Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Fooling Fate sequel to Bound	By : goldhorse Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 44179 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That lucky duck JK Rowling does. I don't make any money from this fanfic. I just play with her toys and put them back in relatively good condition.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Melody swore until she was blue in the face as she battled a Rakshasa. Her opponent was doing a bang up job of pissing her right the fuck off. It kept transforming from a giant of a man to a small little girl with golden pigtails that looked identical to Harmony as a child. It was almost impossible not to recoil when it did that and she was quickly becoming frustrated with herself for hesitating.

“Duck!” Celeste cried.

Melody hit the ground just as a cold wind rushed into the hall. Poltergeist! Luckily, its appearance seemed to stun the Rakshasa, for she was able to spring up and land a crunching blow to its solar plexus before promptly twisting its neck until she heard a distinct snap. It fell to the ground with a thud, reverting back to something resembling a bad cross between a mermaid and a dwarf. She shuddered and turned to see Alex getting the upper hand with his opponent as well.

Before she could step in, another green ball of mist came sliding her way. She quickly went into the splits, ducking its initial attack and forcing it to face her in its human form. From there, she quickly went to town, throwing a rain of punches down on it and trying to rip his throat out. She registered the heat at her back and spun out of the way before she was singed, never missing a beat.

Severus sidestepped the jet of fire the current demon he was facing threw at him. He’d already banished a dozen, Celeste binding them while he worked. This one seemed to have escaped her and he was once again thankful for his lightening quick reflexes. A few spells later and Celeste had the fire demon under control once more. He recited the banishing spells again and again until the fire flickered out and the demon sunk into the floor, returning from whence he came.

Celeste breathed out a sigh of relief as the demon disappeared and turned to find the new poltergeist that decided to join the party. It was definitely not a harmless entity like the fun loving and innocently mischievous Peeves. No, this one was decidedly nasty and was aiming right for Philippe. She cried out for him to dodge but he was hit with a full blast to the back.

“FUCK!” Celeste screamed and ran over to her brother who was currently writhing around on the floor in front of a cell full of older teens. “Fight it Philippe. Fight!”

Philippe’s eyes snapped open, his gentle caramel colored gaze gone; empty black pools were staring back at her instead. He smirked to rival the devil and threw out a hand. The force that left him sent her sailing across the room. Her head smacked against the bars of the cell, sounding dangerously like a melon on concrete. That gave the poltergeist plenty of time to gain control of Philippe. He rose from the ground, eerily similar to Dracula in that moment. The now possessed Philippe started sauntering toward the cell at the very back, the one filled with younger children.

Celeste cursed her stupidity and charged him full force after making sure Severus was okay. He was very skilled but even he wasn’t invincible. She regretted not paying closer attention to the poltergeist’s intentions when it first joined the fray and was now exceedingly glad Melody had gotten out of the way. Philippe was an immensely powerful wizard, but he was no match for the centuries old poltergeist.

She was pushed backwards when she was within ten feet of him. So the poltergeist wanted to play that way, huh? She decided to forgo her wand. Philippe’s possessor would know she didn’t need it anyway. She quickly conjured a magical banishment bubble and encased her possessed brother inside. The poltergeist seemed to wither, unable to feed off of Philippe’s magical energy anymore. She felt Severus’s presence behind her, his strength leaking into her and calming her enough to start banishing the entity that inhabited her brother.

It felt like forever before white mist poured from Philippe’s nose and mouth. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. His whole body seemed to collapse in on itself but she couldn’t worry about that now. She commanded the poltergeist to leave but it was arguing with her, burying its claws deep within her brother’s soul and refusing to leave the wealth of power it had found. Finally, she directed it to a Rakshasa that was currently taking on both Alex and Melody. It zipped over and consumed the magical creature, both writhing in pain before exploding in a shower of ash.

“Well, I never thought about that,” Alex said a bit out of breath. “Thanks. How is he?”

“Not good,” Melody whispered and made her way over to her now very weak brother-in-law. His face was ashy and looked drawn. “That fucker drained him faster than anything I’ve ever seen.”

“It was very old,” Celeste said softly. “Possibly as old as this castle and has been running with demons.”

“Never a good combination,” Severus muttered. “Prognosis?”

