Just curious to see how many of you are still here with me? I haven't lost you yet, right?

x Noelle

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Renders a victim unconscious.

Godric's Hollow proved easier than expected. Despite the protection charms around the house, Draco didn't let his guard down, so they took turns to keep watch. Hermione enjoyed accompanying the others on their shifts. Theo made her laugh, Pansy and Blaise had fascinating anecdotes to share, and Luna was the link to her past.

But she loved talking to Draco the most. There were still plenty of things she didn't know about him. Like the fact that his hatred for half-bloods and Muggle-borns had been whipped into him for as long as he could remember.

"I saw a Muggle book once," he admitted, on one of the nights when they had broached the topic of his childhood. "Got through half of it until my father found out. And he locked me in a room and starved me until I got that fact through my head - that reading Muggle books was a crime worse than using any of the Unforgivables."

It seemed that Draco's snobbery had been instilled, rather than a trait he'd been born with. She thought about how cruel his father was, and how kind her own father was.

At least, she thought her father was kind. For the millionth time, she wondered why she remembered nothing about her own parents. They were but a piece of the past, faceless figures that had provided her with a happy childhood and faint but fond memories.

But the thoughts faded when she looked up at noticed the troubled expression on Draco's face. He was gazing into the distance, his eyes carefully blank and illuminated by the silver of the moon. She reached down to slide her fingers along the sleeve of his green jumper - the same one that she had knit for him. She noticed that all the Slytherins seemed to wear their respective ones whenever possible, as though the jumpers were part of a uniform that banded them all together.

After a moment's hesitation, she tugged up his jumper sleeve to expose his Dark Mark. He flinched, but she stopped him before he could pull away. "Were you forced into receiving this too?"

Draco swallowed. His silver eyes flickered to her momentarily, before he glanced away, staring unfocusedly into the distance. "Not exactly," he hedged, and she thought she heard a slight tremble in his voice. "It was - fuck, Granger, you need to understand that, for the longest time, it was all I ever wanted."

"Really?"

"Not the job description, or that I'd have to serve the Dark Lord." There was an edge to his voice; a silent plea for her to understand. he said, his tone edgy as though he was pleading that she at least try to understand. "It was the power, the prestige, the exclusivity. I thought I had continued a legacy. The heir of the Malfoy family turned Death-Eater - just like everyone before me. But when I stood in front of the Dark Lord, holding out my arm to him, I realised that it was the most fucked-up decision I'd ever made. And by then..." His voice broke off, and she quickly laced her fingers through his. "...by then, it was too late."

She thought of what she could say to comfort him. She could tell him how sorry she was, but it wouldn't make the past or his mistakes disappear.

So, when she found nothing to say, she simply placed her head on his shoulder, smiling faintly when his arm instinctively wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close to him, so close until she swore she could hear the slow, steady thudding of his heartbeat; a constant reminder that in this war, amidst all the death surrounding them, he was still very much alive.

They stayed until Theo came out for his night shift. Draco retreated into the bedroom with her, and she curled up by his side again. It lasted for barely a few minutes, before he bolted upright. His Dark Mark. It burned hotter than ever.

Was this it? Was it finally time to defect?

He stared down at his arm and Hermione blinked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"Hold on." He yanked on his jacket and grabbed his wand, before opening the door. Theo still sat outside on the front porch, and everyone else was asleep. He could apparate without anyone else knowing.

"Draco?"

His chest tightened when he saw how frightened she looked. "Listen," he murmured and held out a hand to her. She went to him and slid her arms around his waist. "The Dark Lord's summoning me. But I think it's a different mission, because none of the others are awake. If it's time to defect, I'll light the phials. Regardless of whether Blaise and Pansy's Dark Marks burn, regardless of where the Dark Lord summons them to, they have to be at the Malfoy Manor, with the prisoners from the Order. The coordinates on the phial will be for Theo, not for them, because Theo and I will be defecting separately. Let them know that."

"Alright," she whispered, pushing herself up on the tips of her toes to press her lips against his cheek. "Be safe, Draco."

"Always, Granger."

