselves off and headed for the Cock and Rabbit, all ready for a butter-beer. Once they entered, Ginny could see that was not what they served. Harry ordered them all mulled wine, and paid with notes he mysteriously found in his pocket. They all headed over to leather padded seats by the fire and waited for Harry to return with the drinks. Draco was still grumbling.

'Bloody waterproof leather trousers are no good if you're wet on the inside,' he growled, pouting at Ginny. He waved his hand briefly, and Ginny tingled as the water dried out of their clothes. Hermione glared at him as she came back.

'I felt that,' she hissed. 'No magic near Muggles!'

'Sorry, miss wet-pants. If you'd rather be damp, I can arrange it.'

But she shut up after that.

Harry lifted the glass of wine to his lips and grinned at Hermione. Ginny picked up the glass suspiciously. She had never had alcohol before, but Harry and Hermione drank it happily. Draco sniffed it and downed it in one. Ron sipped it, looking uncertain. Sirius beat his tail on the floor beside them. She took the tiniest little sip.

It was hot, she had felt that through the glass, but it was so warming. It flowed down her throat, and the heat radiated out from her stomach and all through her body. It tasted spicy and rich. So, making light conversation and holding Draco's hand tightly in her own, she drank it all down.

-------

Petunia stirred the gravy feverishly. There was not long until Dudley came home from the Polkiss' house, and she wanted dinner to be ready for him when he did. She turned the television on to give her something to look at. It was the news, she turned it up. If there was anything she loved more than Dudley, it was knowing things.

The reporter shuffled his papers at the end of a piece on football, and cleared his throat for a serious topic.

'A murderer has escaped from prison. He is believed to be somewhere in southern England...' Petunia thrust her head out of the window suspiciously. 'He is called Draco Malfoy, and is aged sixteen. He is from a prominent family, so he is well spoken and gentlemanly.' Petunia was watching again. 'Here is a picture. If you see him, can you call this number.'

He read out a number, but Petunia did not, could not, take her eyes off the face on the screen. It was a pale young man, silver-blond. He had long, slightly tilted eyes of a wonderful silver rimmed with forest green. His face looked like it had been expertly carved, and you could cut metal with his cheekbones, jaws and chin. The topmost layers of his hair were falling in curtains at the length of his elegant cheekbones, and the rest curved down to brush his collar.

Mrs Dursley grabbed a pad and scribbled the number down, vowing to look for this young man as a job. Even if it took all the rest of her life, she would be the one to turn him in.

Slowly moving the roast out of the oven and onto the hob for examination, she pondered how to go about it. He was near her, probably, but she was unlikely to see him. It was, she supposed, a hobby of hers to look for convicts. But this one... she tested the sound of Petunia Malfoy. She liked the sound of it. It was an odd name. Draco, was it? He must have been from a very upper class family. She shuddered at the thought of all the money.

Yes, she would certainly keep an eye out for this young man.

-------

The mulled wine was by no means the strongest alcohol Draco had ever had, but the cold, and the speed with which he drank it had made him quite dizzy. He blinked hard, trying to clear the fog from around his eyes. He clung onto Ginny's hand, as though it was the only thing keeping him upright. Suddenly the world pitched forwards and he smacked his head on the table.

'Malfoy!' Potter cried, pushing him upright with a hand on his shoulder.

'Are you alright?' Ginny asked, her eyes wide with worry.

Draco was sweating, and his stomach boiled. There were scraping feelings own the side of his throat, and his head throbbed.

'That can't have got you drunk!' Hermione frowned.

'Bloody hell,' he groaned, clutching his stomach.

'Malfoy,' Harry said, as though he had just had an idea, 'are you allergic to anything?'

'Cloves,' he moaned, then shut his mouth, because he was convinced he was going to be sick.

'How allergic?'

'Very.'

'They put cloves in this, Malfoy,' Hermione told him.

'Bastards,' he growled.

People had started to notice them now. A few people came over to ask if he was okay, and lots offered headache pills and things. There was quite a conversation going on about what was wrong with him, but this was artfully interrupted by Draco, who collapsed.

