Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Unhinged
"Ginny"
"Ginny, wake up" Draco whispered.
She stirred in her sleep and only snuggled closer to him. He smiled down at her and gave her a light shake.
"Ginny, it's getting late, you have to get back to your room," he said shaking her with a little more force.
She just groaned and kept sleeping. He bent down and started kissing her lips and she kissed him back. When she did, he pulled away and her eyes fluttered open.
"Thought that might wake you," he smirked at her.
She smiled back and then leaned over him to see the time.
"Crap, have you heard anyone up yet?" she said, lying back on her pillow and rubbing her eyes.
"Don't think so"
She rolled to her side and faced him and pressed her lips to his once more. Then there was a knock on the door. Ginny and Draco looked at each other and Ginny's eyes went wide with panic and quickly ducked under the covers. Draco threw a few pillows about to hide her better. He then heard another knock and the door opened.
"Good morning Draco, I didn't think you were awake yet." Mrs. Weasley said sweetly.
"Oh, Morning Mrs. Weasley" he said, trying to hide the surprise in his voice.
"I wanted to tell you there's a letter that came for you downstairs"
"Oh, thanks, I'll be right down"
"No problem, dear," she said with a smile and turned to leave.
Draco let out a relieved breath when Mrs. Weasley spoke again suddenly.
"Oh, and Ginny, when you've finished sneaking back into your room again, I'd love to have a chat with you"
Ginny felt her cheeks go red; "Yes Mom" was all she said in a muffled voice under the pile of blankets and pillows.
Draco looked down at the small form next to him that he knew was Ginny and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.
"Lovely, see you two in a bit," she said with a smile and left the room.
Ginny threw the blankets off of herself, "OH MY GOD DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?"
"You mean that your Mother just caught you in bed with a Malfoy?" he laughed at her.
"Well, she doesn't know we had sex, we could have just been......."
"Having a girl's night?" he smirked.
She slapped his arm and then quickly got dressed and headed to the shower.
_______________________________________________________________
Ginny made her way downstairs to breakfast and debated if she should wait for Draco to get out of the shower before she went into the kitchen. She figured if her Mom was going to give her a lashing she would prefer it be in private so she walked through the kitchen door. She saw Harry and Hermione sitting at the table eating breakfast and felt relieved, her Mother wouldn't talk to her about Draco in front of them.
"Morning again Ginny, have a seat, I made some eggs for you" Mrs. Weasley said and slid a plate of food in front of her.
Ginny sat down next to Harry and grabbed the food. "Uh, thanks"
Draco came walking into the kitchen shortly after and sat down across from Ginny and they exchanged a nervous look. Mrs. Weasley gave him a plate of food with a bright smile on her face.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"You guys ok?" Harry asked, taking a sip of juice.
"Oh Harry dear, they are just a bit out of it ever since I found them in bed together this morning" Mrs. Weasley said casually take a seat at the head of the table.
Harry spit out his juice despite his best efforts to try and swallow it. Draco seemed to almost choke on a piece of his food and Hermione's mouth was hanging open. Ginny's face was beat red and she buried her face in her hands.
"Mom really?" she moaned through her hands.
"What's the matter, Hermione and Harry already know so it's not news to them" she said simply.
"Uh, a bit of news to me" Harry piped.
"Oh shush Harry" Mrs. Weasley cut in.
"Mom, can I talk to you.......Privately" Ginny asked with anger in her voice.
Mrs. Weasley stared at her for a moment; "Certainly" she said and followed Ginny out of the room.
Draco just sat there with Harry and Hermione at the table. Nobody said anything.
"Well, this is awkward" Harry finally said.
"I'd say" Draco responded grabbing himself a drink.
__________________________________________________________
"MOM HOW COULD YOU EMBARRASS ME LIKE THAT?" Ginny yelled at her Mother.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TONE WITH ME MISSY!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back.
Ginny closed her mouth and a look of anger came over her face. "MOM PLEASE STOP TREATING ME LIKE A CHILD, I'M AN ADULT AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"
"IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TREAT YOU LIKE A CHILD THEN MAKE BETTER DECISIONS, DAMMIT GINNY YOU KNOW HOW MANY PROBLEMS THE POOR BOY HAS, WHY WOULD YOU GET INVOLVED!"
"AND SO DO I MOM!" Ginny screamed wildly staring at her Mother.
Mrs. Weasley just stood there looking at her; she mentally cursed herself for being so insensitive about the situation. She took a deep breath to calm herself."You can't just go having sex with whomever you want Ginevra!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly with worry in her voice.
"With whomever I want? It's Draco, he's not just somebody.............I love him," she said fiercely feeling tears form in her eyes. She turned away from her Mother.
They stood there in silence again for a few moments. She then heard her Mom walk over to her and wrapped her arms around her. Her Mom rested her chin on Ginny's shoulder. "And does he love you?" she asked in a soft voice.
Ginny thought about this question for a moment and then gave a slight nod. Her Mom turned her around to face her and Molly wiped away a stray tear from her daughters face.
"I love you so much Ginny, my children are my life, I can't stand to see any of you get hurt. You have been through so much already and I only want what's best for you."
Ginny gave a nod that she understood and let her Mother pull her into a tight hug.
Just then Arthur came running downstairs. Molly turned to her husband, "Arthur, what's wrong?"
"Get everyone in the kitchen now, we need to have a meeting" his face was serious.
Molly pushed Ginny back towards the kitchen and then made her way upstairs to get everyone up. Ginny walked into the kitchen and sat back down next to Harry. Draco looked at her and she gave him a small smile. Arthur walked over to Draco and handed him the letter that came for him. They both had forgotten Molly's mention of the letter when they were upstairs.
"I have a feeling I know who this is from Draco, I'll explain after you've read it." Arthur gave him a firm look and Draco nodded.
Everyone was piled into the kitchen at this point and waited in silence as Draco read his letter. When he turned it over, he couldn't make out the seal so he continued opening it and started to read it aloud.
Draco,
I'm sorry if this seems rushed and makes little to no sense, but I have to hurry to get this letter out. I wanted to tell you I love you and I'm sorry I was never the Mother you wanted or needed. I'm afraid that my life is in danger and I wanted to let you know how I truly felt in case we don't see each other again. Lucius is not the same man I once married and has threatened me in more ways than one. He is convinced I am helping you hide. I must go; I love you, my son.
With love, Your Mother
He didn't say anything; he wasn't sure how to feel.
"Why is she writing me suddenly?" he asked.
Arthur gave a heavy sigh and then took a seat beside Draco.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt sent me word this morning that he suspects Narcissa is being held against her will. They moved her to a small town that's not too far from here, but its overrun by Death Eaters. He wants us to retrieve her; he believes she may have some valuable information about Lucius' whereabouts and future raids he has planned."
"My father wouldn't share that information with her."Draco stated flatly.
"Be that as it may, she will have information worth getting even if to just know a bit more than we do now. My worry though is that......" Arthur trailed off.
"That she's already dead," he continued, his voice filled with hate.
Ginny looked at him, she saw that Malfoy sneer he wore so well. The one she remembered from the train ride to Hogwarts that made her fall into a fit of sobs. The one he wore when he harassed her friends and family for all those years. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now.
"I think we should arrange to leave tonight, the town is about an hour's walk from the forest outside the ward. We are going to need as many as possible for this mission as the town like I mentioned is overrun with Death Eaters. I am not familiar with any of the names Kingsley told me so I am also unaware of how skilled they are with magic. I do know though that they were well trained and by Warren so they are ruthless men and won't hesitate to kill you, with magic or not." Arthur explained with the most serious tone.