“Rest,” Melody said finally. “But we’ve got to finish first. Port key him out of here.”

“No!” Harmony cried. “Not yet.”

“Why?” Melody asked, her eyes narrowed.

“T-the lesser o-of two evils,” Harmony said, her eyes seconds away from leaking tears.

“No time,” Harry screamed from the other side of the room. He’d been simultaneously covering the children and Ginny from the rapidly waking guards. “I can’t hold them all.”

“Coming,” Severus snapped and ran back to help them. Alex and Celeste were hot on his heels.

Melody was caught between helping hold the guards and helping her sister with Philippe. Torn, she fell to her knees and lent Philippe some of her magic. “Harm?”

Harmony shook her head sadly and placed a shaking hand on her sister’s temple. Images flooded Melody’s mind. If Philippe were to go immediately, their advantage would be blown and Draco and Hermione would be forfeit. They were facing a great faceless opponent who would sense his departure and take it out on the pure couple. If he were to stay, he might be forfeit, his end coming in a number of scenarios. There were so many tangents though, it was difficult to make sense but it was clear that he had to stay.

“I understand,” Melody breathed and lent some more of her strength to Philippe, who perked up almost immediately.

“Enough,” he snapped. “Don’t drain yourself. I’ll live.”

“Ungrateful ass,” Melody spat.

“No,” Philippe countered tiredly. “I’ll never be ungrateful. I just don’t want you compromised. Go, finish the guards. We’ll get the children out.”

Melody nodded curtly and ran across the dungeons, knocking one guard flat on his back when he tried to hex Ginny from behind. She clasped hands with Alex and they sent out a wave of energy, effectively knocking their opponents off balance. Severus and Celeste hit every one with a full body bind and piled them into a corner before casting several sticking charms and a containment ward around them. It would be easier to kill them, but dead people didn’t talk and they needed to garner as much information as possible.

Harry and Ginny, seeing that the guards were down for the count, ran back to the cells. They picked locks as quickly as they could, throwing doors open and leaving Harmony and a very tired Philippe to drag the emaciated bodies of the survivors to the stairwell. They had to dodge the ghosts, demons, and a Rakshasa or two along the way while the other phenoms faught them off but their efforts were paying off.

Over all, they had probably two dozen survivors gathered and only one cell remained. It was the very last cell at the back of the dungeons, the one they kept Zandra in while she was recovering. Two boys were inside, one about Serena’s age and one no older than Sable Weasley. They were both skeletons but they had the telltale pointy ears and teeth of someone newly turned like Zandra. It was imperative they get these two, if no others.

Harry made a grab for the oldest, leaving Ginny struggling to pull the smaller boy into her arms. They broke for the stairs, hoping to get outside before it was too late. Just as they reached the base of the stairs, a loud explosion sounded out, knocking the breath out of everyone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“That’s impossible,” Draco whispered as he stared into a face that was so familiar it made his stomach ache.

“Not really,” the figure said dismissively, regarding his fingernails with practiced disinterest in the situation.

“Lucius,” Hermione said flatly. Rage had built up in her so strong she could have cast the killing spell without a second blink.

“Not quite,” the figure said. “If you’ll notice, Harry Potter isn’t the only one who has his mother’s eyes.”

“What?” Draco asked, his voice back and strong, much to his surprise.

“Oh come now, father always said you were the brains of the family. Can you really not figure it out?”

“Father,” Draco said dully. “You look like him.”

“Naturally,” the figure said haughtily. “All Malfoys do.”

“Not all,” Hermione muttered, thinking of her own precious children. Rose and Jacob took after her but there was still no mistaking the Malfoy traits, angles and a certain amount of poise.

“The pureblood ones do,” the figure said with narrowed eyes. “It’s amazing what sullying the bloodline will do.”

Draco’s eyes sparked with fire. “You’ll not talk to her like that.”

“Or what?” the figure taunted before casually flicking his cane. Their wands went flying to him. “Will you curse me? Of course not. You are a coward.”

Draco snorted, over exaggerating his movements so he could stick his hand in his pocket. A quick flick of his wrist later, and the book lying heavily in his pocket went whizzing away to the Ranch. That way, no matter what, their mission was completed. Breathing a small sigh of relief, he decided to bait his attacker and see what he could learn.