He was lying on the floor, a little bit of blood spilling out of a cut on his forehead where he had hit the table. The boy was totally spread-eagled, and unconscious. Sirius went over to him, sniffing him and licking his face, whining.

Draco could hear all the voices building and building in a crescendo. He remembered when this had happened before. He had been out cold for three days. On that thought, a spasm shook him, and he fell sideways out of his seat. His head smacked against the floor and it all went black.

-------

'Just an hour or so,' Petunia called to Vernon, pulling her gloves on and going out into the drive. She plonked herself in the car, and pulled out, not really sure where to go.

She drove down the street until she broke out into the twisty lanes. She was going to The Lee, apparently. It did not matter too much to her. As she drove into the pretty little village she saw an ambulance outside the pub, and stopped, getting out for a closer look.

There was quite a crowd around whoever was being taken into the ambulance, and it took a while to get close enough to see. The first thing she saw was a very tall boy with flaming hair, a dark haired girl, and a smaller girl, very pretty, with auburn-bronze hair. Then there was that black-haired boy. As he turned, she gave a tiny yelp. It was Harry. She had not seen him for a year. He stayed with someone else now. He looked so much like his father. He did not see her, but he moved out of the way just as the stretcher went into the ambulance.

There he was. Draco Malfoy. He lay on the stretcher, blood laying a red sheen over his forehead, his eyes closed. He looked even better in real life. She pushed her way to the front, calling 'Harry!' at the top of her voice.

He spun and glared at her.

'Aunt Petunia?' he snorted.

'Yes!' she shrieked. 'Do you realise who that boy is?'

'He's my friend,' Harry answered coldly.

'He's an escaped prisoner!'

'Yeah. I bloody well know! I was one of the ones who got him out!' Harry fumed.

'I'm calling the police.'

'He might die! Don't you have an ounce of compassion in your soul?' he spat.

'He murdered someone!'

The crowd around them had fallen silent during the shouting match, and now they hung on every word.

'It wasn't his fault.'

'How can it not be his fault?'

'He didn't mean to do it,' Harry said slowly, as though explaining it to a three year old.

'What? His gun slipped?' she asked sarcastically.

'Yes, it bloody slipped,' Harry snapped at her, and climbed up into the ambulance with his four friends, and a dog.

-------

Ginny watched from the door of the ambulance in disbelief. This woman was Harry's aunt? She was so unlike him that no one could have guessed they were related. Harry shouted one final thing, then stepped up easily into the ambulance, slamming the door behind him.

Draco was against a wall on his stretcher, and the rest of them sat against the other side. Sirius lay beneath them, very quiet and trying not to draw attention to his presence. A nurse perched beside Draco holding a sort of balloon that she kept squeezing, pushing air through a tube to a mask on his face. Ginny and Ron were trying to look normal, with the exact opposite effect. Hermione looked very worried, and kept glancing over Draco to check on him. Harry just sat there.

Ginny could not look around her, she could not take her eyes off Draco's face, so pale under his hair, the blood and the mask. She was so preoccupied that when the nurse spoke to her she did not hear at first. Ron nudged her, and she looked up.

'I said, do you need us to call his parents?'

Ginny could not imagine what she meant. She opened and closed her mouth.

'They don't have a phone,' Hermione said.

The nurse looked surprised. 'Is there any other way we could get to them?'

'Well, when we get there I can call them on my mobile,' Harry offered. Ginny did not know what this meant, but she assumed he would apparate there and tell Narcissa, then come back.

'Okay, you do that,' the nurse nodded. 'I guess you don't have a signal here?'

Harry shook his head.

'Fucking bloody bollocks,' Draco groaned, pushing the mask off and sitting up.

The nurse tried to push him back down again, but he would not be pushed.

'Shove the hell off me. Who are you, anyway?' he sneered, looking down his nose at her.

'I am a nurse, and I'm trying to help you.' She pushed him firmly again, but he refused to move. She shrugged.

'Potter, what happened?' Draco frowned, running a hand through his hair and staring at it with distaste when it came away sticky with blood.

'You had an allergic reaction, smacked your head on the table, said some weird stuff, then collapsed on the floor.'

'How bloody embarrassing,' he groaned, shoving his hand across his scalp again, and leaning back against the partition of the ambulance. 'Where am I?'