Ginny felt a knot in her stomach, she wanted to be able to help out more, but now that she was actually being called upon she was nervous. The room fell silent and then Mr. Weasley spoke again. "Make sure you are all well rested for tonight." He said with a shaky voice and then quickly left the room.
The kitchen erupted into conversation over tonight's mission and Ginny watched as Draco left the kitchen and made his way upstairs. Ginny made to follow him, but was stopped by her Mom on the way.
"We aren't done talking about earlier," she gave Ginny a stern look.
Ginny let out a frustrated sigh, "Mom, please, not now, can we discuss this after the mission?" she pleaded with her Mother.
"Very well, now you better be going to your room up there" she demanded.
"Yes Mother" Ginny said quickly running upstairs.
She walked passed her room and went to knock on Draco's door when she saw his door was opened. She stood in the doorway and saw him sitting on the bed.
"Hey," she said, taking a seat next to him.
"Hey," he said back, staring at the floor.
"Do you want to talk about the letter?" she asked him in a small voice.
"No, I don't," he said, sounding annoyed.
She frowned at his short tone towards her, but she understood and didn't take it to heart.
Draco sighed, "I'm sorry Ginny, I just don't know what to think. My Mother suddenly sends me this letter saying everything I wish she would have said to me when we were together and now she may already be dead." his voice filled with emotion.
Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and hesitantly took his hand in hers. She gave a small smile when she felt his fingers entwine with hers. She didn't say anything; she knew he wasn't looking for answers just to vent. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke again.
"So how did things go with your Mom?"
"Gosh, you know I really don't want to talk about that either," she gave a small laugh and he turned to face her with a smirk.
She looked up at him and he placed a light kiss on her forehead.
"Are you nervous about tonight?" she asked him.
"Again, don't really want to talk about that either"
They both laughed and she stood up and pulled him up off the bed. "Come on, let's go for a walk outside," she said with a smile leading the way downstairs.
___________________________________________________________________
Ginny and Draco walked around the inner edge of the ward chatting about their earlier Hogwarts years. Ginny was bundled up with a hat on and her fuzzy gloves and Draco the same. He loved how her nose was all red and how her vibrant hair looked against the field of white snow. He just stared at her as she told him a story of how she got a detention from a prank her brothers played on her.
"Needless to say I was pissed at my brothers for it," she finished with a bright smile.
"You're so beautiful," he said, suddenly not realizing he was saying what he was thinking.
"Oh, uh, thank you," she blushed, a look of surprise on her face from Draco's open affection for her.
They walked in silence after that. Ginny couldn't believe how Draco gave her butterflies every time he was next to her. She always found herself wanting more of him.
"My Mother asked me if you loved me," she said suddenly and immediately regretted saying it.
"What did you tell her? He simply asked.
"Uh, I just nodded, I mean......I just wasn't sure if......." she stuttered for words and he stopped walking and turned to face her with a confused look.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's nothing.......just forget it," she said starting to walk again.
"No, tell me," he said, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her back.
She let out a long sigh and then looked at him.
"I only nodded because I didn't want her to lecture me and ask me a million questions, but the truth is I'm not sure if you do." she felt her cheeks getting hot and she felt really uncomfortable.
"You're not sure if I love you?" he asked with a curious look on his face.
"I don't know Draco, things have been so weird between us and when you first said it things were different."
"Different how?"He said a bit of anger in his voice.
"I don't know the fact that I was vulnerable at the time, the fact that you felt you owed me something for saving you or that I almost died. I just thought that maybe you might not feel the same way now that things are......you know....." she trailed off and then spoke again. "Please just drop it, I'm just over thinking like I normally do, sorry," she said starting to walk away from him.
He watched her walking away from him and he quickly ran to catch up with her. "Hey, wait up," he grabbed her hand and turned her to look at him. Her eyes were forming tears and he just smiled at her.
"The only thing that's different now Ginny is that I love you more. I'm just horrible at showing it," he laughed.
She gave a small laugh and a tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She felt stupid for crying in front of him, she felt weak. He wiped away another tear that escaped her eye and gave her a deep kiss.
_____________________________________________________________________
Arthur had his arms around his wife as she let out a sigh. "Seems our daughter is love Arthur," she said, looking off into the distance, a slight smile on her face.
He kissed her forehead and hugged her a bit tighter. "Yes, it seems so," he said as he and Molly watched the young couple across the field from the kitchen window.
"Where did the time go, seems only yesterday I was changing her diapers" Molly sighed wiping a small tear from her face.
Arthur gave his wife a passionate kiss on the lips and held her again in his arms, watching Ginny and Draco share a kiss of their own.
________________________________________________________________________
Night time came and everyone was gathered in the kitchen, all with different emotions running through them. Ginny took a seat next to Draco and she felt him squeeze her hand under the table. She gave him a small smile and let out a shaky breath. Arthur waited for Fleur to take a seat and then he started.
"Alright everyone, listen carefully and don't forget a thing I say. After we pass the ward we will walk about a good hour out towards the small town. Now we may run into some trouble along the way; it's imperative that we take each Death Eater down quickly and quietly. When we get to the edge of the forest we will have an advantage point to overlook the town. It's from my understanding that there are less than 20 houses and shops there. Now again the town is overrun by Death Eaters, but we don't have to take them all down, we just need to find Narcissa and get her back safely. Kingsley told me she was being held in the basement of one of the shops so we will start there."
He took a deep breath and everyone was dead silent, waiting to hear what else the man had to say.
"Kingsley mentioned that he has seen Dark magic used by Lucius and the Death Eaters that he has never seen before. Most of them don't even use magic to kill, but rather inflict physical pain.........they are vicious people, so if and when you cross one of these men..............do not hesitate to kill them. Unfortunately, we are in dark times again these days and the world is a different place, it's either us or them. Understood?" he asked with such seriousness in his voice.
They all nodded.
"Also, do not apparate anywhere; the Ministry is monitoring all traveling so we must come back the way we came. If for some reason we are followed out of town DO NOT lead them back to our wards. You need to take them down or lose them. Understood?"
They all nodded again in unison.
"Good, let's head out then."
___________________________________________________________________
The all reached the edge of the ward and took a sip of the potion that made them able to walk through the ward walls without taking them down. They started trekking through the new fallen snow and walked in silence. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, fear that they may lose one of their own tonight hung in the air. Draco watched Ginny walking beside him; she had fear in her eyes and all over her face.
"Hey," he whispered to her.
Startled by the broken silence; she turned to look at him.
"You ok?"
She just shrugged her shoulders and didn't say anything. He gave her a quick rub on the back and continued walking beside her.
They passed the lot with all the trees that the guys had went hunting for and had about another 20 minute walk ahead of them. Everyone was shivering from the coldness and Fleur was still battling a cold and tried her best to contain her coughing and sneezing.
"Sorry babe, I'd put a warming charm on you or even a silencing charm, but it's not wise to use magic right now." Bill said putting an arm around Fleur.
"Zats ok, I-I- ACHOO" she sneezed despite her best efforts to hold it in.
They soon arrived at the edge of the forest and hid behind a few large boulders and trees looking down over the small town. There were a few Death Eaters on the street and a few houses had lights on.
"She may be in that shop over there; it's the only one with the lights on at this hour. The rest of the shops are closed by now." He said, pointing to a small shop right in the center of town.
"How the hell are we going to make it over there without being noticed?" Charlie asked.