“You know nothing of courage, hiding behind mere boys who do your bidding and call you master.”

“Mmm, you are wrong there. I am not the Master.”

“Then who are you?” Hermione snapped.

“Watch it mudblood,” the figure sneered, causing a shudder to crawl down her spine at how much the man resembled Lucius. “I am Cygnus Lucian LeStrange-Malfoy.”

“Figures,” Draco muttered. “You’re as batshit crazy as Bella.”

“I’m certainly not a pathetic little worm like you, dear, dear big brother.”

Hermione felt bile rise in her throat. This man was Draco’s half-brother then. Imagine…Lucius and Bellatrix having a child together. Actually, seeing how well they worked together to torture Narcissa, it made sense. The man before them was the spitting image of Lucius Malfoy from his long silvery hair to his silver snake head cane…except for the eyes. He had Bellatrix’s dark eyes, their reflections just as cruel and hateful as hers.

“How old are you?” Draco asked with narrowed eyes.

“Oh, I’d say a few months behind you,” Cygnus said snidely.

Draco was pleased that no shock registered on his face despite all the organs in his body doing a full summersault at the news. “Then who raised you? Bella was in Azkaban for most of your life.”

“The Master of course.”

“And he is….” Hermione drawled in her most bored tone.

Cygnus sneered. “Not here. The Master is much too important to be dealing with pathetic little shits like you.”

Draco chuckled darkly. “Ah yes, pathetic enough to penetrate Khrone’s defenses.”

“Luck.”

“Skill,” Draco countered, pleased to see the rage flash in his opponent’s eyes. He refused to think of him as a half-brother, as family. He couldn’t begrudge Cygnus his blood but he could have turned out different. After all, hadn’t Draco turned from Lucius’s teachings?

“I grow weary of this conversation,” Cygnus said after taking a moment to compose himself. “Now we’ll see just how much of what Lucius said was true and how much was merely hot air. I’d gather most of it.”

“Out of curiosity,” Draco said, trying to stall and give the others time to escape. Surely the Master trusted Cygnus to handle everything. At least, he hoped that was true. His ears hadn’t picked anything else up except for fighting so far. “What exactly did he tell you about me?”

Cygnus offered an evil smirk. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Draco snorted. “That’s easy. I’ve never heard of you in my entire life. Lucius must have been ashamed.”

A red spark went whizzing past Draco’s ear after that remark but he scarcely cared and refused to flinch. He was getting to his opponent, and that was the most important step if one wanted to get the upper hand. No one could think properly if they were too angry to see straight.

“Ashamed,” Cygnus said flatly. “He was certainly ashamed of you…especially towards the end. However, he touted your power most. It certainly wasn’t your mind. Draco is second in his class, bested by a mudblood. You even married the little cunt.”

Draco sent an order for Hermione to remain standing still and not to react. It wouldn’t do for Cygnus to know that was their weak spot. The first time Scorpius ever uttered that word, he’d been punished so severely he still flinched when he heard that word from others.

“My power?” Draco asked, trying to lace enough bewilderment in his tone to throw Cygnus off the scent.

“Ah yes, your power,” Cygnus said darkly. “Draco is so powerful. Why, he performed his first healing charm at six. He mastered fiendfyre at fourteen. He’s so powerful I have to hold him back. So powerful… and yet, I haven’t seen that power once.”

“Meaning you’ve tried to look,” Draco said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Cygnus smirked and began to walk in slow circles around the room, stopping now and then to finger an instrument here and there. “Oh I have looked. You’re quite careful; I’ll give you that. You won’t perform complex healing charms in front of others, yet your patients are miraculously healed the first time. You make a point of reaching for your wand for any and everything but doors close and ward themselves without so much as a flick. Quite the puzzle. The most intriguing fact though, is that your children all require dampening bracelets. Why is that?”

Draco felt his blood freeze. Just how close had they been to being discovered? He struggled to keep his face straight, knowing Hermione’s stone look was still plastered on her face despite the huge blow. He had to steer the conversation away from his children.

“They are merely trinkets,” Draco said dismissively. “I admit they contain protections but they do not hinder their magical ability in the least.”