'You're going to hospital, young man. You are very ill,' the nurse said, trying to push him down again. But he looked at her, right into her eyes, and took hold of her wrist. He removed it from his chest without breaking eye contact, and put it back in her lap.

'Stop touching me,' he told her quietly, and turned back to Harry.

'Why am I going there? You could fix me in seconds, Potter.'

'Are you a medical student?' the nurse asked, and Ginny could see her taking in the studious circles under Harry's spectacled eyes.

'Yes, something like that,' he nodded.

'Why didn't you do something?'

'I said something like that. I'm not qualified to do anything.'

'Who are you all, anyway?' she asked, looking suspicious.

'I'm Ginny Weasley. I'm his girlfriend,' she said, pointing at Draco.

'Ron Weasley. Friend of Harry, protective big brother of Ginny, boyfriend of Hermione.'

'I'm Hermione Granger, I'm friends with him, and these two. I'm Ron's girlfriend, but you know that.'

'I'm Harry Potter. They've all pretty much stolen my fire. He's my friend.'

'Where do you go to school?'

'Somewhere in Scotland. We're not sure exactly where it is, because we get a train. It's a boarding school,' Hermione answered.

'Boys and girls?' the nurse asked, looking surprised.

'Yes.'

'What is his name?' she asked, jabbing a thumb at Draco.

'I can bloody talk for myself,' he objected. 'I'm Draco Angelus Malfoy, sixteen years of age, I live near Chalfont St. Peter, my mother's name is Narcissa Faroley Malfoy. I can tell you anything you want to know.'

'Your initials spell DAM,' Ron giggled.

'Such a shame I'm not called Draco Angelus Malfoy the Nuisance,' Draco drawled sarcastically.

'I think it could be, in some places,' Hermione smiled. Draco made a face at her.

'What's your father's name?' the nurse asked loudly.

'I killed him,' Draco answered promptly, no change of expression.

'You... you killed him?' the nurse sagged slightly.

'Yes. I murdered him brutally, then escaped from prison to come and torture innocent Muggles like you,' he snapped, his nostrils flaring.

She gagged slightly, but persisted. 'His name?'

'Lucius Perterrere Torquere Malfoy.'

'Nice name,' she squeaked.

'Yes, nothing like my hell-raiser of a name. Dragon Angel Bad-deeds. I'd give anything to be called Lucius Horrify Torture Bad-deeds.' Ginny could tell he was insecure, and when he was insecure, he was nasty.

'Yes, it does leave a little to be desired, doesn't it?' Harry said faintly. 'Well, our little friend seems to be fine now, so we'll just go...'

'No! even if he has recovered, he's still a murderer!' she protested.

'He's delirious, it's one of his symptoms. He's Irish, so he makes a lot up. He's also on a writing course at school,' Hermione covered up.

'I don't think...'

'Thanks!' Harry cried, pulling Draco up, and kicking the doors open. Then he jumped out of the moving vehicle, judging his jump to roll harmlessly into a ditch. Draco followed him, rolling to his feet, and jumping after Harry. Ron hurled himself onto the verge without the grace of the two seekers. Sirius jumped out, his claws skittering on the road as he avoided a car. Hermione followed Ron as they turned a corner. Ginny was about to go too, but the nurse had got to her feet, and she grabbed Ginny's coat.

'Get off!' Ginny spat, writhing.

'No! I need to question you!' the nurse growled, clinging on as hard as she could. At this, Ginny whipped out her wand, and shouted 'Petrificus totalus!' the nurse rocked back and crashed into the floor, completely rigid, giving Ginny the chance to leap out and land badly in an icy ditch.

She did not feel too good. She stayed still. Cold slush soaked into her clothes, but she ignored it. Her arm. That was it. Her arm felt like... it was broken. Bugger. She lay on her back, halfway down the ditch, and waited.

Before long she heard voices.

'Draco! You utter dickhead!' Harry was fuming.

'Well, I'm not the medical student from Scotland who doesn't know where he goes to school!' Draco retorted hotly.

'Come on! We're supposed to be looking for Ginny,' Hermione chided them, and there was the sound of someone getting smacked.

'Gin!' Ron called. Sirius was barking and howling.