Arthur turned to Molly. "Molly dear, you stay here with Fleur, we can't afford to have her give away our position." he said turning to Fleur and gave her a small smile.
Molly and Fleur nodded that they understood.
Molly gave all her kids a big hug incase this was goodbye and she wiped a few tears from her face. Draco was surprised when she pulled him into a big hug as well. "Please keep her safe," she whispered to him. She pulled away from him with a small smile and he gave a nod.
The rest of them walked over to the edge of the hill and gave a quick look around.
"Alright, one at a time, when you get down the hill make a run to that alley way over there." Arthur pointed to a small alleyway between two houses.
They all nodded.
Charlie went first, followed by Bill then George. They ran one by one over to the dark alleyway. Hermione went next and slipped half way down, but quickly regained herself and made her way over followed by Ron.
"Alright Ginny go ahead" Arthur gestured for her to go next.
She crept over to the side of the hill and started to make her way down. She was halfway there when a spell flew passed her face. She quickly turned her head and saw a Death Eater had spotted her and was standing two houses away from where the alley was. She panicked and quickly slid down the rest of the way. She was making her way over to the alleyway when a spell flew in front of her and made the ground explode in her face, causing her to stumble backwards and put her hands over her face to shield herself. Arthur, Harry, Luna and Draco were already down the hill at this point making their way over to her to help. Ginny quickly scrambled to her feet and took off in any direction where she could take cover.
Once everyone made it to the alleyway Draco looked across the way where he saw Ginny taking cover behind a small wall of a shop. He didn't want her to be by herself out here and searched for a way to make his way to her.
"We need to get to Ginny," Draco demanded.
"We will, but we can't lose our heads" Arthur told him firmly.
Ginny went to stick her head out a bit to see if she was clear and as soon as she did a spell hit the wall she was behind. She sat back quickly, her heart was racing and she tried to come up with a plan. She saw a small dumpster to her side and climbed on top of it. She was able to reach a small windowsill above her and hoisted herself up and then onto the roof of the small shop.
"That's my girl" Arthur whispered, watching Ginny scale the building.
Draco gave an impressed smirk.
"Alright, we need to take out this Death Eater to make our way out of this alley" Arthur said to them when a spell hit the Death Eater and he erupted into flames. They all turned to see Ginny had shot a spell from her advantage point on the roof and gave them the signal that they were clear.
"She just caused a distraction for us to slip past" Hermione said with a smile.
Sure enough almost every Death Eater came running out of that small shop they had their eyes on to see what the disturbance was. They all quickly made their way to the small shop. Ginny slid back down off the roof and jumped onto the dumpster and then attempted to make her way to the small shop also. She still needed to find a way across the wide open street to get to the shop, but almost every Death Eater in town was outside now. She saw the group make it to the back door of the little shop and she locked eyes with Draco for a moment. She mentally nodded to him that it was ok and she was fine, but he didn't look convinced.
"Harry and George you guys need to try and get to Ginny, while we look for Narcissa" Arthur ordered making his way into the back door of the shop.
"WE HAVE INTRUDERS, KILL ANYONE YOU CROSS, SHOW NO MERCY!"One of the Death Eaters voices rang out.
Ginny felt a shiver go through her body and quickly ran across an alleyway as a spell shot passed her just missing her back.
"THERE'S ONE DOWN HERE," said a Death Eater; running down the dark alley followed by three others.
"Shit" Harry said, pointing his wand up "Get ready for a fight George"
"Way ahead of you mate" he said, gripping his wand tightly.
He shot out an explosive spell that hit the wall of the alley the Death Eaters were running down, causing a pile of rubble to fall in front of them; one of them being buried underneath the debris. All attention turned to the two of them and one of the Death Eaters yelled out.
"IT'S POTTER! KILL HIM AND ANYONE WITH HIM!"
Complete chaos broke out at this point and spells and curses flew from every direction.
__________________________________________________________
The rest of the group barged into the back room of the shop and four Death Eaters came running over and shot bundles of curses at them. Draco took down one off the bat with a killing curse and Hermione sent a knockout curse to another. Arthur sent a killing curse to one that shot a binding charm at Charlie and Bill took down the last one.
"Draco, get downstairs with Ron, Hermione and Luna and see if Narcissa is there." Arthur yelled as he, Bill and Charlie made their way back out through the front door to help with the chaos that took place outside.
Draco made his way downstairs and was running through the hallway when he quickly skidded to a stop causing Hermione, Ron and Luna to bump into each other.
"What the-"
"Shh" Draco quickly said, cutting Ron off.
A Death Eater came running down the hall to make their way upstairs when he jumped back in surprise when he came face to face with all four of them with their wands drawn. He backed up to try and surrender, but Draco shot an Ambustio curse at him, causing him to disintegrate into thin air. They all looked away as the horrid curse took effect and made it hard to watch. They all made their way to a small door at the end of the hall and Draco quickly ripped it open and ran inside followed by the others.
He looked around the room frantically and his eyes fell on a gated cell in the corner and a figure was balled up on the floor. He ran over to the cell and shook the door to try and get it to open. He quickly mumbled an unlocking spell and made his way inside.
"Draco hurry up, there's more coming" Hermione called to him holding her wand tightly.
"Mother?" he called out.
He heard chains scrape against the floor and the figure stepped into the light.
"Draco?" she said softly; platinum blonde hair meeting Draco's eyes.
He let out a shaky breath and he was more emotional than he thought he would be when he saw the state she was in. She was bleeding and bruised and her dress was ripped and dirty. She looked so frail like at any moment she would collapse.
He quickly made his way to her and used a charm to unlock her shackles. She just stared at him, not believing her eyes. She grabbed him into a hug and started sobbing. He didn't hug her, he didn't say anything. Draco couldn't let himself feel anything right now; he had to get them out of there still plus he wasn't even sure how to feel towards his Mother after everything. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to follow him.
"We need to go now," Ron said
They all made their way to the door and ran down the hall and back upstairs. A few spells flew past them and Hermione shot one back that missed her target. Luna quickly shot another curse at the Death Eater and they flew through the front of the shop window. They made their way outside to the front of the shop and took in the chaotic scene before them. There were Death Eaters everywhere and they quickly ran to cover. Draco searched for Ginny between all the crossfire and soon found her wild red hair whipping through the air as she was trying to outrun a Death Eater that was on her heels. Harry was dueling with two other Death Eaters and George, Charlie and Bill were circled by a bunch more. Arthur was taking cover from three other Death Eaters who were on his back. The rest of them quickly jumped into battle while Draco made his Mother wait in the alley.
Ginny ran as fast as she could through the small town trying to lose the Death Eater chasing her. She quickly turned a corner and waited for him to come running around and when he did she quickly hit him with a suffocation hex causing him to fall to his knees gasping for air. She quickly made her way back out to the center of town nearly colliding into Draco.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked her looking her over.
She quickly nodded and then pushed him backwards as a curse flew past them. He shot an Affligo spell at the Death Eater causing him to fly backwards into a wall. He saw Ginny making her way over to the group of Death Eaters swarming her brothers while he made his way to help Arthur. Ron was fighting another Death Eater that tried to sneak up on Harry and Luna and Hermione were back to back with three of their own enemies to take down. Luna went to make a move when one of the men grabbed her by the hair and threw her against a wall. Hermione shot a spell at him, but the other two men grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Ginny made it over to her brothers and shot a Reducto spell at the group of Death Eaters surrounding her them, causing a large group of them to fly backwards with a hard smack into the ground.
"Thanks Gin" George said running over to help their Father.
