Malfoy Manor

Warning: Language!

...

Harry woke up to the sound of screaming. It only took him a nanosecond to realize that the one screaming was Hermione. He bolted upright to find himself on a cold and hard surface which he knew was the floor. He looked around but he could only have limited sight due to the dimly lit room. The room was more like a cell with two adjacent cement walls and steel cell bars.

"Harry?" a familiar voice which filled him with anger said.

He looked to his side to see his supposedly best mate kneeling and looking at him with worry in his blue eyes.

"Are you okay, mate?" Ron asked. He had dark bags under his eyes, his skin was pale, and he had a tired look on his face but Harry could care less for him. He had not forgotten his betrayal.

Before Harry could answer, three figures emerged from the shadows. Harry was filled with relief at once as he saw Mrs. Weasley, Percy alive, and...

"Luna?" Harry said in amazement.

"Hello, Harry," she said in her usual dreamy tone and smiled. Her dirty blond hair was in a ponytail and she was filled with dirt and grime all over.

Mrs. Weasley ran towards Harry and wrapped him in a tight embrace. Percy held back, feeling out of place.

"Oh, Harry, dear... I was so worried about you. Are you alright? Are you hurting anywhere?" she asked, checking his figure for any sign of injuries.

"I-I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. How about you? Are you alright?" Harry asked with a frown. His eyes roamed over her figure. She had become thinner, probably due to the lack of food, and her face was filled with cuts and bruises.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I may be getting old but I can still manage very well but thank you for asking," she said.

Harry nodded. He turned to Percy. "It's good to see you're okay, too. No matter what an arse you were."

Percy nodded, understanding. "Thank you for your concern. And I'm sorry for being... an arse."

Another scream was heard from upstairs.

Harry stood up abruptly and ran towards the cell bars. His hands gripped the bars as he screamed with all his might, "HERMIONE!"

Harry's mind filled with despair. She was being tortured. There was no doubt about it. He let go of the cell bars and paced around the cell, his hands running through his messy hair. He closed his eyes and fought to calm himself.

He turned towards Ron.

"How long has she been there?" Harry asked with clenched teeth.

"Almost fifteen minutes. It's Bellatrix," Ron said in a small voice.

"Bloody hell. What happened?!"

"We weren't sure but we could hear them talking. Greyback arrived with Snatchers and claimed that he should be rewarded. Bellatrix shut him up then screamed. She asked Hermione why she has the a sword in her bag and how she had stolen it. I don't know which sword she was talking about but I have a pretty good guess. Anyway, Hermione said she only found it. Bellatrix said something about going into a vault then Hermione screamed. It's been a while. I don't doubt she's under Cruciatus now."

Ron was looking at him with a guilty expression.

"Look, Harry, I'm..."

Harry cut him off short. "Stuff it, Ron. I'll deal with you later. Right now, Hermione needs me."

Ron stood in front of him. "I'll help you."

Harry glared at him unblinkingly. He was so infuriated at this man in front of him. His eyes saw red.

"Look, Ron, I don't have time to deal with your shite right now so why don't you just sit down like a good boy, huh? Will that hurt? I don't need your help! You were never helping anyway. You are selfish, weak, and bloody irresponsible. I don't even know why I let you stick around! Just leave me alone!"

He addressed Luna. "Luna, is there any way to get out of here?"

"I'm afraid we've tried everything, Harry. It's impossible. They took our wands."

Harry then noticed two more figures behind her. One was an old man who was sitting on the ground and what looked to be a familiar goblin.

"Mr. Ollivander? Griphook? You're here, too?"

Mr. Ollivander stood up weakly with Luna supporting him and stepped out of the shadows.

"Why, Mr. Potter, it is good to see you again though I had hoped the circumstances are different," the old wandmaker said.

Griphook followed right after him. "I am pleased you remember someone like me, Mr. Potter. Wizards don't usually bother with that. You surprise me, especially when we only met once and that was six years ago."

Harry nodded to both of them. "Are you both alright?"

They both nodded in return.

"I have to ask, Mr. Potter, I have heard from that foul witch above mention a sword which I assume is the Sword of Gryffindor. Is this true?"

