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Temporary	By : sabreenthequeen Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 25226 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 28
- 29
- 30
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Temporary

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Chapter
29: The Power of Love

For a while, I simply sat
there, leaning against the railing and cried. I never knew it was
possible that I to cry so much but here I was, unable to stop the
tears from flowing.

I hated myself for doing
this; sitting here and crying wasn’t going to turn time back
and fix everything. Sitting here and crying wasn’t going to get
me my old Draco back. Pondering about my past wasn’t going to
get me my baby back either.

It was too late for all
that.

Finally, reason caught up
with me and I stomped down all my emotions. This was getting
pathetic. Crying and whining wasn’t going to help. It was
useless. I wiped my tears angrily and scolded myself for becoming
such a wimp. I couldn’t let things like romance and boys get to
me so much. I should’ve followed the warnings my brain gave me
all this time and stood away from Draco. I should never had fallen in
love.

Ron was absolutely right
back then, Draco would give me nothing but temporary bliss and
permanent sorrow. Ron said Draco would break my heart, and he did.
My heart wasn’t crushed once or twice, it was shattered far too
many times to count. To pick up the pieces and put them together now
would be nearly impossible.

What I could do was put my
emotions to the side and get to the bottom of everything. Draco told
me the explanations to a lot of things, but when he said he took
those pictures, my trust in him broke.

And I didn’t know who
was telling the truth anymore.

I ran back into the room
and rummaged through Draco’s drawers looking for clothes to
wear. After searching for hours, I finally found something suitable
to wear and to my luck, I found a dozen of my underwear which Draco
saved. I would never understand why boys do that, but it finally came
in handy. All I needed to do was wash it. And on that same note, I
needed to bathe.

I grabbed one of Draco’s
smallest shirts and pants, took my knickers, and opened the door to
what I hoped would be an adjacent bathroom.

To my luck, it was.

I dumped all the clothes on
the floor and then ran back into the room, looking for my wand. I
didn’t want to make the mistake of walking around and going
anywhere without it. I was foolish enough to do that when confronting
Lucius and I learned from my mistake.

I found it on the bedside
table, grabbed it, and went back inside the bathroom to wash up.

A few moments later, I was
cleaned, dressed, and ready to go. Although I felt slightly
uncomfortable without a bra, it would do. I took hold of a random
black cloak, and decided to leave the place. I once heard from Draco
that Apparating was not allowed here so my only option was to leave
the premises and do something from there.

Taking a deep breath, I
turned the doorknob and hoped my escape from here would go smoothly.

But
luck must not have been on my side and I was met by two tall, hooded
figures. I gasped, clutched my wand tightly and shouted a
“Stupefy”-spell
and shut the door on their face. I leaned back against it, my heart
beating fast. I was trapped now and I was too tired to fight with
them properly.

The
door shook against my back and within moments, the broke through.
Luckily, I had moved to the side quick enough and was saved from
being squashed under the door. Wand at the ready, I shouted
“Impedimenta”
at them and then created a shield around me. The number of hooded
people increased from 2 to 8 and I was trapped in the room.

I shouted and deflected
curses while running behind beds and whatnot. Soon there were six
people down but the remaining two had me cornered.

A girlish, annoyingly loud
laughter echoed in Draco’s room. She pulled her mask over her
head, revealed thick black hair halfway covering a pale, drawn face,
once perhaps beautiful. I remembered her face and her laughter, and
then recognized who she was.

“Bellatrix
Lestrange?” I whispered. “But—but Neville killed
you last year…you can’t…”

He killed her last year,
revenge for the fate Bellatrix had given his parents. But here she
was alive and laughing once again. I was too shocked to react and
thus put my defenses down.

Her laughter pierced my
ears and made me shudder. “Longbottom? He can’t do
anything to me, precious.” She reached out and dragged her
long, black-painted finger across my cheek and down to my chin. “But
I am not here to talk about silly little Longbottom, I’m here
to see you,” she added in a tone imitating a baby. She pinched
me cheek and I glared at her.

Her coal black eyes raked
over my body. “I can’t see why the Dark Lord wants you of
all people. But then again, I do sense power, but why would my little
Drakie want you? Seems highly absurd. You aren’t even pretty.”