Charlie and Bill went after another three men who made to make a move to Ginny. She said a quick thanks and ran over to help Hermione and Luna. She saw Hermione on the floor with a Death Eater standing over her. Ginny felt a spell hit her in the back and she fell to the floor wrapped in a body bind charm. She desperately tried to free herself of the spell as she saw a Death Eater making his way over to her.
Hermione watched in horror as her friend was about to be killed and she looked over to Luna, who was being held pinned against the wall by another Death Eater. She looked to anyone who could help Ginny, but they were all cornered by Death Eaters. Hermione went to bring her wand up quickly but the man was faster and quickly disarmed her. Soon he was on top of her and she fought with all her might to push him off. She looked over to Ginny again, who was fighting to free herself of the binding charm.
Draco wasn't sure if Ginny was dead at this point or not, he couldn't make anything out with the amount of curses flying his way. He saw the girls were in trouble and every time he tried to make a run over to them, he was cornered by a slew of curses.
Hermione's hands frantically felt the snow for her wand that hopefully may be lying nearby but found nothing. She screamed for help as she tried pushing the man off of her but he was to strong and she quickly searched the man's body for something of use. Her hand grazed a metal handle on his belt and an adrenaline like none other ran through her. She grabbed the dagger from its holder and without thinking swiped it across his throat. Blood spilled out onto her face and neck and she let out another scream and quickly scrambled to get up grabbing her wand from the ground. The rest of the group was finally making their way over to the girls. Hermione quickly ran over to the Death Eater standing over Ginny and savagely stabbed him in the back multiple times forgetting about the wand she pocketed and then turned to the other one that had Luna against the wall. She grabbed him off of her and threw him to the floor and plunged the dagger deep into his heart multiple times. Everyone was staring in shock at the rage coursing through her. She finally stopped stabbing him and staggered backwards against the wall and slid to the floor crying hysterical.
"WE HAVE TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT LETS GO" Arthur said, grabbing Ginny by the arm and leading the way.
Ron grabbed Hermione and the rest of them made their way up the hill. Draco had a firm grip on his Mother's hand the entire way to make sure she wouldn't protest about following them. As they ran up the hill Molly and Fleur threw curses over their heads to keep the other Death Eaters off their backs. Once they reached the top of the hill they all ran as fast as they could through the woods. Arthur stopped abruptly and turned to them all.
"I know I said not to Apparate but we have no choice, there's too many of them for us to outrun them. We need to take a chance."
They all nodded and with a flick of his wand they all heard a pop and were all jolted into the familiar surroundings of the Burrow's living room.
Once they all realized they were safe for the moment a silence fell over them and they all looked at one another to assess the damage. Hermione was shaking; she was covered from head to toe with blood from the men she just savagely killed.
"I......I.......mur......murdered......those men" she said in a shaky voice.
Molly walked over to her, "No you were saving my daughter's life," she firmly told her.
"NO......NO....I MURDERED THEM, I..........I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED....I... " she started getting hysterical.
Molly suddenly reached up and gave her a firm slap across the face. The whole room was shocked by the sudden action. Hermione brought her hand up to her cheek and just stared at her.
"YOU LISTEN TO ME HERMIONE, YOU SAVED MY DAUGHTERS LIFE, YOU DID WHAT YOU HAD TO DO. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? THE NEXT TIME YOUR OUT THERE DON'T YOU DARE HESITATE TO MURDER ONE OF THESE COLD HEARTED BASTARDS AFTER ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THEY HAVE PUT US ALL THROUGH DO YOU HEAR ME?"She yelled fiercely.
Hermione gave a small nod with fresh tears sliding down her face.
"Good" Mrs. Weasley said, wrapping her up in a tight hug as she sobbed and the room remained silent.
"Ron and Luna, take Hermione upstairs to get cleaned up, please" Molly said with a small teary smile.
They nodded and guided Hermione upstairs to the bathroom. The attention suddenly fell on Narcissa; she had a mixture of emotions all over her face.
"Narcissa, we're glad you're alright." Mr. Weasley said.
She didn't say anything she just looked around at all of them. Her eyes fell on Draco.
"Draco, we need to go," she said suddenly.
"What? Go where?" he asked her.
"Back to the Manor"
"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" he yelled with anger in his voice.
The rest of the room exchanged a confused look.
"May I have a word in private with my son?" she asked with frustration in her voice.
"Of course" Mrs. Weasley said leading them all into the kitchen.
__________________________________________________________
"Are you all alright?" Molly asked, looking at her families bruised and bleeding faces.
"Yes, Molly dear, I think we are all ok, that was a close one" Arthur said looking at them all.
"Why does Narcissa want to go back to Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked suddenly.
"I don't know, dear, nobody is really sure where her mind is at this time" Molly answered simply.
They all sat down around the table overhearing the loud discussion in the next room.
_________________________________________________________________
"Draco, why are we here?" Narcissa asked in a demanding tone.
"What are you talking about Mother? We just rescued you and that's all you can say?" he said with frustration.
"I think we should go back to your Father."
"WHAT! MOTHER PLEASE TELL ME YOU AREN'T SERIOUS, HE WILL KILL US, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
"I THINK HE WILL SPARE MY LIFE DRACO"
"AND MINE?" he screamed in anger.
"DO YOU THINK YOU EVEN DESERVE TO BE SPARED? AFTER HOW YOU BETRAYED YOUR OWN KIND? AND NOW I FIND YOU LIVING WITH A BUNCH OF BLOODTRAITORS!" she screamed.
They were both unaware that Arthur was holding half of his family back in the next room from sending a hex at Narcissa at her comment.
Draco just shook his head and he couldn't help a small laugh that came from him. "You're a piece of work Mother you know that. I actually believed your letter when you sent it, but now.......now I know you just wanted us to save you. How exactly were you thinking of having your life spared, by turning me over to Father?"
She didn't say anything.
"So now we can't even let you go, because you'll go back to him and tell him where we are to save your own ass," he scowled at her with a disgusted sneer on his face.
"I'm just trying to survive Draco."
"AND SO AM I MOTHER! AND YOU'RE DELUSIONAL IF YOU REALLY THINK YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED."
"I'M DELUSIONAL? WHAT ABOUT YOU, PRANCING AROUND WITH THESE PEOPLE THINKING THEY WILL EVER ACCEPT YOU, YOU'RE A FOOL. YOUR FATHER WILL TAKE US BACK NOW LET'S GO" she yelled grabbing his arm.
He ripped his arm away from her quickly.
"You would really have me killed to save yourself?" he looked at her with disgust.
"Oh, Draco, please, you and I both know your life has no value; not anymore anyway, now that you're a traitor." she said simply.
Draco felt like he was punched in the stomach, to hear his own Mother say these things to him were unbelievable. He always knew she was selfish and turned the other cheek when it came to the way Lucius treated him, but to hear how she truly felt was appalling.
"You're a fuckin joke," he spat at her.
She swung her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. Before Draco could even turn his face back to her Mrs. Weasley was between them; her wand pointed at Narcissa's heart with the rest of them standing behind her with all their wands drawn.
"YOU TOUCH THAT BOY AGAIN AND I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" she bellowed with rage.
Narcissa just stared at her with hatred and then took a step back. Mrs. Weasley lowered her wand. Mr. Weasley put his hands on Draco's shoulders and led him to the kitchen. He needed some air and stormed out the back door onto the porch.
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
"Ginny, wake up" Draco whispered.
She stirred in her sleep and only snuggled closer to him. He smiled down at her and gave her a light shake.
