| Jarvey
Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 666
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Melina Morninglory- "Glory"
Second Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Violet Downing
Minister's Office |  WizWorld Universal / Tom Felton for President
Chapter 31: Sanctuary
“O--kay,” he said slowly, dragging the word over several syllables. “Is that your house?”
Hermione was breathing more slowly now, her words becoming softer. “No it’s…just a house that Dumbledore owns…people can go there for help.” She just couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the Order. Not yet.
She pulled Narcissa’s wand from inside her sleeve and placed it flat in the palm of her hand. “Point me,” she commanded. The wand spun slowly in her hand and stopped at Due North. “Ok, if that’s North, then we need to head Northeast, so in that direction,” she pointed. “Oops,” she smiled weakly,” I suppose you know how to get to London.” He smiled back, even though the real look on his face said “yes-yes-could-you-please-just-hurry-up-and-tell-me-the-rest?”
She conjured a map and drew a line from the London city limit to Grimmauld Place, making sure to tell him to park between Numbers 11 and 13 as he wouldn’t be able to see Number 12. She still prayed she had made the right decision.
Draco shifted gears and slammed his foot on the accelerator, racing toward London. Hermione’s voice was getting fainter the longer she spoke, and her face was losing color. Draco’s heart was beating like a hummingbird’s wings. Merlin, what if…? No, I can’t lose her! He could finally see the skyline of London over the white knuckles of his hands. He let out a string of curses on the slowness of Muggle transprtation for which Hermione, if feeling well, would have severely scolded him. He stole a glance at her, and realized she had stopped moving. His heart froze mid-beat. “Hermione? HERMIONE?!?!” Hermione slowly rolled her head in his direction, eyes closed, and gave a small moan. His heart started again, at least for now.
They crossed the London city limits. While this meant they were nearly there, it also meant that they were going to have to deal with traffic. Draco waited in aggravation behind four cars at a red light. He was using all his willpower not to lose it completely. He was past cursing; now he was quiet, absolutely silent as he concentrated on the destination that would save Hermione’s life. He wanted to forget the car and take the risk of Side-Along Apparition with her, but she’d explained the thick layer of protective wards around the house. He was certain they’d never get through.
The distance from London proper to Grimmauld Place was mercifully short. The stoplight turned green and he swerved around the cars ahead, half on the street and half on the curb. He didn’t even hear the blaring horns and uproar from the drivers he passed. Two more streets. One more street. Finally, Grimmauld Place. Draco finally expelled the breath he’d been holding since the stoplight. As he screeched the car to a stop across from 11 and 13, he picked up Hermione’s wrist and checked her pulse. Weak, but definitely present. Thank…everyone.
**************
The screech of tires just outside drew the attention of the teenagers sitting in the upstairs bedroom at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Ron and Ginny got to the window first, elbowing each other for a better view.
“Bloody hell, look at that car! Talk about top of the class!” exclaimed Ron.
Ginny peered down at the car. It sure looked fancy. "What is it?”
“No idea. But whatever it is, the owner has to be a millionaire!”
The others now crowded around the window, attempting to move Ron and Ginny so that they could have a look. The driver’s-side door opened, and everyone leaned forward, each vying for a glimpse of the owner.
The driver stepped out. Tall. Black suit.
White-blonde hair.
An audible gasp hung in the air, followed by disbelieving stares.
“That’s not…”
“How could it be?”
“…doesn’t know about this place!”
“There’s no way…”
“Bloody hell, it is Malfoy!!”
Everyone tensed and almost collectively drew their wands. This wasn’t possible. There was no way that slimy ferret could know about headquarters. Just as they were about to make for the door to warn the adults, they watched Draco open the passenger’s side door and lean in. A million thoughts swarmed in their minds. A Death Eater? A weapon of some sort? No one could have guessed the right answer, and there was a much larger gasp in the window when they saw who he was carrying.
“HERMIONE!”
Now they did rush to the door, racing down the stairs and banging en masse on the kitchen door. There were a few surprised yelps and the sound of half a dozen chairs scraping the floor, and Remus, who was closest, flung open the door.
“What in Merlin’s name is the matter?” he asked, wide-eyed. Several voices shouted simultaneously. While he tried to calm them down enough to get a single answer, the word “Hermione” floated atop the din.
“Hermione?! What? What about Hermione?!?!” Jean threw herself at the children and grabbed Harry, who was closest to her. Remus motioned for everyone else to be quiet.
Harry was struggling to talk slowly. “It’s Malfoy- he’s here, he’s carrying Hermione across the street. She looks hurt.”
There was a pregnant pause. Then, Harry never saw a group of adults move more quickly as a single unit to the front door. Jean was about to open it when Arthur pushed her back, his wand at the ready. He opened the door with his wand pointed, and looked unbelievingly at Draco Malfoy and Hermione standing on the sidewalk. Well, Hermione wasn’t standing. And Harry was right- she was hurt.
Keeping his wand trained on Draco, Arthur said nothing as he beckoned him inside the house. He backed everyone up in the long, narrow hallway. “Move out of the way, she’s hurt!”
He allowed Draco to bring her in sideways, leading the way for the boy. Draco suddenly had a serious case of déjà vu as he traveled with her in his arms down the long corridor. Everyone wanted a look, everyone wanted to touch Hermione, and everyone wanted to know what the hell he was doing there.