“I’m sure,” Cygnus snorted. “You won the genetic lottery though, your mother being a phenom and all.”

Draco furrowed his brow to mimic confusion. “What are you on about now?”

“Oh come now, surely you know how special Narcissa Black is. At least, it would seem you do. You certainly snatched her away quickly…and placed her under the care of a vampire no less, and with a werewolf to back him up. Then again, perhaps you don’t know the value of her blood.”

“She is my mother,” Draco said tightly. “I will protect her no matter what. What is she to you anyway?”

“Oh, just an intriguing prospect, to be sure. You see, Bellatrix was a very powerful witch, and Lucius an equally powerful wizard, but there was never any need to bind my magic like they did yours.”

Draco said nothing. He was so certain Lucius had never confided that to a soul, Bellatrix included.

“Surprised, are we?” Cygnus drawled, sounding so much like Lucius in that moment that Draco was hard pressed not to shudder. “Lucius might have been an accomplished legilimens, but he was no match for me. He never told a soul, but I saw it in his mind. They bound your magic when you were just a wee tot, too scared that you’d draw attention to yourself.”

Draco couldn’t stop the grimace that stole across his face. In truth, Lucius didn’t bind him until he was about to enter Hogwarts because he had no wand in which to channel his energy. He wondered why Lucius would give Cygnus a false memory. Had he known of the Master’s intentions even back then? Cygnus was only seventeen when Lucius died, if he wasn’t lying about his age.

“I wonder,” Cygnus said slowly. “Perhaps that is why you refuse to show your magic. It is bound…and embarrassingly pitiful. I could unbind it for you...for a price.”

Draco chuckled, pleased to see annoyance flicker across Cygnus’s face. “My magic isn’t bound. Try again.”

“What do you mean?”

Draco raised an incredulous eyebrow. “I don’t believe I stuttered or spoke in riddles. My. Magic. Isn’t. Bound.”

Cygnus shook his head in disbelief. “But…but that’s…only Lucius could have taken it off and I didn’t see that in there.”

Draco smirked. “Maybe he wasn’t quite as weak minded as he led you to believe.”

“Impossible!”

“Is it?” Draco asked, examining his fingernails this time. It was an old move, one Lucius first taught him as a child. Feign disinterest and it gets to your captors better. Cygnus had used it at the beginning of whatever this conversation was meant to be. It was his turn now and he could tell it got under his opponent’s skin. That meant he had the advantage. Lucius hadn’t taught him the subtle art of manipulating and intimidating an opponent.

“Lucius was a coward, a pathetic driveling worm.”

“And yet he was the best torturer the Dark Lord ever employed,” Draco said softly. “And he hid the fact that my magic was bound from the Dark Lord himself, the third best legilimens in the world. I’d say he was a fair bit more powerful than you believe.”

“Third?” Cygnus sneered. “Behind who?”

Draco smirked. “That is none of your business.”

“Or so you say,” Cygnus said in a deadly tone before pointing his wand straight at Draco’s head and snarling, “Legilimens!”

Draco picked the images he let Cygnus see very carefully, still thankful that his wife helped him guard his mind. Cygnus was indeed quite powerful, probably along the lines of the Dark Lord himself. However, Melody and Severus were better and they made sure that his and Hermione’s minds were locked tight before the second war started. They’d only gotten better since then.

The first memory he allowed his half-brother to see was one of Lucius mercilessly casting legilimens on him repeatedly when he wasn’t yet gone fourteen. He remembered that day quite vividly. After the brutal mind beating he received, Lucius locked him in a room and had him cast fiendfyre. He allowed Cygnus to view that as well, the terrifying fire beast descending upon him before he squeezed his eyes shut and screamed, hoping it would go away. He cut away before he could see the fire freezing in its tracks as the sheer amount of magic that left him stopped it cold. He also wouldn’t be privy to the fact that the mere act of controlling the deadly fire broke his binding.

Just when he felt Cygnus push for more, he showed him a particularly brutal scene he witnessed when he was fifteen, right after the Dark Lord returned. Lucius had been in rare form that night, the star of the revel and had forced Draco to come and watch him at work. He cracked six muggles in an hour, all with the use of his specialized cruciatus combined with a legilimens.