“Gee thanks,” I
snapped.

“Ah, what a sharp
tongue you have. Hasn’t Draco taught you any manners? That’s
not an attitude you should use to speak with your elders,” said
the other remaining hooded woman. Her voice was female, and I
recognized but knew not who it belonged to. “I should hit you
with the Cruciatus for your insolence.”

“Dearie,”
Bellatrix cooed, “That’s enough. You know the Dark Lord
wants her intact. You could Crucio her, or anything else afterwards.
For now, she remains untouched.”

She turned back to look at
me and smiled almost lovingly. But it was more creepy than consoling.
“We’re bringing you to the Dark Lord. He was waiting for
you for a very long time.”

“Why? Why does he
want me? What’s so special about me?”

She laughed again. “’What’s
so special about me?’” she repeated in a mock baby voice.
“Well,” she said commandingly, “You are a Mudblood,
a Mudblood with far more power than even ordinary Pureblooded
wizards. You have knowledge and you are determined to be the best.
You try to be modest, but in truth every action you do boasts how
powerful and smart you are. You captured the heart of my nephew. And
the Dark Lord is impressed,” she finished off lamely.

There was silence and my
gaze flickered over to the other hooded person, trying to figure out
who she was.

“You are just what
the Dark Lord needs,” Bellatrix continued. “You are just
what he wants to produce the Heir.”

I
furrowed my eyebrows and remembered what Snape had told me earlier.
“The Dark Lord doesn’t care about blood. To him
Power means everything.”

It still didn’t make
sense, nothing did. The Dark Lord wanted me to produce his heir and
Draco was his follower. Voldemort wanted me to be the one, because I
was powerful, and that also means that since I’m such an
important aspect in his plans for the Wizarding World, no one could
harm me.

Was that why Draco etched
my name on his hand? Not because he loved me, but to guarantee to his
Lord that I would be safe no matter what? And he used the very same
tactic with the Order, to prove to them that he loved me and would
always keep me safe.

But now the question was,
Who was Draco loyal to?

To the Dark Lord?

Or Me?

I had no choice but to
leave with Bellatrix. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, and by
now I knew they wouldn’t hurt me. Voldemort wanted me “intact”
after all, so at least I was safe.

And at least if anything
were to happen to me, Draco would be forced to save me, lest he be
punished by death. For the time being, I was safe. I didn’t
object when the Portkey took us away, but when I landed at the
destination, my vision went black. I couldn’t feel anymore, and
I regretted every inch of not running when I had the chance. I was
doomed.

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When
my vision cleared, I realized I was in a cell. It was dark, damp; the
air smelled putrid. I blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness
but it was still too dark to see where I was. It was quite obvious
that they had locked me up. Great.

I stood and walked around,
my hands blindly reaching out in front of me so that I didn’t
collide with anything. After a few minutes, my heart settled back
into my chest, and I could hear someone besides myself breathing.

I was not alone.

I rifled through my pockets
looking for my wand. I knew before looking that it would be futile.
They would have taken it away when they put me in here.

Moments later, the cell
lightened. I looked around, trying to find out who was in the cell
with me. Maybe he knew why I was here. Didn’t Bellatrix say I
was supposed to meet Voldemort?

I gave up when I realized I
was walking in circles. I sat down on the floor, sighing heavily.
The breathing I had heard must have been an echo of my own. Now the
silence was unnerving. I wished someone would come soon. Listening to
Bellatrix’s harsh words was better than being all alone in this
dingy cell.

I turned my head lazily,
looking for a window. There seemed to be an outline of one on the
stone wall; tiny rays of light were shinning around its perimeter. I
walked up to it, my fingers tracing over the cracks.

Suddenly, the wall moved,
opening to reveal another cell.

This one wasn’t as
dark, and I could see that I was not alone afterall.

As my eyes adjusted
further, I saw clearly the man who had been breathing laboriously
while I sat in the other cell. His skin was pale, as though all the
warmth and color in his body was draining slowly. I felt as if I
could see his soul was leaking out and evaporating. His back was
bloodied and violet with bruising. Deep fresh wounds were cut into
his flesh. The blood had dried around the edges, but it still flowed
from the wound, dripping along his back.