Arthur took Draco into a parlor with a piano and a couch, and Draco immediately laid her down. As Tom and Jean rushed to their daughter’s side, Arthur grabbed Draco by the shoulders and turned the boy to face him. Draco was mildly aware that ten wands were all pointed at him, held by people whose faces bore a mixture of alarm and outrage. “What happened?” Arthur questioned him. Panting for breath, Draco gave a quick synopsis of the past few days.
“Hermione was taken by Snatchers a few days ago, they brought her to my home. My aunt Bellatrix kept her in the dungeon and tortured her. I got her out and she told me how to get here. Please, she’s badly hurt. I did what I could with Dittany and Blood-Replenishing, but it’s not enough. Please, you have to help her!”
He was wild with fear, and grabbed Arthur’s arms in sheer panic. That move caused some yells of protest, but Molly pushed her way through the group and went to Hermione’s side. “Tell me what her injuries are, if you know them.”
Draco nodded quickly and was about to recite the list of Hermione’s wounds when strong hands grabbed him and a wand was shoved in his face. “Why the hell are you here?” growled Mad-Eye. Draco was about to tell him that this was not the moment for interrogation when Molly spoke up.
“Not yet, Mad-Eye! He needs to tell me what happened to her!” Mad-Eye growled louder and shoved Draco over to Molly. His wand and those of everyone else’s were still aimed at the boy.
The teens were getting more furious by the minute. They began shouting over each other.
“What did you do to her, you…”
“How the hell did you get a hold of her?!”
“How did you know about this place?”
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”
“QUIET!!! EVERYONE!!!!!!” Molly’s command cut through all the noise and silenced them immediately.
Dumbledore touched Ron’s arm and spoke to the teens. “All your feelings and questions are completely valid, but they need to wait. The adults need space and quiet to attend to Hermione. We need to help Hermione by stepping away.” He gently tugged on Ron’s arm, who was so conflicted his face was the same shade as his hair. Very reluctantly, and with a few last murmured threats, he followed Dumbledore and the rest of his friends out of the room.
Molly bent over Hermione. The girl was still conscious, but barely. Consciousness was a good sign. She turned back to Draco and motioned for him to sit beside her on the floor. The other Order members didn’t approve of that request.
“Absolutely not, Molly,” replied Mad-Eye.
Draco turned to them, frustration clearly etched on his face. “Look,” he began, “I have to help-”
“Sure you do, sonny, and I have to knit socks for my grandmother,” Mad-Eye interrupted. “We don’t know why you’re really here, and if I find out you laid a finger on that girl-”
“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Molly sufficiently silenced the old Auror. Other than Dumbledore, she was the only person alive that could order Mad-Eye around. “I need him right now, or don’t you want to see Hermione get well? Keep your wands on him, I don’t care, but the boy is sitting right here.”
Though he wasn’t surprised, Draco found all this ordering around a bit tedious. He pushed his way forward, not caring what the One-eyed Ogre had to say. He sat down next to Molly and looked at Hermione’s face. Pale, bruised, but still so beautiful. “Alright, tell me what you know,” Molly instructed.
Shakily, and with many pauses to loosen his breath when it caught in his throat, Draco recounted the events of the last few days. He winced and braced himself each time he had to relay something particularly horrific and gruesome, which unfortunately was most of the time. He chose to omit the incidents that involved him for the time being, less out of dishonesty but in trying to keep an Avada Kedavra from flying his way. By the end of his own narration, he was near tears.
“Please, I swear I just want her well,” he pleaded, a stray tear escaping down his cheek. Molly studied his face. The boy seemed completely genuine in his concern, but he was a Malfoy, and that fact alone discredited him.
What Draco felt the worst about was the response of Hermione’s parents. They were all extremes, rage and terror and despair. He knew he was wounding them with every word he said, and he hated himself for it. Even Tom had lunged for Draco a few times while he spoke, and Jean was sobbing uncontrollably. Their reactions were the reason for his tears now. He knew he was torturing them just as dreadfully as Hermione suffered under his aunt’s (and his) hands.
The color of Molly’s face alternated between white, flaming red, and sickly green as Draco’s story unfolded, but her mothering instincts kicked in as he finished. She became focused and controlled as a mother does in a crisis involving her children. “Arthur, I need a blanket, clean towels, and a bowl of hot water. Bring the Dittany, Blood-Replenishing potion and the Healing Balm. Jean, help me get her sweater off.”
Jean was in a daze by now, and absently remarked, “That’s not her sweater."
“I conjured her clothes when we couldn’t find hers…” Oh, he knew how bad that sounded.
Jean just closed her eyes and wept. Tom snapped and dove at Draco, his hands landing dangerously around the boy’s neck. “Please,” he gasped, “PLEASE, I didn’t touch her, I didn’t do anything, I swear. I SWEAR!!!”
Remus grabbed Tom and pulled him away, Tom fighting the whole time. “You don’t trust him!” he yelled as he struggled to break Remus’s grasp. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?!?!” he bellowed, reaching toward Draco through his restraints.
At this, Draco burst into tears. He hadn’t done that since he was a child. But the crushing stress of the past days, the overwhelming guilt, the terror he felt at his family’s hands, the worry that plagued him over Hermione’s condition finally broke him. “I didn’t…I…didn’t…I’m s-s-sorry, I tried...I…” And no more words would come. He sat with his hands in his hair, head down, and wept for everything.
A moan from the couch caught everyone’s attention. All heads snapped toward Hermione, who was trying in vain to sit up. “Now, now, sweetie, don’t try to sit, you need to rest,” Molly said gently.
“N-no,” the girl panted, “Don't...Draco...he saved my life." |