'I'm down here!' she called back, surprised to hear her voice crack.

Draco was on his knees at the side of the ditch, looking down at her. His blood stained hair had set pushed back from his face in the middle, and swung down at the sides. He swore and slid down to her.

'I think I broke my arm,' she told him. He took her forearm gently, and felt along it. She cried out when he squeezed the part where it seemed to be broken. He brushed his hair out of his eyes, and the hair that was dried back with blood crumbled free and swung around again.

'Sanare,' he whispered, and she felt a tingling in her arm. There was a swirl under her skin that she could, unfortunately, see from the outside, and it bonded back together with a sharp click. Draco slipped his arms around her chest and pulled her upright.

'You okay?' she asked him.

'Yeah, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about,' he said, leaning back to get a better look at her.

'Did you find her, Malfoy?'

'Yeah,' he smiled, lifting her out, grunting, and putting her on the verge.

'Yuck,' she grimaced, looking down at her clothes and hair. 'Mundus,' she whispered, wondering for the five thousandth time why a word that meant clean sounded so much like mud.

'Come on, we've got a long way to go before there's anywhere to sleep,' Sirius said, flashing back into his own form.

Sighing, they shouldered their bags, and stalked off down the darkening road.

-------

Narcissa lolled back in the chair, struggling to find a reason to move. She was in a long room at the north end of the house, on the top floor, not counting the attic levels. The windows here reached right from floor to ceiling, which was about the height of a two story house. She sat in a blade of winter sunlight, admiring the bracelet Remus had given her for Christmas. It was gold, because he could not touch silver. She had recently put all of her silver jewellery into the attic, and told him to avoid the house silverware. She had been forced to use the gold plated cutlery at every dinner, and the house elves were going insane.

Between the links of gold there were nets of hair-fine gold wire, sprayed with precious jewels so tiny they could barely be seen. The house had been opened again due to the passing of the holiday, and Aurors ran amok in the library and the study, squealing happily every time they found something naughty.

One of them knocked respectfully and strolled into the room where she sat now. He wore a plain black robe with a gold sash belt to show he was working for the Ministry. She smiled and nodded to him, and he began to go through the bookcase at the far end of the room.

Narcissa got up and went over to the window seat, the silk of her indigo gown rustling as she walked. She snatched at it irritably as it got caught between her legs. This room overlooked the forest they owned. It stretched for many miles, and somewhere in the middle was the boundary between Malfoy land and the rest of it. The dark green spattered with white melted down into paler, snowier shrubbery, then into grass which was blanketed in white and sloped gently down to the lake. There was a set of stairs which descended to the ground around the lake from the upper lawns, which were reached by a set of stairs from a raised patio, leading out from the room two floors beneath this one. The ballroom.

She turned to leave the room, waving a farewell to the Auror fiddling with a cabinet, she strolled out and down the hall. It was lovely and warm, and she pulled up the sleeves of her gown to the elbows. She drifted down a long spiral staircase, gazing at the portraits she passed, greeting some of them. She realised while she did this quite how much of a lady of the manor she was. She had been a prize to Lucius, and his convincing her had been quite a triumph.

She was glad he was dead.

-------

There was no hope for this lot. Sirius despaired totally of the lot of them. Draco and Ginny were hand in hand, saying horrible things about each other and simpering. Harry and Ron were telling the blushing Hermione dirty jokes, refusing to stop even when she ran off. Sirius stuck his hands in his pockets and squinted at the sun. Three days. He wondered how long it would take them to get to Hogwarts. It was term again, and they had to see Dumbledore. It was going to be very hard.

'Will you lot shut up for a minute,' Harry snapped, putting his hand out. They all fell silent.

He strained his ears to listen. Sirius sniffed the air.

'Muggles,' he said.

'Where?' Hermione breathed.

'Up ahead. I think we should take a bit of a detour,' Sirius said quickly, starting to run back the way they had come.

'That close?' Ginny panted, running alongside him.

'Yes,' he said shortly.

Draco was staring intently at the ground of the forest, trying as hard as he could not to fall over. He heard a shout, and feet starting to thump behind him. His only thought was faster.