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Gringotts had descended into chaos when he arrived. Bellatrix's cackle of laughter echoed down the hall; members of the Order swooped across on broomsticks; hexes flew in every direction. He turned to the nearest Death-Eater - Goyle Senior - who had hidden behind a pillar in a panic.

"What the hell is this?" Draco snapped.

Goyle Senior brushed a hand across his bloodied mouth. "I was patrolling this place when the bloody Order launched an attack. So I called the Dark Lord immediately."

This still didn't make sense. "Why would the Order attack Gringotts?"

"There's money here, obviously the Order's in need of some."

No. No, that wasn't it. Draco didn't think highly of the Order at all, but he knew that they were above robbing a bank. He ducked a hex and stepped closer to Goyle Senior. "Where's the Dark Lord?"

"Over there."

Draco followed the man's gaze. At the end of the hall, the Dark Lord stood alongside Dolohov, killing off anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. The Order was a fighting a losing battle. Even though the Death-Eaters were fewer in number, they were skilled and far more deadly. Why would the Order send themselves on a death-trap mission? Unless...

This was supposed to be a death-trap mission.

Realisation suddenly dawned on Draco. It threw him off-focus for a moment, and he winced as he was hit in the leg by a stinging hex. Without a second thought, he returned a stunning curse without even looking at the person, his mind reeling with the newfound revelation.

This was a decoy.

The real battle was at Malfoy Manor.

There was no doubt that the rest of the Order was making their way through the Manor at this very moment. All he had to do was wait for someone to alert the Dark Lord about the invasion. Draco kept his mind alert as he stood near the back. He was on the defence now. No killing curses. Just strong stunning ones that made his victims drop to the ground as though dead. It wasn't the wisest option, but he couldn't defect to an organisation where most of its members were dead.

It wasn't long before a bloodied Rodolphus Lestrange apparated into Gringotts. Draco watched the man stumble to the Dark Lord. Moments later, the Dark Lord had called all his Death-Eaters to him.

"Malfoy Manor is under attack," the Dark Lord said to Draco. "Take yourself and several others, see if you can capture any more of the Order."

"Yes, my lord," Draco said quickly, before pushing up the sleeve of his jacket. "Shall I summon the rest of the Death-Eaters here, my lord?"

"Summon them all." The Dark Lord's serpentine eyes gleamed. "We'll destroy the Order tonight."

Draco allowed his lips to curl up in a fleeting smirk as he tapped his wand to his Dark Mark.

This was it.

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Hermione had spent close to an hour sitting in the darkness. Sleep eluded her and she huddled on the stairs, waiting for something to happen. It eventually did. Draco's phial began to burn with fresh coordinates.

Then Theo rushed back into the house, his own phial clasped in his hands. "Where's Draco?"

She bit her lip. "You-know-who summoned him awhile ago. You know where to go, right?"

Theo nodded, then winced at Pansy's shrill scream for Blaise to wake up. Moments later, Blaise and Pansy hurried down the stairs.

"You have to go to the Malfoy Manor," Hermione told them quickly, remembering what Draco had told her.

Pansy frowned. "But the phials - "

"That's for Theo. The both of you have to go to the Manor to free the captured Order members."

Blaise nodded and looked around. "Where's Luna?"

"Here." The blonde witch stepped out of the room adjacent to the kitchen and smiled sleepily at them. "Is it time?"

"Yes." Blaise spoke with an air of calm confidence, the second-in-command now that Draco wasn't around. "Remember the plan, Luna. Stick to it. Save those you can, leave those you can't."

After exchanging quick goodbyes with Hermione, the three Slytherins apparated out of the house. Hermione was left alone with Luna, who was still locating the portkeys from a drawer.

She knew exactly how this would work. Several days ago, Draco had ran the plan through with them and it worked like clockwork now. When the Order attacked, Blaise and Pansy had to go to Malfoy Manor.

"You've always wanted to defect," Draco had said to Blaise. "Here's your chance. You and Pansy can help the Order escape from their cells. And while you're at it, you might as well take down as many Death-Eaters as you can, including Theo."