Harry nodded. "We found it under a pond."

Griphook raised a brow. "That is a goblin-forged sword, I must say. That sword belongs to our people."

"I assure you, Griphook, we did not steal it. That sword came to me once in my second year to help me defeat the Basilisk of the Chamber of Secrets and now, it came to me to help me in my quest which I cannot tell you about. Even if I return it to you, it will still come to aid me as it recognizes me as a true Gryffindor that can wield it properly."

Griphook nodded. "In a while, I know I will be summoned to confirm if that sword really is the Sword of Gryffindor. Now, I don't usually interfere in wizard problems, but in your case, I am willing to do an exception but for an exchange."

"I'm willing to do anything to save Hermione."

"Very well. I will help you save your friend and in turn, help me escape from this wretched place."

Harry smiled. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

True to his word, a moment later, a familiar round, bald man appeared outside the cell bars.

"Wormtail," Harry growled.

"Good to see you too, Harry," Peter Pettigrew said, attempting to sound brave though he felt like trembling.

"When I get my hands on you..."

"You won't do anything if the sort, Harry. You are too noble for that. I came for the goblin."

Pettigrew flicked his wand to open the cell bars and pulled the goblin out while pointing his wand towards them to prevent them from attacking him.

Harry glared at him with all the hate and rage he could muster as he disappeared. Harry returned to pacing about the cells with a pensive look on his face. Just then, a figure outside the cell bars appeared. His blond hair was unkempt and he looked paler than he usually did. His features were thin and his eyes were steely grey. He wore a black suit. Harry gaped at him in surprise but then he growled.

"Malfoy," he spat.

Draco merely nodded. "Potter," he said with surprising sincerity, unusual from the Malfoy scion. Even his usual smirk was absent.

"What do you bloody want?" Ron said through gritted teeth.

"I came to help."

Harry snorted. "I don't trust you one bit."

Draco nodded again. "Not surprising. But I did come here to help."

"Liar!" Percy spat. Molly was trying to calm him down.

As if ignoring Percy, Harry asked, "Why would you do that?"

Draco shook his head. "I can't tell you now because we'll run out of time." He then pulled something out of his back pocket which Harry realized were their wands. Draco threw them in the cell. They all took their wands. Ron pointed his wand at the Malfoy with a curse at the tip of his tongue but Harry halted him.

"No. We have plenty of time to do that later. Right now, we have to save Hermione and get Griphook."

As if hearing his words, Hermione screamed again. Harry winced then turned to Draco. "I hope you have a plan."

Draco nodded. "I won't be participating actively but I will cover for you. But first... I want you to call a friend of yours. I trust you remember him. He's our former house elf. He can get through the wards without being discovered. I would call him but he's not our elf anymore and is practically loyal to you."

Harry understood immediately. "Dobby!"

At once, a small pop resounded throughout a cell and beside Harry stood a creature with tennis ball eyes and wore a filthy pillowcase. He had pointy ears and a thin frame. His height only reached Harry's waist.

Dobby's eyes lit up. "The Great Harry Potter has called for Dobby?"

Harry smiled at the elf. Some things never change. "First of all, Dobby, just call me Harry."

Dobby looked at him sheepishly. "I'll try, Harry Potter sir."

"Okay. We need your help, Dobby. We need to get out of here. Can you bypass the wards?"

"Of course, Harry Potter sir! Dobby can pop in and out of former master's manor."

"That's great. Malfoy?"

Draco nodded. "Alright. First off, Dobby should take the others somewhere safe while you, Potter, and Weasley stay. I don't give a damn about your personal issues. If you want to get out of here, you have no choice but to work together. I will have to get back soon and will cover you."

Draco pulled something out from his pocket and Harry realized it was Hermione's bottomless bag.

"You'll probably need what's in here."

He handed it to Harry. "Do what you must. That's all I can do for you. You do what you can. But we must hurry. The Dark Lord is coming."

Harry nodded. "Thank you for... you know. Malfoy. You're not half bad."

Draco nodded in turn. "Good luck." He unlocked the cell bars then disappeared in the shadows.