"Expelliarmus!"
Michael's wand was thrown across the room before he could react. "Draco, what're you doing?"Michael asked. He hadn't yet realized that the ring was gone. "Draco, what's gotten into your head?"Narcissa snapped as she stood.
"Where's Granger?" Draco questioned, his wand pointed at Michael.
"What-"
"WHERE IS GRANGER"He yelled, his wand shaking in his hand. Aurors rushed into the room.
"Mr. Malfoy, we need you to lower your wand and tell us what's happening" Kingsley said slowly.
Blaise got up from his seat, along with the other 4 that knew. "Draco... I don't know what's gone through your head, but lower your wand. I'm just as worried for Hermione as you are" Michael told, his hands up in surrender.
"You left her in a pool of blood"Draco muttered, his breath heavy.
"Draco what're you talking about"Eleanor snapped as she got up as well.
"You left her to-"
"What is wrong with you-"
"WHERE IS MY FUCKING GIRLFRIEND"
Michael dodged the curse Draco threw at him but he barely missed Ginny's. "Where's Hermione?" She snarled, stepping forward.
"I don't know what nonsense has gotten into your heads-"
"YOU HAVE HER BLOOD ON YOUR SHOES, YOU BASTARD!"Draco roared, shooting another hex at him.
The other 3 came, their wands raised at him, all paler than the next. "I saw her..." Blaise mumbled, staring at the man in disbelief. He would've killed him if he weren't there only source on where Hermione was.
"You have her locked up! You've been torturing her for weeks!"Blaise barked, his eyes tearing up. "Where is she?"Harry questioned.
"Michael couldn't possibly hurt his own daughter!" Eleanor said as she stormed over. "Tell me where she is, or I will kill you right here"Draco promised, stepping forward. "I don't know what you're talking about!"Michael snapped.
"WHY WAS HER RING IN YOUR POCKET!" He yelled. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. "She didn't have it when she disappeared. She took it off when we were in detention. She left her ring in the dungeons"Draco snapped.
"You were in charge of the Wilkins case"Pansy added, her eyes burning with fury. "You were the one messing with the evidence!"
"You didn't report the unforgivables done on Horace Slughorn"Kingsley's voice was heard.
A small smile slowly appeared on Michael's face. A small humoured smile. "Took you some time didn't it..."
The ring flying into his hand, he apparated on the spot as 6 curses and hexes were thrown in his direction. "They're still at her house"Harry reminded quickly, and just like that, they left everyone behind, confused, worried and scared.
Eleanor fainted as they left, her head barely missing the table. "Call back up, they'll return soon"Kingsley demanded as Narcissa rushed to Eleanor's side. "Call the Weasleys, the order. The more we have, the better. Only have them come if they're completely voluntary"He told.
~
Hermione heard yelling from the floor above and stirred in her sleep. "I am telling you, we have to get out of here! Now!"They were shouting.
What was happening? She sat up quickly, feeling dizzy. The chains on her wrists heated up instantly but it didn't stop her as she struggled to sit up straight. The gash on her cheek started to burn, along with the mark in her arm. There was more yelling and they began running around.
She almost didn't notice the figure that moved in the corner. Her head shot towards it as she shifted closer to the wall. "Hermione"The voice mumbled.
She opened her mouth to speak but forgot her vocal cords had been severely damaged. She couldn't make a sound.
"They're going to find you... but we can't be here when they do" She heard. Hermione closed her eyes. It was Monica and Wendell.
"Be prepared when they come. You need to be able to run out of here" Monica's voice was heard.
"Avada Kedavra". Hermione eyes shot open as she watched the spell hit them. Two bodies fell to the floor in front of her cage. Her parents, the ones that raised her, the ones that were always there for her, now lay dead before her.
She couldn't speak but she knew if she could, she would've cried out to them. She couldn't walk but she knew if she could, she would've ran to them. She couldn't cry but she knew if she could, she would've held their bodies close to her and sobbed over them.