"Are you serious?" Theo had snapped. "You're going to let him hex me?"

Blaise had grinned at that. "It would be my pleasure, Draco."

Luna, on the other hand, was to provide backup using a Disillusionment charm. That was something Hermione realised about Draco's plans - he liked having backups, just in case things went awry. Luna had to rescue as many of the Order as she could, and portkey Blaise and Pansy out before the Death-Eaters could finish them off.

But the escape plan still made Hermione's gut twist with worry. She hesitated for a moment, then turned towards the blonde witch. "Luna?"

"Oh, hi, Hermione." Luna seemed as peaceful as ever, despite the fact that she was due to enter the foray. "What's up?"

Hermione took a deep breath. "Do you think I could help?"

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Screams resonated from the basement of the Malfoy Manor. Pansy gripped Blaise's hand as they headed down the stairs, only to find a chaotic confrontation in full swing. Three Death-Eaters battled two Order members, while a third lay motionless on the floor.

Pansy held a hand up when they all turned to her. "We're on your side," she said to the Order members. They weren't familiar faces, which made it all the more difficult to negotiate. "We've defected."

The room went silent. None of them seemed to know what to do, but she did. Without a second thought, she stunned the nearest Death-Eater and shot the Order members a sardonic smirk.

"Does this prove my point?"

Before they could answer, Blaise took down the remaining Death-Eaters with stunning curses. "Your friends are down that hallway," he said to the Order members, who stared at him in disbelief. "You'd better hurry."

"How do we know we can trust you?" one of them asked.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're still alive and talking to us. That alone speaks volumes, doesn't it?"

"Do you know what else speaks volumes?"

Pansy froze as she heard another voice, whirling around immediately to face the person. She and Blaise stiffened as they saw Kingsley Shacklebolt descending the stairs, with a group of over thirty Order members behind him.

"Sir - " Blaise began, raising his hands as a form of surrender.

"Those Dark-Marks on your arms," Shacklebolt said, before one of the members sent a fiery spell hurtling their way, leaving the tips of Pansy's hair singed as Blaise quickly pushed her out of the way.

And it all went to hell from there.

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He'd pulled out all the stops this time. Upon the Dark Lord's request, Draco had selected eight Death-Eaters to defend Malfoy Manor with him. He had Theo and Guthrie – both of whom were trustworthy and could hold their own. He'd also picked out the rest of the top-notch fighters: Dolohov, the three Lestranges, and two of the Peverells – MacNair and Yaxley.

It would be a cutthroat battle. But if the Order could take out a few of them, he knew it'd weaken the Dark Lord's army tremendously. He was practically handing the victory over to the Order on a silver platter.

As he led the group down to the basement, the sizzle of curses and spells grew louder. He stopped as he heard a familiar voice. Blaise.

" – You've got the hear us out, sir," Blaise said to Kingsley Shacklebolt. He'd had a shield up to protect him and Pansy from the hexes. "We're on your side. We've defected, and we've been waiting for the Order to attack the Manor."

Draco held up a hand to stop Bellatrix, whom he knew was seconds away from shooting a killing curse at Blaise. "Zabini." His voice was icy, and everyone turned to him. "What the hell is this?"

And, just as planned, Blaise smirked. "Sorry, mate," he drawled, and directed his wand in Theo's direction. "Stupefy."

Theo dropped to the ground in an unconscious heap. Amidst the stunned silence, Blaise turned to Shacklebolt. "Now do you believe me?"

Draco shot a Stupefy back at Blaise and turned to the other Death-Eaters behind him.

"Kill them all," he said simply, before turning around and stunning Pansy as well. And then the basement was filled with the wired crackles of lethal hexes, screams of fear and, louder than anything else, Bellatrix's maniacal laughter.

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Malfoy Manor was dark when they arrived. Hermione shivered and wrapped the Cloak of Invisibility tighter around herself. Luna had a Disillusionment charm on, and she fired a stunning spell at the final Death-Eater who stood in their way.

"Come on." Luna cast a dim Lumos on her wand and tugged Hermione forward.