Cygnus tried to pull back in shock but Draco trapped him, making him look in on an endless reel of his father’s particular fondness for playing in other’s minds. He showed Cygnus his own training, the pain and torture Lucius and Bellatrix inflicted on his mind to prepare him. They certainly weren’t the ones who had perfected his gift, but they laid quite the foundation. He just played it up a bit to make sure that his half-brother understood that Lucius was quite capable of lying, even in memory.

By the time he allowed Cygnus to leave his mind, his half-brother was dripping with sweat and clutching his head in his hands. That should teach him not to fuck about in other people’s minds, especially unknown ones. He hated that he had revealed a portion of his power so early, but if it was one thing he had learned from Severus (and his wife for teaching him the muggle saying in the first place), it was that an ounce of prevention was more than worth a pound of cure.

“Impossible,” Cygnus puffed after a moment. “His walls crumbled. I saw them.”

“Mnmm,” Draco said non-committally and shifted closer to his wife. The mind session had weakened him ever so slightly. They were still not quite at the peak of health after Lily’s healing.

“No matter,” Cygnus spat. “I’ve had enough of your games.”

“Oh,” Draco said with mock disappointment. “But I haven’t even begun to play yet.”

“Your pathetic attempts at stalling are more than obvious,” Cygnus scoffed. “Your friends are just about to fall to the charms of the castle…and a few of the Master’s friends. Shall we go meet them?”

Before Draco could retort that he wasn’t big enough for the job, six men appeared by his side. They all wore cloaks and silver rune masks of the pure phenoms. He recognized them from memories the children had given them. He and Hermione immediately yielded, buying their time until they could escape and giving the other’s time to finish as well.

Cygnus gave a dry chuckle. “You talk a big game Draco, but in the end you’re just as cowardly as your father.”

“What makes you think Lucius was a coward?”

“He ran before the final battle, didn’t he?”

Draco laughed. “He was subdued before the final battle.”

“How do you know?” Cygnus sneered.

Draco gave him his most evil grin. “Because I did it.”

He could practically hear Cygnus’s heart skip a beat at that tidbit of information. He remembered that day quite vividly, Severus dragging his father behind a tapestry and biting him, making him a slave. He also remembered binding his magic and dragging him to a room, locking him in, only saving him for a meal for Severus later. He felt no remorse for it. After all, his father would have done no less to him for his perceived trechery.

“You lie,” Cygnus finally hissed.

Draco and Hermione chuckled at that, causing their handlers to rough them up a bit. It hardly hurt. They had long ago learned how to lessen feeling without cutting off their senses completely. It had taken the better part of a decade to master that.

“Would you like to hear it in detail?” Draco said as innocently as he could. “Or perhaps you’d like to look for yourself, watch as I bound his magic and locked him up only so he could become a vampire’s meal before Voldemort was defeated? It’s one of my favorite memories. I watched the light leave his eyes.”

Cygnus audibly ground his teeth together. Apparently, more than one image of Lucius Malfoy had shattered in his eyes that day. Instead of questioning them further, he merely muttered something ugly about vampires and motioned for his men to drag them back to the main part of the dungeons. Just as he spun around to leave, something silver flashed in the dim light. A necklace. It was probably the very one Bracken had given to Voldemort, the one charmed to steal Lucius’s magic. Perhaps that was why Lucius’s signature was all over the office. But how could there be no trace of Cygnus’s. Then again, Melody had never seen Cygnus. Perhaps she had just overlooked it.

Before he could discuss the possibilities with Hermione, they were brought to a stop. It was the first time in a few minutes that he noticed the fighting had ceased. It was deathly quiet in the dungeons now, not even a whimper sounding out from the prisoners. He wished desperately that the guards would part so he could see what was going on.

His wish was fulfilled moments later and he found himself wishing they would move back. Their friends were split into groups. Harry, Ginny, Severus, and Celeste were huddled at the bottom of the staircase. Most of the prisoners were behind them. They were all bruised and bloody but they still looked strong. If he squinted, he could just detect a hint of the shield they kept up. He wondered why they weren’t using the portkey around Harry’s neck…until he looked at their opponents. The silver bracelet Celeste had chosen to use was dangling back and forth between the Dormer’s fingers. One portkey wouldn’t be big enough for them all to grab onto it.