Because no matter what they had done, they were the people that raised her. The ones who taught her how to love and care and always be grateful for everything. They were her family. Her forever parents.
Before she could even begin to think, another unforgivable was shot, this time at her.
~
"If anything happens to her, Potter, I will kill you"
"We will go in, all at once and attack. Hermione is in the dungeons, locked in a cellar. She is badly injured so whoever finds her, they need to apparate completely focused. If she's splinched, she'll die" Harry told.
Draco glared at the back of his head. They'd taken his wand so he wouldn't barge into the place alone. They were making a pathetic plan. It had only been 5 minutes since Michael Zabini had left but it felt like a century.
"Does everyone have their wands?"Kingsley asked. Pansy threw Draco his wand and he instantly apparated away, the others behind him.
A curse was flung at his head the second he appeared. He dodged it and sent a nonverbal spell at the wizard. People were yelling all around him, throwing curses and hexes. Draco ran forward as he heard a deafening scream, a scream that he had heard barely a year ago. Her.
With a protection charm around him, he cursed every wizard that came in his way, charging towards a door. Lights flew around him, curses, jinxes, and hexes. There was people apparating left and right, cowards. He kicked in the door, about to run in when he heard another yell behind him.
He spun around, his eyes shooting to the red head thrashing on the ground; a person in a black cloak not too far away. "Confringo!" He yelled. The person was knocked back, having to take the Cruciatus curse off Ginny to defend himself.
He saw Harry run to her aid so Draco continued towards the other screaming. Hermione's. The room had two long narrow staircase. One going up and the other going down. He couldn't hear anymore yelling, he was just there trying to figure out where to go. Dungeons.
Another scream was let out, and he knew it was from down below. Draco practically flew down the stairs, hearing footsteps behind him. Pansy, Theo and Blaise joined him at the bottom of the stairs. There was a large metal door covered in charms. The screaming began to die down as they removed the locking charms, and Draco was scared he wouldn't make it in time.
Scared that he wouldn't be able to say good bye. Scared that the last thing he was able to tell her was that she meant nothing to him.
Ron charged down the stairs, only being able to come so far due to the restraining order. So he began shooting spells from the stair case, Harry and Ginny following later.
The yelling upstairs stopped and more running was heard. Fred and Charlie arrived at the door before the aurors, and with over 10 people shooting counter-curses at the door, it finally flew open.
Draco barely charged in before he froze, so did the others. The ones who had apparated away were spread across the room. Their wands out. But that wasn't the thing that caused him to stop. Hermione was in the middle, being held up by her hair by Michael, his wand at her throat.
There was scars and cuts all over her, covering her face, arms and legs. Her clothes were drenched in blood, along with some splashed across her skin.
"Lower your wands, or I will kill her" Michael told, a manic grin on his face. Draco shifted his eyes away from the man, onto Hermione. She was staring at him, but she seemed out of it. Like she wasn't really there. He heard shuffling behind him but didn't dare move.
"Draco" he heard. "Come on Draco, you don't want to be the reason she dies, do you?"Michael teased, his wand pressing deeper into Hermione's throat.
Draco's eyes didn't leave hers as he silently casted a protection charm around her; causing the wand on her throat to shake slightly. His wand was still pointed at them. "Draco don't risk it" He heard behind him. How could they give up on her so easily? This could be the only chance they have of saving her.
"I promised" Draco mumbled. Michael's grin twitched in confusion, his hold on Hermione visibly loosening as he thought. Draco heard more moving behind him, some muttering too. He inhaled deeply one more time, his eyes finally leaving Hermione's.
"Avada Kedavra!"
All hell broke loose. Michael was thrown back, the people behind him throwing curses and hexes as Draco ran forward. As the charm around Hermione broke as one of the people shot a curse at her, Draco was on the ground beside her. Gently but quickly, he wrapped his arms around her and apparated away.