"Ginny, it's getting late, you have to get back to your room," he said shaking her with a little more force.
She just groaned and kept sleeping. He bent down and started kissing her lips and she kissed him back. When she did, he pulled away and her eyes fluttered open.
"Thought that might wake you," he smirked at her.
She smiled back and then leaned over him to see the time.
"Crap, have you heard anyone up yet?" she said, lying back on her pillow and rubbing her eyes.
"Don't think so"
She rolled to her side and faced him and pressed her lips to his once more. Then there was a knock on the door. Ginny and Draco looked at each other and Ginny's eyes went wide with panic and quickly ducked under the covers. Draco threw a few pillows about to hide her better. He then heard another knock and the door opened.
"Good morning Draco, I didn't think you were awake yet." Mrs. Weasley said sweetly.
"Oh, Morning Mrs. Weasley" he said, trying to hide the surprise in his voice.
"I wanted to tell you there's a letter that came for you downstairs"
"Oh, thanks, I'll be right down"
"No problem, dear," she said with a smile and turned to leave.
Draco let out a relieved breath when Mrs. Weasley spoke again suddenly.
"Oh, and Ginny, when you've finished sneaking back into your room again, I'd love to have a chat with you"
Ginny felt her cheeks go red; "Yes Mom" was all she said in a muffled voice under the pile of blankets and pillows.
Draco looked down at the small form next to him that he knew was Ginny and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.
"Lovely, see you two in a bit," she said with a smile and left the room.
Ginny threw the blankets off of herself, "OH MY GOD DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?"
"You mean that your Mother just caught you in bed with a Malfoy?" he laughed at her.
"Well, she doesn't know we had sex, we could have just been......."
"Having a girl's night?" he smirked.
She slapped his arm and then quickly got dressed and headed to the shower.
_______________________________________________________________
Ginny made her way downstairs to breakfast and debated if she should wait for Draco to get out of the shower before she went into the kitchen. She figured if her Mom was going to give her a lashing she would prefer it be in private so she walked through the kitchen door. She saw Harry and Hermione sitting at the table eating breakfast and felt relieved, her Mother wouldn't talk to her about Draco in front of them.
"Morning again Ginny, have a seat, I made some eggs for you" Mrs. Weasley said and slid a plate of food in front of her.
Ginny sat down next to Harry and grabbed the food. "Uh, thanks"
Draco came walking into the kitchen shortly after and sat down across from Ginny and they exchanged a nervous look. Mrs. Weasley gave him a plate of food with a bright smile on her face.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
"You guys ok?" Harry asked, taking a sip of juice.
"Oh Harry dear, they are just a bit out of it ever since I found them in bed together this morning" Mrs. Weasley said casually take a seat at the head of the table.
Harry spit out his juice despite his best efforts to try and swallow it. Draco seemed to almost choke on a piece of his food and Hermione's mouth was hanging open. Ginny's face was beat red and she buried her face in her hands.
"Mom really?" she moaned through her hands.
"What's the matter, Hermione and Harry already know so it's not news to them" she said simply.
"Uh, a bit of news to me" Harry piped.
"Oh shush Harry" Mrs. Weasley cut in.
"Mom, can I talk to you.......Privately" Ginny asked with anger in her voice.
Mrs. Weasley stared at her for a moment; "Certainly" she said and followed Ginny out of the room.
Draco just sat there with Harry and Hermione at the table. Nobody said anything.
"Well, this is awkward" Harry finally said.
"I'd say" Draco responded grabbing himself a drink.
__________________________________________________________
"MOM HOW COULD YOU EMBARRASS ME LIKE THAT?" Ginny yelled at her Mother.
"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT TONE WITH ME MISSY!" Mrs. Weasley yelled back.
Ginny closed her mouth and a look of anger came over her face. "MOM PLEASE STOP TREATING ME LIKE A CHILD, I'M AN ADULT AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF!"
"IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO TREAT YOU LIKE A CHILD THEN MAKE BETTER DECISIONS, DAMMIT GINNY YOU KNOW HOW MANY PROBLEMS THE POOR BOY HAS, WHY WOULD YOU GET INVOLVED!"
"AND SO DO I MOM!" Ginny screamed wildly staring at her Mother.
Mrs. Weasley just stood there looking at her; she mentally cursed herself for being so insensitive about the situation. She took a deep breath to calm herself."You can't just go having sex with whomever you want Ginevra!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly with worry in her voice.
"With whomever I want? It's Draco, he's not just somebody.............I love him," she said fiercely feeling tears form in her eyes. She turned away from her Mother.
They stood there in silence again for a few moments. She then heard her Mom walk over to her and wrapped her arms around her. Her Mom rested her chin on Ginny's shoulder. "And does he love you?" she asked in a soft voice.
Ginny thought about this question for a moment and then gave a slight nod. Her Mom turned her around to face her and Molly wiped away a stray tear from her daughters face.
"I love you so much Ginny, my children are my life, I can't stand to see any of you get hurt. You have been through so much already and I only want what's best for you."
Ginny gave a nod that she understood and let her Mother pull her into a tight hug.
Just then Arthur came running downstairs. Molly turned to her husband, "Arthur, what's wrong?"
"Get everyone in the kitchen now, we need to have a meeting" his face was serious.
Molly pushed Ginny back towards the kitchen and then made her way upstairs to get everyone up. Ginny walked into the kitchen and sat back down next to Harry. Draco looked at her and she gave him a small smile. Arthur walked over to Draco and handed him the letter that came for him. They both had forgotten Molly's mention of the letter when they were upstairs.
"I have a feeling I know who this is from Draco, I'll explain after you've read it." Arthur gave him a firm look and Draco nodded.
Everyone was piled into the kitchen at this point and waited in silence as Draco read his letter. When he turned it over, he couldn't make out the seal so he continued opening it and started to read it aloud.
Draco,
I'm sorry if this seems rushed and makes little to no sense, but I have to hurry to get this letter out. I wanted to tell you I love you and I'm sorry I was never the Mother you wanted or needed. I'm afraid that my life is in danger and I wanted to let you know how I truly felt in case we don't see each other again. Lucius is not the same man I once married and has threatened me in more ways than one. He is convinced I am helping you hide. I must go; I love you, my son.
With love, Your Mother
He didn't say anything; he wasn't sure how to feel.
"Why is she writing me suddenly?" he asked.
Arthur gave a heavy sigh and then took a seat beside Draco.
"Kingsley Shacklebolt sent me word this morning that he suspects Narcissa is being held against her will. They moved her to a small town that's not too far from here, but its overrun by Death Eaters. He wants us to retrieve her; he believes she may have some valuable information about Lucius' whereabouts and future raids he has planned."
"My father wouldn't share that information with her."Draco stated flatly.
"Be that as it may, she will have information worth getting even if to just know a bit more than we do now. My worry though is that......" Arthur trailed off.
"That she's already dead," he continued, his voice filled with hate.
Ginny looked at him, she saw that Malfoy sneer he wore so well. The one she remembered from the train ride to Hogwarts that made her fall into a fit of sobs. The one he wore when he harassed her friends and family for all those years. She could only imagine what was going through his mind right now.
"I think we should arrange to leave tonight, the town is about an hour's walk from the forest outside the ward. We are going to need as many as possible for this mission as the town like I mentioned is overrun with Death Eaters. I am not familiar with any of the names Kingsley told me so I am also unaware of how skilled they are with magic. I do know though that they were well trained and by Warren so they are ruthless men and won't hesitate to kill you, with magic or not." Arthur explained with the most serious tone.