Tears began to well up in
my eyes; I would have been able to pick that body out of a crowd of
millions, even as mutilated as it was.

My
eyebrows were furrowed, my heart thumped madly. Please,
let it not be him. Please, not him. Let it be someone else.

It wasn't. The Mark on his
forearm, and my name shinning boldly along his other arm was proof
enough.

He was my Draco, chained
and hanging by his hands from the ceiling.

“Draco?” I
yelled. I ran over to him, and hugged his midsection tightly. He
groaned, perhaps in pain, but I couldn’t let go of him. His
body was bruised and beaten so badly, I could feel it. Seeing him
like that shredded my heart. “Draco? Draco, who did this to
you?”

The crack of Apparation
echoed behind Draco. I looked around him, curious to see who the
intrudor was. To my dismay, I found Bellatrix Lestrange.

“I see you have found
Lover-boy. Do you like my new project? I simply love men in bonds,”
she said dreamily, “How. . . arousing.”

My mouth was agape in shock
and disgust. “Why did you do this to him?” I asked her
soon after my shock abated.

“Do not fret,”
she said. Her voice was amused, and I despised her! “Your
lover’s health will be restored. Of course, the Dark Lord is
not very pleased that Draco had to kill his own father, but after I
explained to him the circumstances, he is more than happy. To save
you, Draco must do whatever it takes, and that’s exactly what
he did. Besides, the Dark Lord has not currently been pleased with
the manner in which Lucius has been presenting himself. His death is
only a minor dissatisfaction.”

“But why hurt him
like that if you know why Draco did this?” I asked her.

“This is the price
one pays for disobeying the Dark Lord.”

“Disobeying the Dark
Lord?” I repeated. “What did he do? He’s a Death
Eater through and through,” I spat, remembering what he did to
me. “So how could he disobey Voldemort?”

Bellatrix cringed at the
name. “How dare you say his name so openly, Mudblood! Just
because the Dark Lord chose you does not mean you have the right to
say his name. No one does. You are not even worthy of being here.”

I glared at her.

“I. Don’t.
Care.”

She swept towards me, her
robes bellowing behind her giving her an evil, ghostly look. Her
claw-like fingers grabbed my chin and her coal, hollow eyes bore
deeply into my own. “You insolent, little bitch.” Her
nails dug into my skin and I could feel her breaking my skin, drawing
blood. It hurt, but I looked straight into her eyes, unaffected and
daring.

“Oh
shove it up your ass, you old whore,” I told her after our long
staring contest. I pushed her away from me harshly and she stumbled
back, taken by surprise of my action and words. “I’ll say
Voldemort whenever I
bloody want.”

I knew I was being a bit
too daring at the moment and it probably would claim my life.
Though, nothing really mattered any more did it? What did I have to
lose?

She regained her balance
and glared at me.

A few seconds later, after
a slight crack, a woman Apparated into the cell next to Bellatrix

I knew who she was. She
was…

“Megan? What are you
doing here?” Bellatrix snapped.

Megan, Aquil's mother, was
here, in front of me. She didn’t seem the least bit affected of
her son’s death, wearing bright blood red. Her lips were
painted a deep, black-tinted red and her eyes were flashing merrily.

“Bella, dear! The
Dark Lord is most pleased that you finally captured Hermione,”
she said happily. I stared back at her, wondering where the nice lady
who took me into her home and offered me such love and care had gone.
It's hard to know what people’s motives are. So hard…

“But
oh, look at this! Why is Mr. Malfoy hanging from the ceiling?”
her voice was amused as well. Her hazel eyes were twinkling so
merrily that I couldn’t stand to look at them. They brought
forth memories of George. Damn…damn
it all to hell.

“The
Dark Lord doesn’t need Draco anymore,” Bellatrix told
her, while her eyes were on me. Her lips had curved into a
frightening smirk and her hand was running along Draco’s arm--
his right arm where my name was etched along his skin. “Well,
he’ll need Draco,” she corrected herself, “just…not
his mind.”

“What?”

“There
has been a…slight change in plans. I’m afraid I haven’t
told you,” she said derisively. “The Dark Lord no longer
wants a baby to be the
body which he must retreat back into after defeating Harry Potter--”

I shook my head not wanting
to hear the rest of her sentence. I knew the rest without her saying
it, and I couldn’t bare it.

