Love Is The Darkest Art

Part 20: Death Eater Attack

Scene 29

For Draco and Hermione, their escape was part quick thinking, part luck. A few inches to the left and the charm from Draco's wand would have been ineffective. The solid construction of the sewage tunnel would have stopped the hastily conjured bolt.

The two landed on their feet with a jolt. If they hadn't been holding on to each other they might have collapsed to the floor. But as it was, they both landed in a half squat that sent shudders up their legs. Draco clutched Hermione and didn't let her fall.

"Draco," she began, nearly out of breath. "I'm...."

"Later," he interrupted her grimly. He grabbed her hand and started leading her down the dank, smelly tunnel. At first, she heistated. She didn't want to venture away from the light of their escape into the unknown darkness. Who knew what kind of creatures lurked in the shadows?

"Come on," Malfoy urged. "They've called more Death Eaters. They will be here any min..."

A muffled pop came from the corridor ahead and they froze. Something or someone had just apparated in front of them. Both Draco and Hermione took a defensive stance with their wands.

Out of the shadows came a figure. Tall and cloaked in black. It's face hidden beneath a hood and cowl, it almost hissed at the sight of them. Hermione's first thought was Voldemort. Draco's was his father. Neither of them were right.

"Fools," the figure mumbled. "You can't fight a death eater."

"Watch me," replied Draco bravely with a slight tremble to his voice.

The figure laughed in a low sinister tone. "It is beyond me why you are protecting a mudblood, but we all have our faults."
There was something familiar about the voice, but it was being purposedly disguised. "Against my better judgement, I'm here to help you."

"Oh yeah? What you going to do, disapparate us out of here?"

"I can't take us all," it replied. "One of you must stay."

"Well fat chance of that.  I'm not leaving Hermione."

"You have a few seconds to stick by that. You both can be captured and possibly tortured by the other Death Eaters, or Draco, you can give me...the girl." This last part he uttered with distaste in his mouth, as if Hermione was the last person he'd want to rescue.

"What do they want?" Granger blurted.

"Why Potter, of course," came the man's reply.

"Ha!" Draco explained. "I can't stand him either. So why would..."

"They don't want you, idiot."

A series of thuds came from behind them. Three Death Eaters had just plopped down through the hole in the street. Draco spun, wand at the ready, and it was all the distraction their would-be rescuer needed.  He reached out with a bony, gnarled hand and grabbed Hermione by the wrist. Before she could even scream, the figure disapparated, dragging Hermione with him.

Draco realized too late what happened. The Death Eater had teleported, vanished and reassembled somewhere else. And Hermione was his captive. Confronting the other Eaters who had crashed the party, Draco was struck with the notion they'd been working together all along to kidnap his girl. There were no good guys here. Not even him.

"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, thrusting his wand towards the Death Eaters. They easily deflected his charm and turned it back on him. His wand dropped from his hand as if someone had bent his fingers back to the point of breaking. He screamed and clutched his hand as the three figures bore down on him. "No," he began to plead. "My father is..."

A muffled pop sounded from beside him. The hooded figure who'd taken Hermione was back. "Stop!" he commanded. He held his wand in a fighting stance, and the even though they unnumbered him three to one, there was something about his posture, his very height, that warned the death eaters a fight would be devastating to their ranks. "The boy is mine," he further asserted. "He's been promised to me...to deal with."

There was some hesitation. One of the death eaters seemed unsure and made a lunge forward, waving his wand. The hooded figure uttered a few words low in his throat and a bolt of grey light erupted from the tip of his wand. It struck the death eater's arm, engulfing his hand and wand momentarily before turning to dust and dissipating into the air. The death eater cried out in alarm and stopped his charge. Looking at his arm, he saw it had turned to stone. His hand began to crack and his eyes grew wide in terror. The wand broke and crumbled, its pieces tumbling to the floor of the tunnel. "No," he moaned, watching his fingers start to do the same thing. He turned to his companions, his eyes imploring them to help him, but they'd never seen a charm attack like that. So they retreated and ran, leaving their companion to crumble alone.

Draco, shocked by the sight, nearly ran himself, but the hooded figure clutched his hand on his forearm. The last thing Draco noted before they both disapparated was that of the thin hand, it's fingernails painted black, clutching his arm so tight it drew blood. There was something about that hand...

Scene 30:

Hermione Granger stood in the cold alone. The wind blew through the tall trees overhead, bare branches creaking so much she'd thought the limbs would break and come crashing down on her head. She stood in someone's driveway. She didn't know who's. She didn't even know where she was at. She'd been left here by the hooded mystery man who had disaparated her away from Malfoy and the attacking Death Eaters. When they had appeared in the drive, she'd looked up the lane, trying to determine who's house they'd arrived at. "Don't worry," he said. "No one is home." Then he vanished in the very same way they had appeared, leaving her alone, but apparently rescued from danger. For the time being anyway.

A dog howled in the distance and it sounded angry and agitated. The sound made her wary and she held her wand in front of her in case the animal rushed from the surrounding woods. A little voice inside warned her that maybe it wasn't a dog she was hearing, but a wolf. Wolves attack from behind, the inner voice added, and she turned quickly, jabbing her wand in the air. But there was nothing there. No wolves. No dogs. Just the house at the end of the driveway.

The man must have intended she take refuge here, but was she ready to trust him? Just because he rescued her from the other dearh eaters, it was apparent he'd been one himself. When they'd aparated here she'd caught a glimpse of the mark on his forearm,  and there was something dark about his very presence as if his very being was permeated by shadows. And he had taken her away from Draco. Seperated them. Left her alone at a dark mansion that looked anything but accomodating.

There was a popping sound from behind her and she jumped. The hooded man was back. And with him was Draco. She nearly dropped her wand as she ran into his arms. Draco clutched her just as tightly as she clung to him, and his kiss on her cheek seemed to make her forget there was a death eater in her midst. It wasnt until the figure spoke that she came out of her dreamy sense.

"The enemy is everywhere," he spake darkly. "There won't be many safe places. Go home Malfoy."

Draco seemed to realize where he was at now. He looked around him and grinned. "Well, Hermione looks like you get to spend the weekend at my house anyway."

"Your house? This is..."

"Malfoy Mansion," he confirmed. "Why did you bring us here?" he asked, turning to the one who'd rescued them, but he was gone. He had vanished just as quickly as he'd arrived.

"Who was that?"

Draco looked at Hermione. "I'm not sure. Must be a friend of Father's to know who I am and where I live. And he knew you too."
He flashed her a devilish smirk. "But not the way I do...Hermione, I'm..."

"No," she interrupted. "I'm sorry, Draco. I am so sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to. I just didn't want you to go too far in trying to convince others that we weren't together. When I saw you heading after Neville, I  panicked and..."

"Hermione Granger," Draco said, cutting her off. "Don't you ever shut up?"

She looked at him in shock and surprise. Did he just...

His lips were on hers before she could even finish the thought.