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Breaking the Chain	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 42452 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, that belongs to the glorious J.K Rowling. I don't make any money off of this writing, I simply twist her world for my own pleasure.

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Hermione struggled to get back the breath she had lost. Even knowing what he’d been about to say it still struck her to her core. The consequences of her actions would be paid for with her life.
She knew the fever that had led to her admission had not been her fault. She’d been struck with a powerful curse; even if Draco had known about her injury from the beginning she would have succumbed either way as Alvida had been the only one who could have saved her from the ancient spell.
But she had made the decision to let Draco go back to his family, knowing what he did about Nagini. Her feelings for him had clouded her judgment and now they were all in danger, their only hope to bait her to the darkest wizard of all time.
She’d never survive.
Hermione sat stock still as the men around her shifted uncomfortably while Tonks chewed on her lower lip, her hair fading from its fiery red to a murky black.
As her silence lengthened Snape sat back slowly in his chair, his expression unreadable.
“Miss Granger,” Mad-Eye growled, speaking for the first time since she’d arrived. “We understand that what we ask of you is grievously unreasonable. We did not come to this decision lightly. No one here wishes to see you harm, but the cold hard fact is that you may be our only diversion powerful enough to draw the Dark Lord’s eyes from the snake. It is unfair of us to you of this, but it may be the only chance we have.”
Hermione nodded, her tongue still stuck to the roof of her mouth and she noticed for the first time a hand on her shoulder, though she didn’t bother to see whether it was Remus’ or Arthur’s.

“He won’t kill you right away,” Snape said lowly. “He knows you are the one who was the forerunner in the destruction of his Horcruxes and as he has had his eye on you for quite some time his ire has become…insatiable.”
Hermione repressed a shudder. She must have revealed more than she’d realized if Draco had been able to supply him with this information. Her heart clenched at the reminder of his betrayal.
“He will keep you alive for a while,” Snape continued, his voice as calm as if he were reading instructions from a manual. “He will torture you, play with you, extract information you are not willing to give. He will be obsessed with tearing you apart.”
“Severus, that’s enough!” Arthur snapped beside her, but Snape caught her eye.
“It will give us time.”

No wonder they had wanted Mrs. Weasley to leave, she would have been beside herself if she’d heard Snape’s description. But Hermione knew he didn’t tell her to scare her or torment her; he said it so that she would know what she was getting herself into, so that she could understand that his anger towards her was the greatest chance they had to tear him away from his precious pet.
And that in doing so, she would be submitting herself to a painful and horrifying death.

“I’ll do it.”
The room was tense again, the hand on her shoulder clenching painfully.

“You won’t be alone, Hermione,” Bill spoke up, leaning around his father so that she could see the sincerity in his bright blue eyes. “We’ll all be there, the Order, the Aurors. It will be a staged battle, we’ll take you in, let him find you, and locate the snake. We’ll get you out of there, we won’t leave your side.”

“A contingent will be stationed with you at all times,” Mr. Weasley said, his voice strained. “We won’t send you in there alone. We only need you to hold him off for a few minutes, keep him distracted, get his focus off the snake.”

Tonks spoke up from behind Snape, her eyes flashing. “I’ll be right there with you the whole way. I won’t leave you. I’ll fight off any Death Eater who tries to get in my way.”

“We Aurors will plant a tracking device on you; we’ll know where you are at all times if he attempts to take you elsewhere,” Kingsley informed her in his low, honeyed tones.

She knew what she was committing to. No matter what they did to try to assure her, she knew she would die. Faced against Lord Voldemort’s wrath she stood no chance. There was no way they would be able to find her if he didn’t want them to.
This was the end of the line for her. She’d done what she had been put here to do and now she would give the ultimate sacrifice to her cause. Everyone had to die and what better way than to go out trying to save the world?

“When?”

Snape raised his eyebrow. He’d apparently expected her to fight, to lash out, to cry and beg not to be forced into this. It was apparent her collected composure surprised him. “We are waiting for confirmation, but most likely tomorrow.”

She nodded, swallowing hard. One night. She had one night left to live. She would never get to see her parents again, never get to have a career, never again stand on the beach and feel the sand beneath her toes. She would never know what it would feel like to hold her own child or to get married. She wouldn’t be able to watch her friends fall in love and have families and grow old. But, she told herself, if you do this, you’ll be giving them the chance to do those things. They will go on and be happy. You can’t be selfish.