“—he
wants Draco’s.”

But she said it anyway and
I shook my head frantically, taking a few steps back. My life was
just too complicated, too horrible. Why did I ever get that letter
from Hogwarts in the first place? Why did I have to befriend Harry
Potter? Why did I have to fall in love with the enemy?

I seriously needed to get
my Time-Turner back.

“The
Dark Lord is pleased with Draco,” she told me as if reading the
question that was on my mind—Why Draco?
“At first, I was skeptical of him myself. He was far too
snobbish-- a coward even. He asked help from his father for the
smallest of things. His passion had been to ruin Harry Potter’s
life, but he couldn’t even do that properly or on his own. A
few degrading comments were the only things he did on his own accord.
But words mean little in the real world. It’s actions that
display power; action that shows true motivation, true passion.”

She
stopped for a moment and then looked at me. “But then you
came.” She walked towards me, glaring down at me. I never
realized how tall she was. Her look was intimidating but I hid my
discomfort. “You came along and I saw my nephew for what his
true capabilities are. His love for you was the first step and the
only source of strength he showed throughout his worthless life in
Hogwarts.”

She
walked back to Draco and looked at him fondly. “His second step
up on climbing into the Dark Lord’s favor was becoming a Death
Eater, putting down the offer Dumbledore gave him and becoming one of
us. But his love for you, this damned
love, never diminished. But it was with this love that he once again
rose in the Dark Lord’s favor. It was this—” she
took out her wand and quickly undid the bonds that held Draco’s
up. He was still suspended in the air, but his hands had dropped to
his sides. Bellatrix picked up Draco’s right arm and when the
light glinted upon his skin, I saw my name and shuddered. “—this
radical thing Draco did disproved all our theories about him.
Theories such as the fact that he was worthless, that he was a
coward, that he was never meant to shine as much as his father did.”

She
was silent again and released his arm. Her voice lowered, but had an
edge to it, a maniacal
edge. “But in the end, he outshined us all. Lucius is nothing
compared to Draco. The son had finally grown out of the father’s
shadow. His love for you, this passion, this undeniably profound
feeling he has for you drove him to this act. And the Dark Lord saw
this loyalty in Draco and he knew straight on from then that Draco
was no ordinary boy. Draco was far more strong willed, far more
determined than any of us would dare to have imagined.”

She looked back up at me
and her lips twitched to a smirk. “He was the perfect body the
Dark Lord needs.”

She laughed then, loudly
and madly. The sound echoed and repeated itself, driving my ears
insane. She walked all around the room and we watched her, Megan and
I, and we began to think that she finally gone mad. Bellatrix had
lost her mental balance.

“But that’s not
all,” she whispered. She grinned. It was a twisted smile, scary
and dangerous. She walked slowly back to Draco and cupped her
nephew’s cheek affectionately.

Yes,
we thought with more certainty, Bellatrix was
crazy.

Suddenly, her gaze
flickered below, down to Draco’s arm and a wild, crazy glint in
her eye made us subconsciously take a back step or two to be safe.

“You see this here?”
Bellatrix shouted at me suddenly, scaring me out of my wits. “You
see your filthy name on my nephew’s arm?”

I nodded, speechless.

“This little beauty
here is the bonus the makes our powerful and worthy Draco. Once the
Dark Lord takes possession over Draco’s body, he’ll use
this--” she trailed her long fingers along Draco’s arm.
He had been unconscious for a while and I just wished he would wake
up. I wondered if there was a spell put on him. Surely there must be
a reason why he didn’t wake up after all this crazy cackling
and yelling. “--to suck on your life force.”

She
laughed. “You see… this bond between you and Draco is
far more than just an oath in blood. It’s far more powerful.
It’s a bond of love. It won’t just go in one direction;
it goes both ways. And as sickening as it sounds to me, Love is
Immortal.”

“And
the significance is far greater than anyone would have foreseen.
Draco’s life force by itself would not be enough to sustain the
Dark Lord. The Dark Lord is too powerful for that. But this love you
two share, this immortal bond, and this oath Draco has given, is what
will tie you with Draco forever. And this…this is exactly what
the Dark Lord will use to latch onto your power, your knowledge, and
your life. The combined powers of you and Draco will be exactly what
the Dark Lord will use to become ever powerful…and better yet
immortal.”