He ran, and ran. The footsteps were still pounding a short way back. Draco did not dare cast even a fleeting glance over his shoulder, because then he would trip, fall, and lose what little lead he had.

He vaulted a fence and spun a quick left to run alongside it. He did not want to risk hiding. He never had since he was six. A brutal game of hide-and-seek at his home once when his father was hunting him to kill him had taught him never to hide. He had been found, and only by striking out blindly before him had he escaped.

Blood tore through his veins so fast it hurt. His throat burned as he sucked at the air, but that was nothing to his legs. They seemed to be running on auto-pilot, and he had no idea how to stop anymore.

The drumming seemed further behind, but he did not slow down. But he was forced to skid to a halt by a main road. Cars shot back and forth so fast he could barely see them.

Casting about him wildly, he spotted a bridge. Draco shot up the steps, and started across. Then he got the lurking feeling that his chaser had reached the road.

It was his last chance. Chest aching, legs burning and throat parched, he dropped over the rail and hung from the side of the bridge. He spotted the supports. Between the bridge and one support was a small gap. His sweaty fingers slipped on the icy metal as he pulled himself over to it and swung his legs inside.

Draco held a hand over his mouth to silence his breathing, as the metal of the rails sang around him, and the chaser went over his head. He let out a huge breath and rolled over onto his back, a hand pressing into his chest as he struggled to breathe.

'That was too close,' he murmured.

'Draco?'

He sat up, hard, smacking his head against the bottom of the bridge.

'Hermione?'

The pale face came into view. It was her.

'I guess we think the same,' she said reluctantly.

'Is that so bad?' he grinned.

'You have no idea.'

'What happened to you?'

'Well, I just went with the others the way we came. Sirius changed and ran across the road somewhere, Ron went up this tree back in the woods, Harry...'

'I don't give a shit about Potter, where's Ginny?'

'I don't know.'

'Alright,' he said, trying to regain control of himself. 'Tell me what happened to Potter, then we'll address the Ginny situation.'

'Harry went after Sirius.'

'When was the last time you saw Ginny?'

'You'll get so upset...' Tears actually stood in her large brown eyes.

'Tell me!' he roared, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

'They got her,' Hermione sobbed miserably.

Draco said nothing. He clenched his teeth together so hard that he could tell they were about to crack. What was weird was this. He still hated Potter, but he really enjoyed being with him. He still felt superior to Hermione, as she was a Mudblood, but he respected her. He hated Weasley totally, with no exception. Sirius was... well, it was hard to dislike Sirius. Ginny was the weirdest thing. He did not like her, he did not know her, but he loved her desperately, and would die for her without a moment's hesitation.

That was what made it so strange. That talisman... the spell seemed to have anticipated his hatred, but knowing they would do the spell, it had made them friends. His hand went to the talisman that Hermione had returned to him. He got the horrible feeling that he was just some kind of puppet, doing as others willed him to.

But he would kill for Ginny.

-------

Ginny thrashed and struggled as hard as she could, but the ugly man was so much stronger than her. He clapped a hand across her mouth to silence her screaming, but she sank her teeth into his dirty hand. With blood pouring down his fingers, he slapped her face. She spat into his face in rage, then continued to scream at the top of her voice.

He dropped her on the floor in disgust, then knelt on her stomach before she could bolt. He tore a strip of cloth from his T-shirt and bound her hands behind her back. She shrieked and screamed, sobbing in between. Then he stuffed a ball of rancid, damp cloth into her mouth, and tied it in. She retched against the smelly fabric, and it cut into her lips. Satisfied, he picked her up again, and swung her over his shoulder.

Her stomach bounced on his shoulder, winding her, and all she was left with was tears pouring down her face. She kicked at him, but he wrapped her legs in a vice-like grip. Amid dry sobs she called out in her mind to anyone who would hear.

Then the stinking captor threw her down some steps into some kind of bomb shelter in the woods. She smacked into hard concrete, coughing and pulling at her bonds. Her back stung coldly, and she shook uncontrollably as he descended the steps toward her. He was leering, his piggy little eyes roving over her body hungrily. She closed her eyes and turned away from him.

He had reached the floor, and was coming towards her. A hand reached out to her coat, then he froze.