“Do you have a plan?” she asked calmly, her voice low and even, concealing the turmoil within.

Remus nodded solemnly and they proceeded to explain it to her. Mrs. Weasley walked in silently several minutes later and sat on a chair at the end of the table to listen to the plan, tears coursing down her face. Hermione knew, and she could tell by looks on their faces and the too-hopeful cadence of their voices, that they all knew she wouldn’t make it out alive.
After they had gone over the plan numerous times, every detail being evaluated, every slight miscalculation smoothed out, they excused her. She requested to inform Harry and Ron on her own and they agreed that it would be for the best.
As Hermione ascended the stairs she realized that everything seemed much more real than usual. Her senses appeared to be on high alert, as if her body knew that its time was limited and wished to drink it all in. She could hear the murmurs of the voices below her, could feel the grains of wood on the bannister beneath her fingertips. She could feel her heart pumping much more fiercely than usual as if in denial and smell Ginny’s flowery perfume as she passed by their door.
She would not complain, she couldn’t think of a more noble way to die. She just wished that she had more time…

She stopped outside Sirius’ room and could hear the boys’ deep voices within. She couldn’t understand what they were saying but the sounds of their dulcet tones were enough for her. She leaned against the door for a moment, just listening, and felt the tears building and willed herself not to cry, to be brave. But when a rumble of laughed sounded beyond the door, she felt a sob catch in her throat.
How would she ever be able to say goodbye to them?

Stop it! Stop being such a coward! They need you to be strong, to be brave. Harry has chosen to give his life for all of us numerous times. His parents died for the cause, Sirius, Dumbledore, countless others. You can do it too.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked and turned the doorknob, the metal cool beneath her palm. The boys were lounged on Harry’s four-poster, their faces bright with laughter. Ron’s face fell when he saw her and he looked away, but Harry rolled his eyes and beckoned her inside.
She took a seat at Harry’s desk next to his bed near Ron who scooted up to lean against the headboard and refused to meet her eye. She felt terrible about earlier and now she’d never be able to make it up to him. That would be the last thing he remembered about her; that she’d denied his advances. She closed her eyes in an effort to contain the tears that begged at the corners of her eyes at the thought.
Hermione clasped her trembling hands in her lap and scratched at the seam on her jeans. She looked up at Harry reluctantly while he patiently waited for her to say something. She tried to several times, her mouth gaping open stupidly but the words refused to come.

“Why did they want a meeting with you, Hermione?” Harry offered, his eyes concerned. He could tell there was something going on.

“Yeah, and why couldn’t we come?” Ron complained gruffly. “We’re part of the Order, too!”

“Yes, I know,” she replied meekly. “They wished to speak to me privately…”

“Why?” Harry asked when she lost her words. When she still didn’t answer he began to ask again, but she cut him off, forcing herself to speak.

“Because they have another mission for me.”

“Another one?” Ron thundered. “What in the bloody hell are they thinking? They do know there are other people in this damn place besides you who can do things! All I’ve done is track down bloody Death Eaters!”

Hermione swallowed several times, not able to meet their gaze.

“Hermione, what’s this new mission?” Harry asked slowly and she could hear the accusation beneath it.

“Well, see… there’s a problem. With the snake.”

“Problem?” Ron asked. He sat up higher as Harry scooted towards the edge of the bed, both of them now tense.

She nodded. “Remember how I told you about that fever I contracted while I was…gone?”

They murmured their acknowledgement and she continued.

“Well, I guess I said some things, I was really very sick, I don’t remember saying any of it…however, it turns out I hallucinated and told Draco about Nagini.”

“You WHAT?” Ron thundered.

“Draco?” Harry asked suspiciously. Hermione pretended she didn’t hear him and mentally kicked herself for letting his name slip.

“It wasn’t intentional, Ronald. I didn’t even know I’d said anything until he confronted me about it. He didn’t know everything, he didn’t know about the Horcrux. Thankfully I didn’t tell him that much. I supposed I was just feeling guilty about failing you guys and it sort of…slipped out.”

They were quiet for a minute and then Harry spoke up. “Why didn’t you tell us this in the first place? I mean, it’s not like you did it on purpose, I’m sure no one blames you.”

“I didn’t even think about it, to be honest. He didn’t know what I was talking about and I never dreamed he would tell his father about it. But he did. And now they know that the other Horcruxes are gone.”
They both sputtered in shock, but Hermione went on. “Nagini is under constant supervision, she is never left alone and she is almost always with Voldemort.”