They soon found the prison cells. Cold and dark and filthy. Hermione stood guard, her wand out as she fought to keep the memories of her own capture at bay. Meanwhile, Luna set about freeing her friends. There were several whom Hermione recognised, like Seamus Finnegan and Cho Chang, but she was thankful that Luna didn't say a word to anyone about her presence.

Suddenly, voices echoed down the hallway. Distorted ones. Then a familiar one - Blaise. Hermione stiffened. Luna quickly handed out portkeys to her friends before casting a Disillusionment charm on herself again.

"Let's get them out now," Luna whispered.

They moved forward. Shouts and yells filled the basement, but it wasn't until they rounded the corner that Hermione caught a glimpse of the fight. Spells flew in every direction; bodies lay scattered on the ground. She'd spent so long in captivity that she couldn't even remember how a battle looked like.

The first person she spotted was Draco, who was standing in the middle of the room, a deathly calm look on his face as he duelled against three Order members. She thought that there was a certain grace to him in the middle of an ugly battle. Duelling almost seemed too easy for him.

Luna gave her a nudge. "Pansy's over there. But I can't find Blaise."

Hermione's gaze landed on Pansy, who was sprawled in a corner beneath a pile of rubble. But Blaise was nowhere to be seen. "I'll find him."

"Okay, I'll get her out first. Be careful, Hermione," was all the blonde witch said, before she left her side. Seconds later, Pansy vanished as Luna portkeyed them out of the Manor.

She was on her own now.

She gripped her wand and scanned the room. It took her awhile, but eventually she found Blaise. He lay near the pillar diagonally opposite hers. Remembering that the Cloak was resistant to hexes, Hermione clutched it around herself and crawled towards him. Determination overrode her fear. Spells shot above her, but she gritted her teeth and kept crawling. She took refuge behind a duelling Death-Eater, pulled her portkey out and reached for Blaise.

Just then, a blue light hurtled right at the Death-Eater. As he ducked, the spell exploded into the wall instead. A fiery burn seared across her leg as the wall came crashing down on her. She let out a sharp cry as the debris landed on her foot.

Fingers closed around her Cloak.

The Cloak was lifted off her in an instant. "You!" The Death-Eater's eyes lit with murderous intent as he recognised her. "You're that mudblood!"

He clasped a rough hand around her shoulder and she shrieked, flinging her fist into his face. The Death-Eater swore and stumbled. Behind him, at the other end of the hallway, she caught a glimpse of Draco.

He was looking right at her and the horror on his face mirrored hers exactly.

But as the Death-Eater reached for her again, an instinctive spell flew out of her lips. "Flipendo!"

It wasn't a particularly strong one, but sufficient to knock him back several feet. Seizing the opportunity, Hermione whipped out her portkey and grabbed Blaise's hand. Keeping a tight grip on the Cloak and her wand, she yanked on the portkey and vanished with Blaise.

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He thought he'd imagined things when he first heard her voice.

It had thrown him off at first, and he'd cast a fleeting glance in the general direction he'd heard it from. But this was ridiculous - Hermione wasn't even a part of this plan. She was at Godric's Hollow, with phials at the ready to ease any injuries Pansy, Blaise or Luna came back with.

He dismissed it as a figment of his imagination and turned back to the duel at hand. Three Order members against him. But their hexes were laughably easy to deflect, and he soon became annoyed with their incompetence. They were supposed to capture him, for Salazar's sake. How difficult could that be?

For a moment, he considered surrendering to let them capture him. But – no. The Lestranges were nearby, and he couldn't raise any suspicions. The Dark Lord could lose Death-Eaters of lower ranks, but he would be at the top of the hit list if he were to be seen defecting.

He was still deep in thought when he heard that familiar voice again. He froze and spun around. That was when he saw her.

Hermione.

The sight of her kicked the air from his lungs. For the split second that their gazes locked, he saw - no, felt - the horror in her eyes.

But before he could do anything, he felt a strong hex hit him from the back, too forceful to even resist. It sent him spiralling to the ground. He tasted blood as his cheek collided heavily against the floor, and for a moment, he saw his vision blur with black spots.