Multiple healers were waiting in her room. "Hurry, put her on the bed"The head healer instructed, rushing forward. Draco placed her on her bed gently, tears stinging his eyes as hers struggled to stay open. "Do something! Now!"Draco snapped at them. He kneeled down beside her, his hand holding hers.
The head healer casted a spell on her, and began talking quickly to the other healers. "Cruciatus curse, multiple times, blood loss, broken ribs, burns..." Was the only things he could make out. "Granger- Stay with me, just a little longer. Please" He muttered to her as her eyes kept fluttering closed.
His voice was distant, she could barely hear him. With the last piece of energy she had, she forced her head to turn to the right. She stared at him and that only caused his tears to fall. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry"He began repeating over and over. Even though it pained her to do so, she squeezed his hand gently.
The doors of her room were thrown open, revealing her mother and Narcissa Malfoy. "Hermione!"She heard her mother cry. She couldn't turn her head again but even if she could, she wouldn't. Draco seemed to shake beside her as the healers muttered spells around her.
They began to give her potions, one after the other. They pulled up her right sleeve and moved to do the same to her left, but she gripped the edge of the sleeve. The healer tried again but Hermione wouldn't let her. "She clearly doesn't want you to lift it, leave her"Draco barked, glaring at the young healer.
The healer quickly stepped away, and others came in, checking her pulse, her eyes. "Concussion"One of them said as he checked both her eyes. "I know that, you have to give her another potion!"The head healer snapped.
~
Eventually, everyone returned, barely injured. They were all forced to wait outside, Draco threatening to hex all of them if they tried to make him leave. They waited out in the hallway of her room. "How could he do such thing"Eleanor whimpered, pacing out in the hall. "Just wait for his trial, I'll never let him see the light of day again"She muttered.
"He's dead"
Eleanor and Narcissa snapped their heads towards Ginny. "What?"Eleanor questioned. "Draco killed him, Merlin bless his brilliant mind"Blaise said, glancing up above with his hands out in a praying motion.
"Will you hurry up!"Harry snapped as he banged on the door of Hermione's room. "It's been 20 minutes! Give us a check up at least"He said, hiding his face from the others as tears threatened to escape.
On the other side of the door, they were still rushing around, saying every healing spell they could think of. Draco still had his hand in Hermione's but he had his back to her as they took off her blouse. He heard them muttering about magical injuries and closed his eyes tightly.
He would've killed Michael if he hadn't already. Now, he wished he could've made it more painful for him. "You can turn back Mr. Malfoy" He heard the head healer say. He looked over his shoulder and saw they'd put her in a short sleeved hospital gown, the left sleeve of her blouse still attached to her arm.
The healers stepped back as the head healer let out a sigh. "We've gotten everything under control"She told, glancing up at the monitoring spells. "Go give them an update"Draco said as the knocking was heard again. He got off the floor and sat on the edge of her bed. "Would you like me to tell you first?"She asked. He glanced up for a second and gave a short nod.
"She's physically stable for now but she'll need to rest for a few days, possibly weeks. Her vocal cords are badly damaged, but we've given her potions to help with it. She'll be able to speak within a few minutes, possibly half an hour"The healer began. "There's a few cursed scars and burns which require potions we don't have right now, but we've done enough so they won't pain her as much. She might have trouble walking and moving her arms so it'll take another few weeks to heal"She explained.
"Ms. Zabini, I'm healer Penny, is it alright if I check your arm?"The healer asked gently. Hermione, her head still facing Draco, gave him a tiny shake of her head. "No, she doesn't want you to"Draco told them. "Alright, I'll have my team return to St.Mungos to get more potions but 2 of them will stay here. I will go update the rest" She said. She waved her wand and the sheets of Hermione's bed were cleaned away from any blood.
As they left the room, Draco raised her hand up to his lips, pressing a light kiss on her knuckles. "Forgive me Granger"He mumbled, and for the first time in nearly 3 weeks, she smiled gently, squeezing his hand.