Discovered!

— "Expelliarmus !"

Draco had quickly cast the disarming spell at a Death Eater who had his back to him. He had not used the lethal spell, for the first time he needed his opponent to stay alive. No sooner had the wizard's wand flown than Draco closed the gap between them before tripping him with a good kick. The wizard was far too surprised by the attack that he had no time to react. He found himself on the ground slightly stunned and he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Malfoy made a circular movement over his head and a thin translucent veil formed around them. The wizard on the ground could scream as much as he wanted, no one would hear him. The Death Eater recovered from his earlier stupor and found himself facing the man who had knocked him down.

— "Malfoy ?" the man gasped as he recognised him.

— "Well, no need for introductions: you know who I am !" exclaimed the blond man while pointing his wand at the throat of the wizard who still didn't understand what was going on. "You're going to tell me immediately where the secret passage in the kitchens is..."

As Draco spoke, Hermione, who was still hidden behind his back, shifted slightly to observe the scene. The wizard, who was still on the ground, recognized her instantly.

— "So you're the traitor !" he cried, widening his eyes even more in amazement.

Draco was not impressed by the revelations he was making. He had no time ; he pressed harder into the crook of the wizard's neck and repeated his question :

— "Where is the secret passage ? No need to lie to me, I know you know it ! SPEAK !" demanded the blond man in an uncompromising tone.

— "I'd rather die... ALERT ! ALERT !" the man shouted, trying to free himself from Malfoy's grip.

— "There's no need to shout. No one will hear you and no one will come to save you. It's between you and me. Believe me, I'll make you talk !" said Draco in a cold, almost evil voice. "Immobilis !"

The spell prevented the Death Eater from trying anything against Hermione or Draco. He was still breathing and able to speak, only his body movements were completely frozen. Malfoy took the opportunity to pull a blade from his belt. He took his prisoner's hand and laid it flat on the stone floor. He spread his fingers before placing the blade on the first phalanx of his little finger.

— "Where is the passage ?" the Slytherin asked again.

— "Fuck you !" the Death Eater replied contemptuously.

Draco didn't like the answer at all and pressed hard on the blade which sliced off his prisoner's little finger. The prisoner screamed in pain, but that didn't stop the blonde from repeating the question.

— "Where is the passage ?"

— "Hummpff..."

— "There is not only the Doloris spell to obtain confessions. You have enough phalanges to cut off until you give me what I want ! So answer !"

Draco got nothing but inaudible grunts. This did not stop him and he moved his blade to the second phalanx and sliced it off in one swift movement. Inevitably, the wizard screamed again in pain.

— "You want to play that ? After your fingers, I still have your ears or your nose. And why not your eyes ? Is it really worth it to suffer so much for a simple piece of information I ask for ?" Draco questioned with such detachment that it was chilling to those who heard him.

Hermione was so horrified by what she was seeing and hearing that she did not say a word. Her brain was trying to understand the logic of the blonde's thinking. She hadn't had time to wonder about the meaning of the word traitor that had been thrown by the Death Eater to the ground. She had entertained the idea that Malfoy might have been helping the Order of the Phoenix in some way, as well as Severus. But from the moment he had started torturing the other wizard, the brunette recognised the Slytherin's selfish behaviour. He was only acting for his own benefit. In this case, he was even enjoying abusing the Death Eater to get the answer that would get them out of this horrible place.

— "If... if I tell you... it's... it's the Dark Lord who will kill me ! And... and I won't betray my lord for... for that filthy Mudblood !" he shouted, glaring at Hermione with disdain before screaming again in pain.

Draco had immediately cut off the next phalanx at his affront. He was beginning to lose his patience and at this rate the prisoner would be broken into little pieces long before they had secured their escape. The blond decided to opt for a new strategy.

— "Who am I ?"

— "W-What ?" the man asked incredulously.

— "Who am I ?" Malfoy repeated seriously.

— "You... you're Draco Malfoy," the man replied unsure if that was the answer he was looking for.

— "And ?" the blond man insisted, sounding half satisfied with the answer.

— "One of the Dark Lord's right-hand men...," the Death Eater tried, still unsure of his answer.

— "Good !" Draco congratulated. "And as such, you know that I am a wizard with one word."

The blond waited a few seconds before continuing, he had captured the attention of the prisoner who seemed to be thinking as fast as his intellectual abilities would allow.

— "I'll give you a choice : either I continue to cut you into small pieces, or you finally decide to tell me where the secret passage is. In that case, I'll let you live and make it look like a duel when we find you."

The two men stared at each other: one was waiting for the other's answer, who was clearly weighing up the pros and cons of this proposal. No need to be a legilimens, Draco could easily guess the tribulations of the prisoner! He clearly didn't want to die at the hands of either Draco or his Master. And by offering to make it look like a fight, the Slytherin knew that it would motivate the prisoner. Indeed, the blond knew only too well how the vast majority of Death Eaters acted. Whenever they could try to flatter Lord Voldemort to gain his favour, they did! But when there was no response, Draco swung his bloody blade at another of the Death Eater's phalanxes. His eyes flashed with fear; he did not want to feel the pain of the weapon's edge yet.