The other group consisting of the twins and Alex was in worse shape. They had the older children and what he assumed were the two boys that they’d come to get in the first place. Their shield was somewhat weaker which he attributed to the fact that Harmony wasn’t a phenom…and that Melody’s face seemed chalk white, a sign of her magic being spent. It took him a moment to realize that Philippe wasn’t with them. Where was he?

‘Oh sweet Merlin,’ Hermione gasped mentally.

Draco started and drew his eyes towards the first cell, its barred door flung open and barely hanging onto its hinges. Philippe was sprawled out like a marionette with its strings cut, his limbs jutting out at odd angles. His face was white as death, lips blue, and veins protruding in a ghastly manor while a green mist hovered just feet from him but not touching. His heart leapt into his throat, fear creeping in until he saw a faint movement, almost undetectable. He was breathing, but just barely. He wouldn’t be for long if that Rakshasa got a hold of him, but it seemed to hold back as if waiting for some silent command.

“Well, well,” Cygnus drawled, earning gasps from the others who were shocked to see Lucius’s double standing there. “Isn’t this heartwarming? I get to meet all of my brother’s friends.”

Melody snorted. “Half.”

Cygnus quirked an eyebrow. “An astute guess.”

“Anyone with half a brain can see your eyes are black,” Melody sneered back.

“Indeed,” Cygnus allowed. “Yet you have an uncanny knack for knowing what others don’t. Why is that?”

“Paying attention is highly overrated these days,” Melody said with mock sadness. “I’d be surprised if anyone noticed half of what was happening in their surroundings.”

That last word was said with so much emphasis, Draco and Hermione started looking around to see what she was referring to. Besides their guard contingent, only one other set of guards were present, a small band of just over three dozen, split in half to cover the two other groups. The only one who wasn’t covered was Philippe, who was apparently not perceived as a threat so close to death.

‘That’s it!’ Hermione cried.

‘What?’

‘Look at his wrist Draco.’

Draco frowned but did as he was told and almost shouted for joy. Philippe was still wearing his silver bracelet. Still, that didn’t tell them what Melody was planning. Besides, could Philippe even activate the portkey? Before they could think further, Melody fell to her knees, her face almost translucent.

‘She’s casting for him,’ Hermione said incredulously.

‘And losing,’ Draco said darkly. ‘Look, the Rakshasa is inching closer.’

Sure enough, the green mist was coming closer and closer to Philippe’s broken form. They moved to do something but realized that the mist was receding again. On closer inspection, it looked like Philippe’s body twitched. Another glance at Melody made them realize that Alex had taken over. The daywalker who was already quite haggard was rapidly losing color. They wouldn’t last much longer. What to do, what to do?

Cygnus’s mad cackle rattled off the walls causing the imprisoned children to shudder and snuggle closer together. He’d definitely gotten Bellatrix’s insane laughter. It was enough to make lesser men scream in fear and run away. They, however, weren’t so lucky.

“You can feel it now, can’t you?” Cygnus asked in glee. “Khrone’s castle is so much more than just a hangout for evil creatures. It seeps the magic from your cores…well, not mine. You see, as the rightful owner of Khrone’s castle, the Master can tell it who to leave alone…and who to feed off of. I can see your friend has had a run in already. Pity. I liked him the best, not always running around trying to save the day, as it were.”

Draco picked that moment to stare deeply into Melody’s fatigued eyes. Was it true? Was there really a magic draining spell around the castle? His answer came as a whisper in the back of his mind.

“It’s only around the cells. If we don’t move Philippe now, he’s as good as dead.”

“How long,” Draco thought back.

“Seconds maybe.”

“There’s not time!”

“Then he’s dead,” Melody thought back sadly. “I can’t activate the bracelet from this far away. He’s not strong enough to portkey on his own.”

“No!” Draco growled out loud.

“Something not to your liking?” Cygnus sneered.

It was then Draco knew they had to do something drastic. If they were to suddenly apparate out and break all the wards, then Cygnus would know for sure just what they were dealing with. If they activated just Philippe’s portkey, his life was forfeit. In fact, any display of power when they were outnumbered and without wands would throw up a red flag.