Ginny felt a knot in her stomach, she wanted to be able to help out more, but now that she was actually being called upon she was nervous. The room fell silent and then Mr. Weasley spoke again. "Make sure you are all well rested for tonight." He said with a shaky voice and then quickly left the room.
The kitchen erupted into conversation over tonight's mission and Ginny watched as Draco left the kitchen and made his way upstairs. Ginny made to follow him, but was stopped by her Mom on the way.
"We aren't done talking about earlier," she gave Ginny a stern look.
Ginny let out a frustrated sigh, "Mom, please, not now, can we discuss this after the mission?" she pleaded with her Mother.
"Very well, now you better be going to your room up there" she demanded.
"Yes Mother" Ginny said quickly running upstairs.
She walked passed her room and went to knock on Draco's door when she saw his door was opened. She stood in the doorway and saw him sitting on the bed.
"Hey," she said, taking a seat next to him.
"Hey," he said back, staring at the floor.
"Do you want to talk about the letter?" she asked him in a small voice.
"No, I don't," he said, sounding annoyed.
She frowned at his short tone towards her, but she understood and didn't take it to heart.
Draco sighed, "I'm sorry Ginny, I just don't know what to think. My Mother suddenly sends me this letter saying everything I wish she would have said to me when we were together and now she may already be dead." his voice filled with emotion.
Ginny laid her head on his shoulder and hesitantly took his hand in hers. She gave a small smile when she felt his fingers entwine with hers. She didn't say anything; she knew he wasn't looking for answers just to vent. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke again.
"So how did things go with your Mom?"
"Gosh, you know I really don't want to talk about that either," she gave a small laugh and he turned to face her with a smirk.
She looked up at him and he placed a light kiss on her forehead.
"Are you nervous about tonight?" she asked him.
"Again, don't really want to talk about that either"
They both laughed and she stood up and pulled him up off the bed. "Come on, let's go for a walk outside," she said with a smile leading the way downstairs.
___________________________________________________________________
Ginny and Draco walked around the inner edge of the ward chatting about their earlier Hogwarts years. Ginny was bundled up with a hat on and her fuzzy gloves and Draco the same. He loved how her nose was all red and how her vibrant hair looked against the field of white snow. He just stared at her as she told him a story of how she got a detention from a prank her brothers played on her.
"Needless to say I was pissed at my brothers for it," she finished with a bright smile.
"You're so beautiful," he said, suddenly not realizing he was saying what he was thinking.
"Oh, uh, thank you," she blushed, a look of surprise on her face from Draco's open affection for her.
They walked in silence after that. Ginny couldn't believe how Draco gave her butterflies every time he was next to her. She always found herself wanting more of him.
"My Mother asked me if you loved me," she said suddenly and immediately regretted saying it.
"What did you tell her? He simply asked.
"Uh, I just nodded, I mean......I just wasn't sure if......." she stuttered for words and he stopped walking and turned to face her with a confused look.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"It's nothing.......just forget it," she said starting to walk again.
"No, tell me," he said, grabbing her arm gently and pulling her back.
She let out a long sigh and then looked at him.
"I only nodded because I didn't want her to lecture me and ask me a million questions, but the truth is I'm not sure if you do." she felt her cheeks getting hot and she felt really uncomfortable.
"You're not sure if I love you?" he asked with a curious look on his face.
"I don't know Draco, things have been so weird between us and when you first said it things were different."
"Different how?"He said a bit of anger in his voice.
"I don't know the fact that I was vulnerable at the time, the fact that you felt you owed me something for saving you or that I almost died. I just thought that maybe you might not feel the same way now that things are......you know....." she trailed off and then spoke again. "Please just drop it, I'm just over thinking like I normally do, sorry," she said starting to walk away from him.
He watched her walking away from him and he quickly ran to catch up with her. "Hey, wait up," he grabbed her hand and turned her to look at him. Her eyes were forming tears and he just smiled at her.
"The only thing that's different now Ginny is that I love you more. I'm just horrible at showing it," he laughed.
She gave a small laugh and a tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She felt stupid for crying in front of him, she felt weak. He wiped away another tear that escaped her eye and gave her a deep kiss.
_____________________________________________________________________
Arthur had his arms around his wife as she let out a sigh. "Seems our daughter is love Arthur," she said, looking off into the distance, a slight smile on her face.
He kissed her forehead and hugged her a bit tighter. "Yes, it seems so," he said as he and Molly watched the young couple across the field from the kitchen window.
"Where did the time go, seems only yesterday I was changing her diapers" Molly sighed wiping a small tear from her face.
Arthur gave his wife a passionate kiss on the lips and held her again in his arms, watching Ginny and Draco share a kiss of their own.
________________________________________________________________________
Night time came and everyone was gathered in the kitchen, all with different emotions running through them. Ginny took a seat next to Draco and she felt him squeeze her hand under the table. She gave him a small smile and let out a shaky breath. Arthur waited for Fleur to take a seat and then he started.
"Alright everyone, listen carefully and don't forget a thing I say. After we pass the ward we will walk about a good hour out towards the small town. Now we may run into some trouble along the way; it's imperative that we take each Death Eater down quickly and quietly. When we get to the edge of the forest we will have an advantage point to overlook the town. It's from my understanding that there are less than 20 houses and shops there. Now again the town is overrun by Death Eaters, but we don't have to take them all down, we just need to find Narcissa and get her back safely. Kingsley told me she was being held in the basement of one of the shops so we will start there."
He took a deep breath and everyone was dead silent, waiting to hear what else the man had to say.
"Kingsley mentioned that he has seen Dark magic used by Lucius and the Death Eaters that he has never seen before. Most of them don't even use magic to kill, but rather inflict physical pain.........they are vicious people, so if and when you cross one of these men..............do not hesitate to kill them. Unfortunately, we are in dark times again these days and the world is a different place, it's either us or them. Understood?" he asked with such seriousness in his voice.
They all nodded.
"Also, do not apparate anywhere; the Ministry is monitoring all traveling so we must come back the way we came. If for some reason we are followed out of town DO NOT lead them back to our wards. You need to take them down or lose them. Understood?"
They all nodded again in unison.
"Good, let's head out then."
___________________________________________________________________
The all reached the edge of the ward and took a sip of the potion that made them able to walk through the ward walls without taking them down. They started trekking through the new fallen snow and walked in silence. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, fear that they may lose one of their own tonight hung in the air. Draco watched Ginny walking beside him; she had fear in her eyes and all over her face.
"Hey," he whispered to her.
Startled by the broken silence; she turned to look at him.
"You ok?"
She just shrugged her shoulders and didn't say anything. He gave her a quick rub on the back and continued walking beside her.
They passed the lot with all the trees that the guys had went hunting for and had about another 20 minute walk ahead of them. Everyone was shivering from the coldness and Fleur was still battling a cold and tried her best to contain her coughing and sneezing.
"Sorry babe, I'd put a warming charm on you or even a silencing charm, but it's not wise to use magic right now." Bill said putting an arm around Fleur.
"Zats ok, I-I- ACHOO" she sneezed despite her best efforts to hold it in.
They soon arrived at the edge of the forest and hid behind a few large boulders and trees looking down over the small town. There were a few Death Eaters on the street and a few houses had lights on.
"She may be in that shop over there; it's the only one with the lights on at this hour. The rest of the shops are closed by now." He said, pointing to a small shop right in the center of town.
"How the hell are we going to make it over there without being noticed?" Charlie asked.