'Touch her, and I'll kill you so dead, they won't want you in any afterlife.'

The ugly pervert spun to the entrance. Ginny could not see exactly who was there. The bright light blurred the edges of the figure, and it became a black silhouette, not clearly there, or anywhere else.

She moaned loudly through the gag. Whoever stood in the door turned to her, light glinting off his hair. Her captor took this chance to dive at the man, but was thrown back, smacking into the wall, and slithering to the ground. A wizard! Her hopes raised.

'Ginny?' the silhouette called, running down to her.

She blinked, and Draco's face swum into focus. He knelt beside her, she groaned again. He pulled her up off the floor and embraced her tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder as he fumbled with her bonds. When they fell loose, she did not have to think before her hands wrapped around his neck.

He pulled the last knot out of her gag, and jerked it free from her mouth, before slamming his lips onto hers. The blood from the corners of her mouth smeared on his cheeks, but he did not seem to care.

'Thank you,' she coughed.

'I'd kill for you. I'd die for you,' he whispered, brushing her hair back from her face, and rubbing the tears from her cheeks with rough, grubby thumbs.

'Let's get out of here,' she suggested. He nodded, and got to his feet. Draco held out his hands to her, but she had not realised quite how much she needed them for support. When she let go, she crumpled. He caught her by the back of her coat, and offered her his arm. She limped out beside him, still crying slightly.

-------

Harry shot a look back over his shoulder. They stood in a small cranny in a rock, high over the fields, staring out. Sirius was pacing. It was his habitual gesture, along with running his hand through his hair. Oh, wait, he was doing that too, now.

'I need to know where they are,' he said, to no one in particular.

'Hermione got away,' Harry supplied. 'Draco went off on a different path, and I think he got away too. Ron went up a tree, and those guys were way too fat to get up there.'

'Ginny?'

'I don't know. I looked back, and suddenly she wasn't there.'

'Shit.'

'I know.'

'Trust Draco,' Sirius said, grinning suddenly.

'To do what?' Harry frowned.

'God, for the hero of this gag, you sure are stupid.'

'What?' Harry asked, offended.

'He's got her,' Sirius told him slowly.

'How do you know?'

Sirius did not answer. He just tapped one finger to the side of his nose slyly.

'So he's rescued her?'

Sirius nodded. 'They're headed this way.'

'Hermione?'

'She's on that footbridge we went under.'

'How do you know all this?'

'The wind changed.'

'Ron?'

'He's seen Draco and Ginny, I think. He's with them.'

'Okay, we need to find Hermione then.'

'Yup.'

They slid down the small rock-face and started back to the road. Two black-haired heads, nearly the same height, walking the same way, their hands in their pockets, an odd loping gait. They looked like father and son.

(A/N:- No flaming, oh Mary Sue and Gary Stu haters. I said they looked like, and it's of no relevance whatsoever.)

-------

Draco had been gone ages now. Hermione gave up waiting for him to come back. She sidled over to the edge of her hiding place and dropped down to the roadside, shivering in the cold afternoon. She rubbed her arms with her hands and puffed out her cheeks. The ground was still frosty, despite the time of day.

When she heard a crunching in the grass behind her, she immediately bolted like a threatened animal. She was stopped short by an arm around her waist, lifting her up, kicking and screaming.

'Hey, calm down!' Harry said, patting her arm.

'Sorry,' Sirius grinned, lowering her to the grass again.

'Sorry, after what happened to Ginny...' she broke off. 'Draco's gone after her!' she told them, suddenly remembering.

'We know. He managed to rescue her, too.'

'How...?' she frowned.

Sirius grinned and sniffed loudly.

'Oh, right.'

'Look, as soon as we meet up we need to get to work on that spell,' Harry urged her. 'I think they've had long enough to charge up. I keep getting twinges, I think he's up to something.'

The look on Harry's face made Hermione laugh, but she stopped herself and nodded seriously.

'Yeah, I'm sure it'll be okay now.'

'Right. Do you actually know precisely what it does?' Harry asked her.

'Well, I think it transfers the life essence of You-Know-Who into one of the people who did the spell, then they must be killed.'

'What?!' Harry looked outraged. 'Why the hell didn't you tell me?'