She was silent, allowing
the implications of her words to sink into my brain. I still couldn’t
believe a word of it. It was so farfetched, so unlike anything I’ve
ever heard, that for a second it felt as though it couldn’t
have worked.

But it could.

For it was Love that Harry
was planning to use to destroy Voldemort. If it were to be so
powerful as to do that, then Voldemort would surely use my love for
Draco—this “immortal bond” as Bellatrix says-- and
become immortal.

Just then, even knowing how
wonderful as the feeling of love can be, I wished I had I never felt
it.

“This is maddening,”
Megan said breaking the silence and jerking me out of my thoughts.
“Absolutely brilliant.”

“Oh yes, isn’t
it?” Bella said, grinning superiorly.

“But one thing,”
Megan added. “Harry Potter needs to die doesn’t he? Or
else Voldemort can’t do a thing. And by the look of things,
Harry Potter won’t be all that easy to get rid of.”

My eyes widened in
realization.

“Oh nonsense,”
Bellatrix said. “Harry Potter’s a mere boy. Voldemort’s
just buying his time with him. It won’t be too long until he
dies. And besides, he’s not a real threat. What could Potter
do?”

Bellatrix
might not have estimated Harry’s real power over Voldemort, but
I for one, knew just
how important Harry was. And the Prophecy was all the proof I needed
to see how much of a threat Harry was to Voldemort.

With these words, I came to
realize that my life wasn’t as doomed as I had thought.
Voldemort’s possessing Draco’s body after Harry’s
defeat could only occur if Voldemort won. The chances of Voldemort
winning were high, but that didn’t guarantee his victory.

It was these very words
that rekindled my spirits; my hope flared mightily. With Harry and
Ron there, I was sure to always stay safe. Things would get better
again. I was sure of it. With my friends there for me, what did I
have to fear?

“If the Dark Lord
wasn’t able to get rid of Potter so many years in a row, even
when he was a mere baby, then what makes you so sure the Dark Lord
will vanquish him now. Just as we all underestimated Draco, who knows
what Potter will use to surprise us next?”

This angered Bellatrix. She
was a powerful woman in her own right. She carried herself like a
Queen, regal and sophisticated. Her blood was pure, she was rich, and
was once very influential. Unfortunately, she was devoted to
Voldemort unlike anyone of his other followers. And at Megan's words,
doubting the Dark Lord’s powers, had caused Bellatrix to fume.

Unexpectedly, Bellatrix
attacked the wall with her wand. The attack was strong, and the stone
wall exploded. The ground shook beneath us and I nearly lost my
balance. I was weak from my excursions and these latest developments
were too much to bear all in just a few moments.

Megan clutched her heart,
shaking uncontrollably. Bellatrix aimed her wand exactly half a foot
away from where Megan stood. There was a crater in the floor by her
feet. One step back and Megan would’ve fallen under.

“No,”
Bellatrix said. She was seething in anger. “You
are the one who is underestimating the Dark Lord. You may have the
ability to perform wandless magic,” she told Megan, “but
it doesn’t make your powers any greater than mine. One needs
skill, determination: a DRIVE. You don’t have that. You can
never match my drive, and Potter will never be a match to our Master.
The Dark Lord is the greatest and most powerful wizard of our age.
Not even Dumbledore can match him.”

I began laughing; I
couldn’t help it. Her words were so fake. The poor old witch
was in denial. She was pitiful. She was so strong and knowledgeable
and she ruined it all for a madman.

“And why are you
laughing?” she said, sweetly. Even though this was the side of
her that frightened me, she didn’t keep from laughing. I paused
for a minute, then continued to giggle. I know it was cruel of me to
laugh at her, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe I was the one
cracking up after all.

“WHAT ARE YOU
LAUGHING AT?” she shrieked, and I stopped laughing instantly. I
didn’t want to know the wrath of Bellatrix Lestrange. At
least…not without my wand; with it would have been another
story. With it, I wouldn’t have hesitated a millisecond. But
currently, I was wandless, defenseless.

She approached me, her
anger at Megan gone. She was curious but mad at the fact she didn’t
know what made me laugh.