Ron flinched at the name but said nothing. He probably knew it would do no good.

“So what are we going to do?” Harry asked, his voice gravelly, lost.

Here goes. “That’s where I come in.”

“In what way?” Ron asked. “They’re not really expecting you to go after that snake now, are they? If so they’re mental! It’s suicide! You just said it was always guarded, and usually by You-Know-Who!”

“I know what I said, Ron. And no, they are not asking me to go after Nagini.”

“What then?” Harry asked, his eyes wild. If he was any closer to the edge of the bed, he would fall off.
Hermione dropped her head and took a deep breath to steel herself. She could remember nearly every single moment the three of them had spent together. Her memory was nearly photographic and she could see them doing everything; struggling in Devil’s Snare, sitting in the library trying to find a way to make Harry breathe under water, cramming into the toilet stall in Moaning Mytle’s bathroom. She could remember standing uncomfortably in a room full of ghosts at Nearly Headless Nick’s Death-day party, getting their teeth stuck on Treacle Tart at Hagrid’s, walking through Hogsmead while Harry was invisible beneath his cloak. She recalled joking around in Ron’s orange bedroom at the Burrow, fetching water at the Quidditch World Cup, studying under a shady tree by the lake. These two boys, who were very obviously men now, had changed her life so drastically that she couldn’t be sorry she was giving it for them. She would never regret a single moment.
And so, with that thought in her head, she was able to look them in the face and tell them.

“They’re going to use me as bait for Voldemort while you guys find and kill Nagini.”

A moment of stunned silence. Then-

“WHAT?!” they both bellowed. Harry was on his feet screaming about beating some sense into the people downstairs while Ron berated her for even thinking she should do something so foolish.

“Stop! Please, just listen to me! LISTEN TO ME!” They quieted for a moment in shock at her outburst and she was able to drag Harry back by to the bed by the arm. “Please, just hear me out!”

“Use you as bait?” Harry railed, standing back up and staring down at her menacingly. He grabbed her upper arms and lowered his face to hers. “Hermione, are you mad? Do you even know what you are saying? He-will-kill-you!”

“No, he won’t,” she lied keeping her voice calm, as she put her hands soothingly on Harry’s forearms. “At least not right away.”

“Yeah, sure!” Ron shouted coming up and joining Harry. The two had grown sprouted up significantly over the years and formed an alarming front. “Do really you think he’ll let you off easy? Read you a bedtime story? You’re Harry’s friend, you’re a Muggle-born! He’ll rip you to pieces!”

“Hermione, I’ve been up against him, I know what he’s like!” Harry added, his fingers tightening on her arms. “He’ll kill you the second he lays eyes on you! Ron’s right, you’re one of my best friends, he’d do anything to get his hands on you!”

“That’s exactly why they chose me to do this.”
That shut them up.
For a moment.

“What are you saying?” Ron asked weakly.

“Harry, will you please let me go?” she asked as his grip had tightened excruciatingly.

“Sorry,” he muttered and released her, but he didn’t step back, just looked down at her with terror in his eyes. Hermione continued, keeping her voice level and mater-of-fact, hating the devastation each syllable brought t their faces.

“What I’m saying is that he knows I’m the one who located all those Horcruxes. He won’t kill me right away because he’d rather use me for his own twisted pleasure. He’ll torture me for information, he won’t kill me immediately. He knows that there are worse punishments than death. He’ll take his time with me, he’ll be distracted. That will leave you guys to find and kill Nagini. I will be under constant supervision by Order members. As soon as you kill the snake they’ll take me out of there. This plan will work.” For you.

“Hermione, no, this is ridiculous! There is no way I’m going to let you do this!” Harry raged, heading towards the door once more.

“It’s not your decision to make, Harry! Now will you please just calm down and see reason?” she pled, grabbing at his arm, which he wrenched from her. He kept going and she huffed in frustration.
Hermione waved her arm furiously and the door slammed shut and sealed itself with a resounding pop before he could reach it. Whipping around, Harry was about to snap at her before booking down at her bare hands. Harry and Ron stared at her as though she’d grown two heads.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“Hermione,” Ron said weakly. “You’re not holding your wand. You didn’t use your wand.”

Startled, she realized she hadn’t. She had left it next to her bed. She barely even thought about it anymore, no longer needing it. She could remember a time when she never would have left the room without it. Even going to the bathroom she would take it. But now, it was just a second thought.

“I told you we couldn’t use wands,” she replied.