He saw it in Melody’s mind just before he’d pulled way. It was their one and only chance, just one small bout of good luck. He felt Hermione agree in his head. To call upon the Goddess was to agree to a favor with Fate, one they could all on at any time. It didn’t seem so bad at this moment, since they were already servants of Fate. Harmony would fall apart without Philippe…they all would. They might not be phenoms, but they were just as important.

“Actually,” Draco drawled, making the decision once and for all. “I was just thinking on how much good luck we have had. Yes, dear Goddess Fortuna has certainly smiled down upon us this day. We are in her debt for such a large token of her esteem. Indeed, she is most gracious. We’ve never asked for an ounce of her favor and yet she has gifted it to us.”

“What are you blathering on about?” Cygnus roared.

There wasn’t any time to bolster an excuse as an unearthly icy wind came rushing through the dungeons. Dormer shivered and then gave a violent sneeze, inadvertently losing his grip on the delicate silver bracelet. Other guards joined him, the wind brining in something unfavorable. Before anyone else could snatch it, the breeze blew it over to the group at the foot of the stairs. Severus snatched it up and covertly situated everyone around it. They would only get one shot at this.

The next minute was quite possibly the longest one the pure couple had ever experienced in their considerably full life. They knew in an instant that they would be left behind. There was no other way. A look of desperate pleading stole over Melody’s face as she stared at her new bonded husband. It was all settled with a glance, just the way they had planned it when these missions had first started, grab anyone you can and don’t look back.

Draco and Hermione stood resolutely, jerking away just enough to garner most of the attention from the now shaken guards. In the blink of an eye, the two groups portkeyed away. Only Alex remained longer, and still only a fraction of a second before he zipped into Philippe’s cell and activated the portkey, whisking them away to hopefully save his brother-in-law’s life.

“Impossible,” Cygnus hissed when they blinked out.

Draco couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of his throat. He found that even though he was beside himself with fear and worry for what the future held for him and his wife, he was happy. He only spared a thought for their children, quickly telling himself that Severus would take good care of them before his grief overtook him. He sent his thoughts to Hermione, whose mind was quite blank. The numbness of shock had settled in and he knew she had to be in the right frame of mind to endure whatever would come their way. A few prods and her brain re-engaged. Pride swelled in his chest as his wife blinked back a few tears and stood resolutely for what promised to be a very taxing stay.

Draco and Hermione continued to concentrate on each other. The sounds of Cygnus’s considerable anger and the sizzling of hundreds of hexes being hurdled towards the guards didn’t faze them. When the angry blond turned on them, they could scarcely hear his raging words. All that mattered was that they had each other, and that was enough. They only hoped that they could come up with a way to escape before Cygnus decided to do something drastic, like use the killing curse.

The slap across Draco’s face hardly hurt. He and Hermione had already disconnected their senses, preparing for the worst. Years of practice and teamwork had made their moves flawless. His lack of reaction incensed Cygnus further, earning him a few bouts with the cruciatus, which he took silently. He noted that his body didn’t twitch near as hard as it did when Voldemort cursed him. That was something at least.

Seeing that the hexes didn’t seem to even shake Draco’s resolve, Cygnus moved to Hermione. She stood under the cruciatus far longer than Draco did before her legs gave out. She toppled to the ground but still didn’t cry out. What was the point? Despite her stone like façade, her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. They had to come up with a plan to escape…and soon.

“Enough!” Cygnus screamed after an hour, though he was the only one doing the hexing. “Let’s see what the Master has to say about this.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up at the prospect of finally meeting the Master. Unfortunately, that hope was short lived as Cygnus sent one last hex at them, sending them spinning into the blackness of unconsciousness.

AN: *hobbles in huffing and puffing* My goodness, I'm sorry guys. I was all set for my day off...and then they said I couldn't have it! So, this one is late. As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed. I read them at work...when I snuck out on break. You guys make a verbal smack down not smart so much.Keep them coming and let me know how I'm doing. Until next time, love you guys!
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Fooling Fate *sequel to Bound*

Fooling Fate sequel to Bound