“I’m laughing
at you,” I said upon reflex, regretting my words instantly.

“You were laughing at
me?” she whispered, shocked.

I nodded my head. Being a
Gryffindor was helpful sometimes, but during times like these, my
blunt bravado could be the death of me.

“Why?”

Suddenly, my intelligence
caught up with my bravado, and I realized that so long as I had gone
this far, I might as well tell her why I was laughing at her. After
all, she couldn’t kill me. She was far too loyal to Voldemort
to ruin his plan. So, I figured it would be safe for me to tell her.

“Because I pity you,”
I said simply, shrugging my shoulders.

“Y-yo-you WHAT?”
she cried. I could tell how much I surprised her. I bet she wasn’t
thinking that of all the things I was laughing at. Her mouth was
hanging open quite comically, and I had to hide my smile to stifle
the next wave of giggles that had come upon me.

Megan was staring at me in
shock, but I didn’t pay attention to her. Bellatrix had finally
gained her equilibrium and I saw a light flicker in her eyes. She put
one hand to her heart and began to pant. “Oh my…am I
that pitiful?” she said in mock distress. I was slightly taken
aback by the way she was acting. But I knew she wouldn’t dare
lay a finger on me so I figured mocking me was the only way she’d
get her pride back.

How wrong I was!

I didn’t even notice
that she had deftly drawn her wand with her other hand. Within
seconds she hexed me. It was an Unforgivable: The Cruciatus Curse.
She stopped after a few seconed, but I could still feel the pain
numbing my nerves. I was shocked, but proud that I hadn't screamed.
Maybe it was because I wasn’t under the spell long enough.

While I was panting, my
eyes closed, I leaned on the wall for support. My knees were getting
ready to collapse.

“Hermione,”
someone moaned, followed by a thump on the floor. It was Draco’s
voice and I opened my eyes immediately. I saw him then, on the floor.
My pain had woken him, alerted him. My heart called out for him and
watched as Bellatrix sneered at him and kicked his stomach. I winced
as Draco groaned out, calling for me again. This time, forgetting my
own pain, I ran towards him, but Bellatrix stopped me midway with her
hand out.

“Where do you think
you’re going?”

I looked up at her and spat
in her face without thinking about what the consequences would be of
this action of mine.

“Okay,
I have had enough,”
Bellatrix said calmly, wiping away the spit from under her eye. She
fingered her wand thoughtfully, rolled her eyes thinking up a spell,
and then smiled. Her wand pointed directly at me as she said the
spell, but last minute she aimed it directly at Draco. “Crucio.”

I watched in horror as
Draco screamed out and curled into the fetal position. He was in no
condition to resist the curse or live with the pain. It was too much
for him. Every cry he made, angered me. My fists clenched and
unclenched. I wished I had my wand. I wished I could do something.

With every second that
ticked by, every second Draco whimpered, a dangerous feeling filled
the depths of my stomach. I felt the winds rise, chains clinked
together to make music. My tumultuous hair lifted off my shoulders
as I felt the power rise from my stomach, encircling my heart and
flow upwards. As my rage spiraled higher, this whirlpool of unknown
power was increasing, and I had no way to stop it. I didn’t
want to. The feeling was blissful, as though all my tensions were
being released into the air around me.

Bellatrix had not noticed
this change in me. Megan remained a mute spectator, watching as
electricity leaped from my fingertips. I felt the core of my magic
deep within and calmed my breathing, releasing my mind. The feeling
was incredible. I dragged my eyes away from Draco’s feeble body
and looked at my glowing hands.

My surroundings were
suddenly pushed away. I couldn’t see Megan or Draco: my target
was Bellatrix--evil, pitiful Bellatrix Lestrange. Someone Apparated
into the cell behind me, called my name, but I didn’t care to
listen.

I stared directly at
Bellatrix and aimed all the hatred, anger, and frustration I felt. I
concentrated it with all my sorrow and Draco’s suffering, ready
to strike her with my pent up energy. She sensed something was amiss
and turned around. She saw me, saw the dangerous scarlet glow
hovering over my body and froze.