“Yeah, I guess, but I just never realized…bloody hell! You can do wandless magic!” Ron said, thunderstruck. She knew he had never succeeded in the art, having had trouble turning a match into a needle.

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“Anything, I suppose.”

“Can you Levitate me?” he asked eyes wide, enthralled by her new talent until Harry cleared his throat. Ron quickly sobered and turned back to the task at hand.

“Even though you can do magic without your wand doesn’t mean anything,” Harry said. “Voldemort is ten times stronger, faster, darker. He could hit you with a hundred different spells before you can think of one. There is no way in fucking hell I’m going to let him have a go at you just so we can kill that goddamned snake. We’ll figure out another way.”

“There isn’t one, Harry! We’re out of time! There is no other way. He’s wanted me dead for months now, Malfoy told me so. And now that he knows I helped with the Horcruxes he’ll be beside himself once I’m in his grasp! It’s the only chance we have of taking his mind off Nagini long enough to kill her, and you know it. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you!” Harry thundered, his arms flailing in his anger. “Hermione, I trust you with my life, with everything I have. I know you can hold your own in a battle. I’ve seen you fight and I couldn’t wish for anyone better at my back. But I won’t subject you to this, it’s asking too much.”

“No, it’s not Harry. This is my fault. We would never be in this situation if it weren’t for me.”

“Hermione! It’s not your fault!” Ron added. “It was an accident, you were hallucinating! If you need to repent go do the dishes for mum or something, don’t go throwing yourself at You-Know-Who!”

“I am not throwing myself! You two make it sound as if I am just going to lay there and take his abuse! I’ll fight him, weaken him as much as I can until you guys come for me and then Harry can finally finish him once and for all. I won’t be alone, I’ll have protection. It will work. Just sit down and we’ll talk about this. Please?”

The two looked at each other, conversing with their eyes as only two best friends can. After a moment they relented and lowered themselves onto the bed.
“Thank you,” she said, relieved she didn’t have to fight with them anymore, and then Ron spoke.

“You know, we’re not doing this because we agree to this ridiculous plan. We’re doing it because you sealed the bloody door.”

The three of them looked at the door and Hermione turned back to them sheepishly where they were grinning like fools. She looked into the amused faces of her best friends and the three of them laughed.

Yes, she could give her life for them.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Draco swung open the doors to the Manor and strode in as if her were still master of the house. It was his given right to meander about the place as he damn well pleased and he instilled a persona of confidence and security; his face a mask to the outside world from the tumult within. His expensive shoes rang against the glossy tile as his long strides pulled him towards his formidable destination.
He heard his name being called out by someone to his right but he continued on without even glancing their way. He would do as he was told, just as he had for his entire life. His entire existence had been centered on the bidding of others but he was here to help stop that. He was doing as Snape commanded because he knew the man would steer him true, he knew that what Snape had asked him to do was for the greater good and he had entrusted it to him for a reason.
Even though it might kill him, he would go through with these orders, one last time he would take them from someone else and then, when this was all over, he would go forth and forge a life of his own in which he had to answer to no one but himself.

Draco stopped outside the cold black doors that were flanked by two masked Death Eaters.

“I wish an audience with our Master,” he said curtly.

“Is he expecting you?” came the voice of Macnair from his left.

“No, but I believe he will be pleasantly surprised. Go inform him that I wish to speak with him, I will wait until he is ready.” Draco took a seat in a wingback chair situated across from the large double doors specifically for the purpose of awaiting the Master’s summons.

After a slight hesitation, Macnair did as Draco had told him and disappeared inside the room after knocking on the door which swung open to admit him. He was gone for several minutes in which Draco sat mightily on the chair as he always had, keeping his arrogant self on the fore-front for the as-yet-unknown Death Eater was still keeping guard at the right hand side of the door. When Macnair returned he wheezed, “Our Master will see you, now.”

“Excellent!” Draco leapt to his feet and sauntered past the guards into the room lit only by firelight. Somber lighting had always seemed to be a fascination with the Dark Lord. Or perhaps he was simply so evil he could no longer stand the light of day.

“Young Malfoy, what a pleasure it is to see you, and so soon! I’d quite thought you might have run again,” the cold voice came from the tall figure looming over the fire, gazing into its depths, one hand patiently stroking his pet snake that was coiled around his shoulders.
He could kill it now, it was so close, he could just reach out…
Draco knelt behind the Dark Lord and spoke to the floor.