Arthur turned to Molly. "Molly dear, you stay here with Fleur, we can't afford to have her give away our position." he said turning to Fleur and gave her a small smile.
Molly and Fleur nodded that they understood.
Molly gave all her kids a big hug incase this was goodbye and she wiped a few tears from her face. Draco was surprised when she pulled him into a big hug as well. "Please keep her safe," she whispered to him. She pulled away from him with a small smile and he gave a nod.
The rest of them walked over to the edge of the hill and gave a quick look around.
"Alright, one at a time, when you get down the hill make a run to that alley way over there." Arthur pointed to a small alleyway between two houses.
They all nodded.
Charlie went first, followed by Bill then George. They ran one by one over to the dark alleyway. Hermione went next and slipped half way down, but quickly regained herself and made her way over followed by Ron.
"Alright Ginny go ahead" Arthur gestured for her to go next.
She crept over to the side of the hill and started to make her way down. She was halfway there when a spell flew passed her face. She quickly turned her head and saw a Death Eater had spotted her and was standing two houses away from where the alley was. She panicked and quickly slid down the rest of the way. She was making her way over to the alleyway when a spell flew in front of her and made the ground explode in her face, causing her to stumble backwards and put her hands over her face to shield herself. Arthur, Harry, Luna and Draco were already down the hill at this point making their way over to her to help. Ginny quickly scrambled to her feet and took off in any direction where she could take cover.
Once everyone made it to the alleyway Draco looked across the way where he saw Ginny taking cover behind a small wall of a shop. He didn't want her to be by herself out here and searched for a way to make his way to her.
"We need to get to Ginny," Draco demanded.
"We will, but we can't lose our heads" Arthur told him firmly.
Ginny went to stick her head out a bit to see if she was clear and as soon as she did a spell hit the wall she was behind. She sat back quickly, her heart was racing and she tried to come up with a plan. She saw a small dumpster to her side and climbed on top of it. She was able to reach a small windowsill above her and hoisted herself up and then onto the roof of the small shop.
"That's my girl" Arthur whispered, watching Ginny scale the building.
Draco gave an impressed smirk.
"Alright, we need to take out this Death Eater to make our way out of this alley" Arthur said to them when a spell hit the Death Eater and he erupted into flames. They all turned to see Ginny had shot a spell from her advantage point on the roof and gave them the signal that they were clear.
"She just caused a distraction for us to slip past" Hermione said with a smile.
Sure enough almost every Death Eater came running out of that small shop they had their eyes on to see what the disturbance was. They all quickly made their way to the small shop. Ginny slid back down off the roof and jumped onto the dumpster and then attempted to make her way to the small shop also. She still needed to find a way across the wide open street to get to the shop, but almost every Death Eater in town was outside now. She saw the group make it to the back door of the little shop and she locked eyes with Draco for a moment. She mentally nodded to him that it was ok and she was fine, but he didn't look convinced.
"Harry and George you guys need to try and get to Ginny, while we look for Narcissa" Arthur ordered making his way into the back door of the shop.
"WE HAVE INTRUDERS, KILL ANYONE YOU CROSS, SHOW NO MERCY!"One of the Death Eaters voices rang out.
Ginny felt a shiver go through her body and quickly ran across an alleyway as a spell shot passed her just missing her back.
"THERE'S ONE DOWN HERE," said a Death Eater; running down the dark alley followed by three others.
"Shit" Harry said, pointing his wand up "Get ready for a fight George"
"Way ahead of you mate" he said, gripping his wand tightly.
He shot out an explosive spell that hit the wall of the alley the Death Eaters were running down, causing a pile of rubble to fall in front of them; one of them being buried underneath the debris. All attention turned to the two of them and one of the Death Eaters yelled out.
"IT'S POTTER! KILL HIM AND ANYONE WITH HIM!"
Complete chaos broke out at this point and spells and curses flew from every direction.
__________________________________________________________
The rest of the group barged into the back room of the shop and four Death Eaters came running over and shot bundles of curses at them. Draco took down one off the bat with a killing curse and Hermione sent a knockout curse to another. Arthur sent a killing curse to one that shot a binding charm at Charlie and Bill took down the last one.
"Draco, get downstairs with Ron, Hermione and Luna and see if Narcissa is there." Arthur yelled as he, Bill and Charlie made their way back out through the front door to help with the chaos that took place outside.
Draco made his way downstairs and was running through the hallway when he quickly skidded to a stop causing Hermione, Ron and Luna to bump into each other.
"What the-"
"Shh" Draco quickly said, cutting Ron off.
A Death Eater came running down the hall to make their way upstairs when he jumped back in surprise when he came face to face with all four of them with their wands drawn. He backed up to try and surrender, but Draco shot an Ambustio curse at him, causing him to disintegrate into thin air. They all looked away as the horrid curse took effect and made it hard to watch. They all made their way to a small door at the end of the hall and Draco quickly ripped it open and ran inside followed by the others.
He looked around the room frantically and his eyes fell on a gated cell in the corner and a figure was balled up on the floor. He ran over to the cell and shook the door to try and get it to open. He quickly mumbled an unlocking spell and made his way inside.
"Draco hurry up, there's more coming" Hermione called to him holding her wand tightly.
"Mother?" he called out.
He heard chains scrape against the floor and the figure stepped into the light.
"Draco?" she said softly; platinum blonde hair meeting Draco's eyes.
He let out a shaky breath and he was more emotional than he thought he would be when he saw the state she was in. She was bleeding and bruised and her dress was ripped and dirty. She looked so frail like at any moment she would collapse.
He quickly made his way to her and used a charm to unlock her shackles. She just stared at him, not believing her eyes. She grabbed him into a hug and started sobbing. He didn't hug her, he didn't say anything. Draco couldn't let himself feel anything right now; he had to get them out of there still plus he wasn't even sure how to feel towards his Mother after everything. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to follow him.
"We need to go now," Ron said
They all made their way to the door and ran down the hall and back upstairs. A few spells flew past them and Hermione shot one back that missed her target. Luna quickly shot another curse at the Death Eater and they flew through the front of the shop window. They made their way outside to the front of the shop and took in the chaotic scene before them. There were Death Eaters everywhere and they quickly ran to cover. Draco searched for Ginny between all the crossfire and soon found her wild red hair whipping through the air as she was trying to outrun a Death Eater that was on her heels. Harry was dueling with two other Death Eaters and George, Charlie and Bill were circled by a bunch more. Arthur was taking cover from three other Death Eaters who were on his back. The rest of them quickly jumped into battle while Draco made his Mother wait in the alley.
Ginny ran as fast as she could through the small town trying to lose the Death Eater chasing her. She quickly turned a corner and waited for him to come running around and when he did she quickly hit him with a suffocation hex causing him to fall to his knees gasping for air. She quickly made her way back out to the center of town nearly colliding into Draco.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked her looking her over.
She quickly nodded and then pushed him backwards as a curse flew past them. He shot an Affligo spell at the Death Eater causing him to fly backwards into a wall. He saw Ginny making her way over to the group of Death Eaters swarming her brothers while he made his way to help Arthur. Ron was fighting another Death Eater that tried to sneak up on Harry and Luna and Hermione were back to back with three of their own enemies to take down. Luna went to make a move when one of the men grabbed her by the hair and threw her against a wall. Hermione shot a spell at him, but the other two men grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
Ginny made it over to her brothers and shot a Reducto spell at the group of Death Eaters surrounding her them, causing a large group of them to fly backwards with a hard smack into the ground.
"Thanks Gin" George said running over to help their Father.