'You don't...'

'It'll bloody well be me, too. I'm the one who always has to do these things!'

'Harry,' Hermione said. 'It won't be you...'

'How could you let us do this?' he fumed, turning on Sirius.

'Never shout at me,' Sirius said, in a deadly quiet voice. 'You think I just hurled you all into it because I don't care?' His voice, though still quiet, shook. 'Did you wonder why I told you to do this with Draco? He agreed. He wrote to Remus, saying that he wanted to help us in any way. Remus asked if he would die for it. He said he would. We ran the spell past him, and he agreed to be the one to die.'

Harry was totally gobsmacked. Hermione was too. She could not believe that he had asked to do it. She had spoken to him about the nature of the spell, and he had said he had it under control. She thought this meant he would do it on Wormtail, or something, but not himself. She felt her legs slide out from under her. She hit the grass heavily, her mouth open in shock.

Harry had a hand on his forehead, and was squinting out at the sun. It reflected off his glasses like they were alight themselves. Sirius looked guilty, but not as though it was his own fault.

He looked guilty that it had to be this way at all.

-------

'Fuck, Weasley!' Draco yelled, jumping back as Ron fell, yelling, from a tree.

'Fuck it is,' Ron winced, rubbing his backside.

'Ron!' Ginny cried, flinging herself onto him and hugging him as hard as she could.

'Gin! Are you okay?' he said, patting her back.

'Yeah, Draco saved me from...' she shuddered.

Ron stood up and reluctantly held out a hand to Draco. 'Thanks, Malfoy,' he said gruffly.

'Yeah, whatever.' Draco shook the offered hand as briefly as possible, then they began to walk on opposite sides of Ginny.

As they crossed the road they could hear voices, well, a voice, in the fields above. Draco helped Ginny over the fence then followed her. She gave him a strange look when he did this.

'What?' he asked, looking down at himself to see if his flies were undone or something.

'Why do you do that?' she smiled, but frowning too.

'What?'

'Help me do things I could do by myself?'

'I'm... I'm a gentleman, I guess.' He frowned. He was not entirely sure, it was just natural. 'I suppose it was drummed into me real hard when I was a kid.'

'Well, I think it's lovely,' Ginny smiled, and kissed him.

'Well, I think I'm gonna be sick,' Ron growled, storming off.

'How could you let us do this?' a voice said. It was Harry, they stopped to listen, and find out what was happening.

As Sirius spoke, Ginny's face fell further and further, until she turned around to Draco, shock registering all over her pale face.

'He's wrong, isn't he? He's just saying that to make Harry shut up, right?' she said.

Draco said nothing. He just gathered her up in his arms, and held onto her.

'Right?' she repeated.

'I'm... sorry,' he finished lamely.

She burst into noisy tears, and dug her face into his chest. Ron was looking at him strangely. When they spoke, Sirius came over the edge of the hill into view.

'Is this true?' Hermione asked, pointing at Sirius. She appeared to be sitting on the ground.

Draco nodded.

Harry was shouting. Ranting and gesticulating. Ron looked as though he was upset, like he had mistaken someone. Hermione started to cry, she looked as though she had seen something terrible, and could not bear it. Ginny... her face was hidden. She seemed to be trying to get as close to him as she could. Sirius looked kind of guilty. Draco was almost pleased that anyone cared enough about him to cry. It was a sick pleasure, cold and empty. He started to smile. Then he was laughing. It was a sad laugh. It mingled all of his pain from all of his life, with the terrible glee of no more pain, ever again, and a rest he would never need to wake from.

~~*#*~~

Well, is he bonkers or what? I don't know. If you do, tell me. Okay, I'm still not sure where I'm taking this, but at least I explained Draco's odd connection to the group. I had no idea what it was until I wrote it. Poor Draco, he's very messed up. Anyway. Thanks to my reviewers, lilahp, witch-child, TrixiP, Tess74... oh hang on. That's all of them. Oh, how disappointing. Can more people review please? I need to be told at least ten times to go away before I will. Attention span of a gold-fish, me. Thanks to those lot, all the same. You are the best!

Morgana Vipera Venuste Malfoy

(the additions to my name are just cos I'm a show off)