“Never, my Lord. My only goal is to serve you. I have come with information I hope you will find useful.”

“Rise.”

Draco did so and looked into the eyes of the snake-like face before him. One long, bony finger trailed its way down Draco’s cheek and he fought not to shudder. He kept his mind closed of the parts he did not want the Dark Lord to know, bringing to the fore false images of hate against the Muggle-borns and servitude to his Master.

“Your mood has greatly improved in just a single day, Draco. What has made you so sure of yourself?” the Dark Lord drawled as Nagini slowly coiled down his long body, slithering to the floor to settle before the roaring fire. The steely voice froze Draco’s innards. He could feel the evil pouring out of the half-man he had pledged his life to. What had ever made him want to serve a maniac like him?

“I have done some inner contemplating and I am ready to take my true place in this world,” he said entirely truthfully. “I regret the wrong-doings of my past. I am ready to prove myself fully.”

The Dark Lord studied him for an agonizing minute and finally nodded.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I found some information yesterday that I think you will find most beneficial,” he said, remembering the plan he’d made with Snape only the night before word-for-word, though it tore at his heart to utter the words.

“Go on.”

Gods, save me from what I’m about to do. Please forgive me. “I regret to inform you that Hermione Granger has located and helped destroy your Horcruxes.”

His gut twisted with pain as he watched the Dark Lord’s face warp in anger. His fists clenched and Draco knew he was on a thin thread of control and he wondered wildly if the psychotic man might just strike him down right there out of pure rage. Then he thought of that gaze locked on Hermione instead and he felt sick. What have you done?

He seemed to struggle for composure. “You are sure of this?”

“Yes, my lord. She used a Time Turner to go back and follow you. She figured out exactly how retrieve the hidden Horcruxes and led the Order straight to them.”

The Dark Lord strode away from Draco and back to the fireplace, one hand grasping the mantle very tight, the other squeezing his wand as if preparing to use it.

“I will bring her to you so that you may enact justice.”

The Dark Lord was quiet.

“Give me a few more days and I can-”

“I gave you two, Draco,” the Dark Lord snapped, turning on him, his tone dangerous. “Do you mean to tell me that you cannot produce her in that amount of time?”

“Of course not, my lord!” Draco said. “I can extract her readily enough, but I require my wand. It was seized upon my arrival. If my gracious lord would grant me access to it I will have her here as you wish, tomorrow.”
The Dark Lord contemplated for a long moment, before twisting his wrist, Draco’s wand dropping into his outstretched hand from thin air. He held it out to him and Draco bowed, retrieving it.
“You will, or you will pay. That girl has met the last of her days and I wish to see to the end of them. She will suffer most dearly for ever thinking she could thwart the Dark Lord! I will show you what we do to those who think they can best the greatest wizard who ever lived. Her dirty blood will stain the wood, mark my words. Bring her to me by noon tomorrow, Draco, or I will hunt you down and you too, shall see my wrath. Now, leave.”
“Yes my lord, thank you my lord.”

Draco stumbled in his haste to depart. He could feel the anger radiating off the creature now crooning in Parseltongue to his snake as he threw open the doors and hurried down the hallway. He fought with himself not to run but he was terrified of the beast behind him and he did not want to run into his-

“Draco!”

-father.

Remembering Snape’s words, Draco acted as if he hadn’t heard his sire and hurried across the entrance hall, nearly falling outside so that he could Apparate away. As soon as his feet hit the concrete he was turning, Spinners End on his mind. When he landed he ran as fast as he could and threw himself into the creaky old house which was now his sanctuary. His breath came in pants as slammed the door shut and fell against it, beating his fists against the wood repeatedly, anger coursing through him.

What have you done?

He’d betrayed the only person he’d ever loved, that’s what he’d done. He’d secured her death, placed the two coins on her eyes for the boatman. He felt as if his soul were ripping in two and for a moment he found it hard to breathe, his chest was constricted and his heart no longer wanted to pump blood into his screaming vessels. Gripping the door handle he slumped to the floor with a sob and laid his head against the rotting wood, his world in pieces. He would never forgive himself.

It took him a long while to regain composure. Taking a few deep breaths he pulled himself together and took another moment before he heaved himself to his feet and headed to the shelves of books lined around the room. There had to be something, somewhere that could help him. Grabbing one at random he threw it onto the coffee table and began flipping through the musty pages, determination urging him on.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

XOXO

RynStar15
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Breaking the Chain