Behind me, it was Aquil who
arrived and sensed what my intentions were. When he saw that trying
to get me out of my trance was futile, he Levitated Draco to him and
slung him over his back. “Hermione let’s get out of here.
I have a Portkey,” he tried one last time, but I didn’t
care. I didn’t care about anything except my urge to kill.
“Harry’s come to look for you. He’s going to fight
Voldemort,” he added.

His voice was too far back,
it was in a different realm. I was going to stop and run away, let go
of the power, but I couldn’t control the magic that was
unleashed from my body, itching to go somewhere. It felt heavy on my
fingers, and the room began to spin, cracks were forming in the floor
underneath me and I couldn’t take it anymore. If I kept the
energy with me any longer, I’d destroy myself; I had to throw
it away. I aimed it all at Bellatrix. I felt pity for her, but I
showed no mercy.

When I released the energy,
I didn’t see where it when. My eyes closed immediately and
everything went black.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Hermione! Hermione,
wake up,” someone shook me. I opened one eye and squinted, not
having enough energy to see properly. I was met by concerned and
frightened hazel eyes.

“George?” I
croaked.

“No, it’s
Aquil,” he said lifting my head. “We have to get out of
here. The walls collapsing on us. Malfoy’s still unconscious.
We need to take a portkey and leave before we get caved in.”

I shook my head,
disoriented. I didn’t know where I was or what was happening.
“Where are we?”

“In the dungeon
remember? You just used very powerful Dark Magic that my mum taught
you. You were out cold for about three minutes and you’re still
weak.”

I processed his words and
remembered it all now. Remembered the cell, Bellatrix, Draco in
chains and the tingling sensation of deep, dark magic pulsing in my
veins.

I tried getting up, but my
head weighed like a ton of bricks and I couldn’t lift it up.
“Aquil. Aquil, I can’t.”

“Try,” he said
earnestly. “I can’t carry the both of you.”

“What happened to
Draco?” I asked. “Is he okay.”

“I’m not sure,”
Aquil told me, gravely. “He’s pretty weak. I think we’re
losing him.” I sat upright immediately at the sound of losing
him. I couldn’t handle that ever. I couldn’t lose him.
“’The magic you used took a toll on you which in turn
affected him pretty badly. This bonding curse he used is horrible.”

I tried getting my feet up.
It was hard but after I lifted my head and the blood rushed freely
throughout the rest of my body I was able to manage. “Let’s
get out of here,” I told him when I saw a particular big
boulder collapse a few feet away from us.

I tried holding up Draco
and Aquil fished through his pockets looking for a portkey. Draco was
weak, not heavy at all. I couldn’t bear to look at him too
much. Whenever I did I felt as though a heavy rock was being shoved
against my chest, suffocating me I loved him so much, his pain hurt
me. And I couldn’t stop loving him even after so many things
happened, even after knowing that he was the cause of all my trouble.

I realized this was love.
Love was a feeling that just comes without a prior notice, without a
warning. It comes and sweeps you off your feet. It makes you giddy
with excitement and pleasure. It creates pleasurable jolts in the
depth of your stomach. It gives a new dimension to sex. Love makes
people do crazy things.

And as Aquil took out the
Portkey and we were sailing through swirls of colors and left behind
a mound of rubble, I remembered how Bellatrix said Voldemort was
going to exploit this love.

Whoever said love was pure,
lied. Or at least didn’t know what love was.

It was unfortunate but
true. Love isn’t just about pretty sunsets and bliss-filled
moments. Love could also make a person go against her instincts; go
against what she believes in and fights for. Love could make her
forget all her past liaisons and loyalties.

Love
had a dark side.

And I just experienced it
at its most evil side yet.

To some people, love was
their strength, their most ultimate power. Like for Draco, it was
love that made him so powerful, it made Voldemort recognize him. It
was what made Voldemort give him such a huge part of his plan for
world domination. Love made Draco kill his father. Love made Draco
become a man.

But the effects of that
were not positive for Draco. Love left him in chains, fighting for
his life and he brought me down with him.

Love made me weak in my
knees. Love made me crumble. Love shredded me apart. It made my
happy life turn into a horror film. Love made me use Dark Magic,
something I promised myself I would never do.

For Draco and I. love had
been, for a short while, our strength, but in the end…

…love was our
greatest downfall.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
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