Charlie and Bill went after another three men who made to make a move to Ginny. She said a quick thanks and ran over to help Hermione and Luna. She saw Hermione on the floor with a Death Eater standing over her. Ginny felt a spell hit her in the back and she fell to the floor wrapped in a body bind charm. She desperately tried to free herself of the spell as she saw a Death Eater making his way over to her.
Hermione watched in horror as her friend was about to be killed and she looked over to Luna, who was being held pinned against the wall by another Death Eater. She looked to anyone who could help Ginny, but they were all cornered by Death Eaters. Hermione went to bring her wand up quickly but the man was faster and quickly disarmed her. Soon he was on top of her and she fought with all her might to push him off. She looked over to Ginny again, who was fighting to free herself of the binding charm.
Draco wasn't sure if Ginny was dead at this point or not, he couldn't make anything out with the amount of curses flying his way. He saw the girls were in trouble and every time he tried to make a run over to them, he was cornered by a slew of curses.
Hermione's hands frantically felt the snow for her wand that hopefully may be lying nearby but found nothing. She screamed for help as she tried pushing the man off of her but he was to strong and she quickly searched the man's body for something of use. Her hand grazed a metal handle on his belt and an adrenaline like none other ran through her. She grabbed the dagger from its holder and without thinking swiped it across his throat. Blood spilled out onto her face and neck and she let out another scream and quickly scrambled to get up grabbing her wand from the ground. The rest of the group was finally making their way over to the girls. Hermione quickly ran over to the Death Eater standing over Ginny and savagely stabbed him in the back multiple times forgetting about the wand she pocketed and then turned to the other one that had Luna against the wall. She grabbed him off of her and threw him to the floor and plunged the dagger deep into his heart multiple times. Everyone was staring in shock at the rage coursing through her. She finally stopped stabbing him and staggered backwards against the wall and slid to the floor crying hysterical.
"WE HAVE TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT LETS GO" Arthur said, grabbing Ginny by the arm and leading the way.
Ron grabbed Hermione and the rest of them made their way up the hill. Draco had a firm grip on his Mother's hand the entire way to make sure she wouldn't protest about following them. As they ran up the hill Molly and Fleur threw curses over their heads to keep the other Death Eaters off their backs. Once they reached the top of the hill they all ran as fast as they could through the woods. Arthur stopped abruptly and turned to them all.
"I know I said not to Apparate but we have no choice, there's too many of them for us to outrun them. We need to take a chance."
They all nodded and with a flick of his wand they all heard a pop and were all jolted into the familiar surroundings of the Burrow's living room.
Once they all realized they were safe for the moment a silence fell over them and they all looked at one another to assess the damage. Hermione was shaking; she was covered from head to toe with blood from the men she just savagely killed.
"I......I.......mur......murdered......those men" she said in a shaky voice.
Molly walked over to her, "No you were saving my daughter's life," she firmly told her.
"NO......NO....I MURDERED THEM, I..........I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED....I... " she started getting hysterical.
Molly suddenly reached up and gave her a firm slap across the face. The whole room was shocked by the sudden action. Hermione brought her hand up to her cheek and just stared at her.
"YOU LISTEN TO ME HERMIONE, YOU SAVED MY DAUGHTERS LIFE, YOU DID WHAT YOU HAD TO DO. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? THE NEXT TIME YOUR OUT THERE DON'T YOU DARE HESITATE TO MURDER ONE OF THESE COLD HEARTED BASTARDS AFTER ALL THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THEY HAVE PUT US ALL THROUGH DO YOU HEAR ME?"She yelled fiercely.
Hermione gave a small nod with fresh tears sliding down her face.
"Good" Mrs. Weasley said, wrapping her up in a tight hug as she sobbed and the room remained silent.
"Ron and Luna, take Hermione upstairs to get cleaned up, please" Molly said with a small teary smile.
They nodded and guided Hermione upstairs to the bathroom. The attention suddenly fell on Narcissa; she had a mixture of emotions all over her face.
"Narcissa, we're glad you're alright." Mr. Weasley said.
She didn't say anything she just looked around at all of them. Her eyes fell on Draco.
"Draco, we need to go," she said suddenly.
"What? Go where?" he asked her.
"Back to the Manor"
"WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?" he yelled with anger in his voice.
The rest of the room exchanged a confused look.
"May I have a word in private with my son?" she asked with frustration in her voice.
"Of course" Mrs. Weasley said leading them all into the kitchen.
__________________________________________________________
"Are you all alright?" Molly asked, looking at her families bruised and bleeding faces.
"Yes, Molly dear, I think we are all ok, that was a close one" Arthur said looking at them all.
"Why does Narcissa want to go back to Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked suddenly.
"I don't know, dear, nobody is really sure where her mind is at this time" Molly answered simply.
They all sat down around the table overhearing the loud discussion in the next room.
_________________________________________________________________
"Draco, why are we here?" Narcissa asked in a demanding tone.
"What are you talking about Mother? We just rescued you and that's all you can say?" he said with frustration.
"I think we should go back to your Father."
"WHAT! MOTHER PLEASE TELL ME YOU AREN'T SERIOUS, HE WILL KILL US, DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?"
"I THINK HE WILL SPARE MY LIFE DRACO"
"AND MINE?" he screamed in anger.
"DO YOU THINK YOU EVEN DESERVE TO BE SPARED? AFTER HOW YOU BETRAYED YOUR OWN KIND? AND NOW I FIND YOU LIVING WITH A BUNCH OF BLOODTRAITORS!" she screamed.
They were both unaware that Arthur was holding half of his family back in the next room from sending a hex at Narcissa at her comment.
Draco just shook his head and he couldn't help a small laugh that came from him. "You're a piece of work Mother you know that. I actually believed your letter when you sent it, but now.......now I know you just wanted us to save you. How exactly were you thinking of having your life spared, by turning me over to Father?"
She didn't say anything.
"So now we can't even let you go, because you'll go back to him and tell him where we are to save your own ass," he scowled at her with a disgusted sneer on his face.
"I'm just trying to survive Draco."
"AND SO AM I MOTHER! AND YOU'RE DELUSIONAL IF YOU REALLY THINK YOUR LIFE WILL BE SPARED."
"I'M DELUSIONAL? WHAT ABOUT YOU, PRANCING AROUND WITH THESE PEOPLE THINKING THEY WILL EVER ACCEPT YOU, YOU'RE A FOOL. YOUR FATHER WILL TAKE US BACK NOW LET'S GO" she yelled grabbing his arm.
He ripped his arm away from her quickly.
"You would really have me killed to save yourself?" he looked at her with disgust.
"Oh, Draco, please, you and I both know your life has no value; not anymore anyway, now that you're a traitor." she said simply.
Draco felt like he was punched in the stomach, to hear his own Mother say these things to him were unbelievable. He always knew she was selfish and turned the other cheek when it came to the way Lucius treated him, but to hear how she truly felt was appalling.
"You're a fuckin joke," he spat at her.
She swung her hand back and slapped him hard across the face. Before Draco could even turn his face back to her Mrs. Weasley was between them; her wand pointed at Narcissa's heart with the rest of them standing behind her with all their wands drawn.
"YOU TOUCH THAT BOY AGAIN AND I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU STAND!" she bellowed with rage.
Narcissa just stared at her with hatred and then took a step back. Mrs. Weasley lowered her wand. Mr. Weasley put his hands on Draco's shoulders and led him to the kitchen. He needed some air and stormed out the back door onto the porch.
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
Sign up to rate and review this story