Unbidden Love Chapter Four

Chapter Four: Failure

At first she thought she was still dreaming. The screams, pounds, and blasts were just exceptionally lucid in this dream, she told herself. Nothing was truly going to harm her…

This thought soon became a lie when her steel door flew open in a shower of sparks. Hermione screamed and shot up from the ground, clutching her worn jumper to her chest like a security blanket as she met the eyes of the intruder. Half of the person’s figure was covered in shadow, but the outline was tall and muscular. For one heart pounding second Hermione believed it was Malfoy, come to torture her further.

But then the figure stepped forward, and in one glorious moment, a moment that sent a rush of relief through her, Hermione realized that it was Harry Potter who stood inside her cell.

She did not take in his appearance, did not notice the dirt on his robes or the weariness on his face. For it was to Hermione that her best friend stood there healthy and well, welcoming her back with open arms. She greeted him thus, crying out with a joyful sob and throwing her trembling body into his arms. He was soon supporting all of her weight as she leaned against him, inhaling his familiar smell as her tears washed the dirt from her cheeks.

“Hermione, stop…Hermione, please look at me!”

She was almost annoyed at his haste to pull her from him, but her smile dissolved when she noticed for the first time the fear in his eyes. “What’s wrong, Harry?” she whispered.

“We have to move, Hermione.” He stressed each word as if speaking to an English language learner, peering deep into her eyes to help her feel his urgency. “The Neo-Death Eaters are tracking our steps and Ginny can’t protect our escape hole for long. Do you have your wand?”

“No, Alecto Carrow does.”

Harry swore under his breath before taking her hand and dragging her out of what had been her home for weeks. How long had it exactly been? The days had all blurred together. She pondered this as Harry pulled her onward, past dark corridors and numerous cell doors akin to her own. She wondered if there were other prisoners trapped inside their own hell hole, or if she had truly been the only captive.

They had blindfolded her when they had brought her to the fortress, so Hermione could not fathom how large the hideout really was. Indeed, it seemed to take endless minutes for Harry to navigate through the dark, cobbled passageways. Now the only light came from Harry’s illuminated wand and that was hardly enough to see what Harry was searching fruitlessly for.

“Ginny? Ginny! Bloody hell, of all the times for her to ignore me…”

“She probably can’t hear you, Harry!” Hermione said with exasperation. She felt unbearably helpless without her wand, the feeling similar to her losing the use of a limb. If someone fired a spell at her and Harry could not stop the blast…

She shook her head, thrusting the fear from her mind. Harry would never let that happen.

Harry shushed her instantly after her remark, releasing her hand and crawling over a large pile of stones which led to a small crevice in the wall. A sliver of moonlight seeped through the unbelievably small opening, making Hermione wonder how Harry had even found it in this world of blackness.

Harry tapped his wand twice on the stone, and the rock (about the width of Harry’s torso) slid effortlessly aside, letting a rush of moonlight fall onto his body. He whipped around and motioned for Hermione to follow him.

“Harry, what’s out there?” She could hardly breathe, so she wasn’t sure if Harry could hear her or not. What if this was some sort of trap? So many terrible possibilities flew through her mind that it almost stopped her beating heart. Someone could be impersonating Harry with Polyjuice Potion, leading her into danger; ten Neo-Death Eaters could be awaiting them on the other side of the wall; the rest of the Order could have been already captured and Harry didn’t know it…

“Hermione, please! Just trust me!” He looked so desperate that Hermione could do nothing but follow him up the treacherous path to the hole. Her feet were bare; she had left her worn, filthy trainers back in her cell. She winced and yelped as jagged edges and sharp points punctured her soles and tore open more vulnerable skin. But Harry urged her onward, taking her hand and pulling her up when she got close enough. He let her go through the hole first, which Hermione thought was a reckless idea since he probably didn’t know whom they would meet outside. But she obeyed him anyway, crawling carefully through the narrow opening (her hips only barely making it).

The moon’s fierce light forced her to squeeze her eyes shut, so she was not expecting the end of the exit so soon. With a small squeak of surprise, Hermione tumbled out of the fortress and onto solid ground. She landed on her hands and knees and would have probably bolted upright if more fear controlled her mind. Instead she crouched, frozen, for several seconds to readjust herself. It was only until she heard Harry’s annoyed cry of “Hermione!” that she jumped unsteadily to her feet.

Hermione’s head swam with the sudden motion; she realized it was hunger that was causing her weakness and ill-feeling. When was the last time she had eaten a large enough portion to fill her stomach?

“Hermione, are you going to faint?”

