Serpent in the Lion's Den

32. No Master

Harry and Ron silently crept through the corridors, trying to make their way back to Hermione. Harry's face had deflated back to normal and without his or Ron's wands that he assumed Bellatrix now had, his anxiety grew as they ran silently and outnumbered towards where they thought the north drawing room was. As they stopped at the end of the corridor to check their options, both wizards heard a small crack of apparition behind them and turned to greet Dobby. But the wizards were not met with one house-elf but too, Dobby and Topper stood, hand-in-hand, staring up at the wizards.

"Sirs must follow Topper to find miss, Topper will lead sirs to miss whilst Dobby helps Harry Potter and his friends escape." Dobby spoke as he let go of Topper's hand and smiled up at Harry. As he vanished with another soft crack he pointed at Topper and to the corridor leading straight ahead.

"Sirs follow Topper?" The larger house-elf beckoned as he ran off down the corridor Dobby had pointed to, "Miss is this way, with Master."

Ron and Harry took off running again.

XXX

Draco's eyes hunted his Aunt around the drawing room as he clutched his own wand and pulled his jumper down sub-consciously, trying to conceal the extra three wands tucked into his waistband. As his parent's and Aunt stood in the corner, seriously muttering out of Draco's earshot, the wizard heard a small creak above his head. Draco flicked his eyes up discreetly and saw his old house-elf, Dobby, curiously tweaking with the screws that held up his father's thirty-thousand-galleon chandelier. The chandelier was huge, black metal branches held dainty crystal droplets that caught the light and reflected it across the ceiling. The chandelier was also directly above Hermione's unmoving body and Draco's pulse tripled as he looked up to the chandelier again.

Dobby locked eyes with Draco and stilled with fear, Draco cast a look down to Hermione and back to Dobby, with a faint shake of his head. The house-elf smiled, recognising Draco's alliance, and pointed softly at the only entrance and exit to the room and faintly mimicked a lightning bolt on his forehead. Draco sighed in relief and nodded at the house-elf, before pretending to ignore him all together and shifting his stance slightly towards the door.

Less than a minute later Draco spotted the unmissable mass of red hair peer through the crack in the door, scanning the room. The red disappeared and was replaced with black as the Saint himself observed the space, fixing his eyes on Draco. The Slytherin knew this was the fraction of a moment he'd been waiting for to save Hermione and quickly slipped Potter's wand from his waistband and flashed it and the green eyes pinned onto him. The eyes nodded and vanished as both Ron and Harry burst into the room, both catching their wands with ease as Draco threw them in their direction.

Ducking under and around curses from both directions Draco scooped his witch's body from the floor before running towards the golden trio as the chandelier dropped to the floor. Draco made a point of standing on Harry's far side, knowing that it wasn't safe to be close to Weasel just yet. Luckily, he was still concentrated on duelling with Draco's father until Bellatrix's scream ricocheted around the room.

"Draco! What are you doing?!" she hissed as Draco looked down at the Gryffindor in his arms and smiled.

"Sorry, Auntie Dearest," was all he said dryly, before Dobby clapped his hands and a lit torch flew from the wall across the room, narrowly missing Bellatrix.

"Stupid elf! You could've killed me!" and pointed her wand at the small elf, who simply responded by clicking his fingers, jumping slightly as Bellatrix's wand landed in his small hand. With another two clicks both Draco's parent's wands were also in his hand.

"How dare you take pureblood's wands! How dare you take your master's wand!" Bellatrix retorted, her voice rising in shock and Lucius looked around dumbfoundedly. Narcissa simply looked at her son, holding Hermione close to his chest and smiled from behind her sister and husband. Dobby jumped to the floor in front of the wizards and held out his hand for them all to take as he looked back at the drawing room, he'd been punished in many times years ago and at the three wizards; two of which who had inflicted the punishments. The third, with blonde and brunette hair who had supplied potions to heal them he smiled at before narrowing his eyes at Bellatrix and standing proud.

"Dobby has no Master! Dobby is a free elf and has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!" he shouted as he closed his eyes, ready to apparate.

As their bodies began to evaporate Bellatrix slipped a small blade from the black corset cinching her waist and threw it as the mass of dissolving bodies. Both Dobby and the wizards, beside a now-unconscious Hermione saw the blade coming and shut their eyes tight, hoping to be gone before it reached them.

A sick and twisted smile spread on Bellatrix's face as they all disappeared. Along with her blade.