It was a soft, feminine voice that spoke to her now. Hermione squinted against the light to find Ginny Potter approaching her wearily, a broomstick clutched in each hand. The young woman looked torn between reaching out to her or holding back. Hermione realized with a blush that she must smell as awful as she looked. It had been a delight for the Neo-Death Eaters to withhold all bathing privileges. It was only a decent toilet room that she had been allowed to use.

“Ginny? Are you the only one here?” Hermione glanced quickly to either side of her, but all she noticed were the boundaries of a dark forest. It was also eerily quiet.

Too quiet.

“Ginny, I don’t understand,” Hermione’s voice almost squeaked with fear. “Where are the Neo-Death Eaters? Where’s Carrow? Where’s Malfoy? He promised me there’d be resistances…”

Ginny threw her a broomstick before Hermione could finish her slew of words. “Just get on,” she told her. “The rest are watching the entrance and patrolling the corridors. If we’re lucky, we can escape before they notice you’re gone.”

“Why is it so quiet?” Hermione wasn’t willing to let her guard down so easily. She had been in too many sticky situations to regard this circumstance as mere “luck”.

Ginny shrugged, though the motion was hardly nonchalant. Harry’s wife was tense and cautious, peering around them almost as often as Hermione.

“Ready?” Harry called, approaching them from behind with his Firebolt in hand.

“Harry, I…I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Hermione stammered, fearfully eyeing him. “It’s too odd that no one is around to stop us. Malfoy said…”

Harry frowned when she had spoken Draco’s name, but he shook his head quickly and mounted his broom. “Later, Hermione,” he said as he rose quickly from the ground.

Flying had never been Hermione’s strong suit, so it scared her now that she was expected to fly whist so weak and unstable. But she inhaled deeply, gripping the handle tightly as she kicked off from the ground. She had risen twenty metres when something hot and powerful hit her chest, throwing her instantly from the broom and sending her falling…falling toward the shadowy ground.

Hermione did not think or breathe as the air rushed past her, nothing around her to halt her drop. She had her eyes closed tight, either from fear or the pain of the blast that had hit her, so she did not know how high up she had fallen from or how fast she was dropping. All she waited for was the inevitable end, when her legs would either break with the impact or death’s strong hand would close upon her.

Instead, after what seemed like hours of falling, Hermione landed in someone’s arms. Her eyes flew open to land upon a face she had not expected to see this close up…

Draco Malfoy’s.

“Hello again, Granger,” he murmured, his tone hinting at amusement. Indeed, his face showed no sign of stress or even anger. He appeared so relaxed that the previous events could have all been planned by him. “So glad we’re able to meet again. I wasn’t quite finished with you yet.”

The shock of landing in her rival’s arms had dissipated. Right before she was about to struggle in his arms, Draco fluidly set her on her feet, though he kept a firm grasp on her waist. He didn’t need to waste much energy in trying to contain her…the recent spell had agonizingly bruised her chest, right on top of the scar from Draco’s curse. Hermione found herself involuntarily leaning against his side, face tight with pain.

“Hermione!”

“Malfoy, what the hell are you doing? Let her go!”

Hermione heard their cries but couldn’t lift her eyes to survey the scene. She used all her remaining strength to push herself from Malfoy, but doing so only increased his hold upon her. He was like a stone wall now.

“You two honestly believed you could take her back without opposition?” He laughed high and cruel, making Hermione wince. “Rethink your strategy, Potter. I knew I could outwit you all simply by myself, so I alone came to hunt Granger down. The rest are trying to round up your Order members, but unfortunately I hear they’ve escaped capture.”

Even in her pain, Hermione felt intense relief at his words. It was bad enough to have Harry and Ginny put in danger for her sake, but to drag everyone else with them…

“What kind of resistance organization is this, Malfoy? Whom do you think you’re fighting against?” Hermione didn’t think she had ever heard that much rage in Harry’s voice. It spilled out into his words like poison. “You do realize that the entire country is against you! You succeeded in making headlines, but that’s the only thing you’ll achieve now. The Ministry has blacklisted you lot…you can’t run forever.”

“He’s right, Malfoy,” Ginny cut in, her tone more even than her husband’s. “There’s nothing to gain from keeping Hermione captive. Let her go and perhaps the Ministry will shorten your sentence.”

Draco laughed again, as if the couple’s words meant nothing to him. “We’re not as weak as Britain thinks we are. In time you’ll see. And your friend’s capture here will serve as a constant reminder of our power. For all the battles you’ve fought, Potter, I’m surprised you failed this one.”

Harry and Ginny had already fired spells at him, but it was too late. Draco Apparated with Hermione in his grasp, taking them to a place far from aide.

“They failed. Harry failed.” The words repeated themselves over and over in Hermione’s mind. “And now I’m once more trapped with Draco Malfoy.”