— "The kitchens," the wizard finally admitted.

— "Precise !" demanded Draco, who couldn't be satisfied with that answer.

— "The elves know where the secret passage is, ask them !" he replied with some relief at having saved his life with this admission.

Draco nodded briefly and pointed his wand at the prisoner. But instead of releasing him from the blocking spell, a green light filled the corridor before silence fell. The Death Eater now lay lifeless, bathed in the blood that had flowed from his fingers.

— "You... you promised to let him live if he gave you the information ! You... you really have no words, Malfoy !" Hermione snapped violently. "You're a despicable, despicable being ! You..."

Draco sat up straight as he undid the silence spell around them and glared at the brunette.

— "Never trust a Death Eater ! Now shut up and follow me !"

Hermione wanted to object, but something inside her told her that she had no choice but to follow him. After all, there might be a way out and she would soon be able to leave this prison full of Death Eaters and enemies of the Order. Yet the blond's last words kept echoing in her mind : "Never trust a Death Eater." This undoubtedly included the blonde, who would surely not hesitate to sacrifice her to save his own skin.

Their race through the corridors continued, to the rhythm of the corpses Draco left in their path. So many deaths to reach the exit. The Gryffindor had stopped counting and watching them fall one after the other. She was trying not to focus on the coldness Malfoy was using to eliminate all these people.

Suddenly, several loud sounds echoed through a part of the castle. This immediately alerted Draco, who turned his head to determine where all the noises were coming from.

— "Shit ! Faster, Granger !" he ordered.

— "What's going on ?" the brunette questioned, sensing concern in the tone of the other wizard's voice.

— "There's no time ! Run ! Now !"

Draco knew that the Dark Lord and his men had just returned to headquarters. How long would it be before he realised something was wrong ? How long before the corpses were discovered in the corridors ? How long before they were discovered ? How long before...

— "ALERT !" came a distant voice.

— "Too late !" thought Draco. "Run Granger ! Now ! The kitchens !"

It was the first time Draco had let his stress and urgency show. It sent another rush of adrenaline through the brunette's body as she ran as fast as she could. She drew on her last resources to follow the wizard who was trying to free her. Moreover, he was no longer careful to be discreet. The deadly spells were coming at a furious pace with a great clatter and they were leaving behind their dead. As Hermione watched Draco act, she understood why her side had lost the war : the Death Eaters were ruthless. In their never-ending race, they passed through many corridors and staircases until they reached a door.

— "Coloportus," Draco said, pointing to the kitchen door as they passed through it.

Hermione collapsed to her knees, one hand on her chest as she took deep breaths. She was completely out of breath and her lungs were burning from the effort she had just made. It was almost a miracle that she could stand such a pace.

— "You !" Draco ordered as he walked towards a house elf. "The secret way out of here ! Now !" he shouted as he grabbed the magical creature by the garment he was wearing and brought it to his feet.

— "I cannot tell you, my Lord," replied the elf who was not in the least bit frightened by Draco's behaviour.

— "Answer ! That's an order !" Draco insisted as he heard in the distance that another lifeless body had been discovered.

— "I can't answer that, Lord Malfoy," the house elf repeated calmly, reluctant to comply with the wizard's request.

— "Show me this passage or I'll kill you !" threatened Draco in exasperation at the waste of time he was suffering because of this insignificant creature.

— "I only take orders from the Dark Lord," the elf replied.

Upon hearing this answer, Draco pursed his lips and pointed his wand at the creature's head, ready to cast the unforgivable spell. But he was interrupted by a hand that rested on his forearm.

— "Let me... talk to it," Hermione asked calmly as she regained some breath.

Draco looked into the brunette's steely eyes. He wanted to tell her to mind her own business, but something stopped him. He didn't know why, but he saw a certain determination in the witch's gaze that made him release his hold on the magical creature, which fell back to the ground ungraciously. However, he had no time to ask the Gryffindor what she intended to do with the stupid elf. A noise from the door they had just passed was heard.

— "HERE ! it's over here !" shouted a male voice from the other side of the door.

Draco reacted quickly! He wasn't going to fail so close! He quickly waved his wand so that many pieces of furniture were piled up in front of the door to slow down those on the other side. Tables were knocked over and laid out like protective shields. Then he waved his wand again: an armada of sharp utensils were held aloft, ready to injure or kill anyone who came through the door. Finally, he levitated a large basin filled with water and poured it over the entire area between him and the entrance.

— "Alohomora."

Someone had just spoken the formula but the door remained closed. Draco held his breath for a brief moment before a thin smile stretched across his face. If this simple spell didn't work, it meant that the wizard on the other side was not a powerful mage. The Slytherin therefore had the advantage over his opponent.

— "Get out of the way !" shouted a squeaky voice.

Draco immediately lost his smile as he recognised the voice of his Aunt Bellatrix. The upcoming fight would surely be a tough one ; the blonde took a deep breath to keep his head.

— "Bombarda Maxima !"

The door shattered and pieces of stone flew out of the wall. The furniture that Draco had previously arranged took the blast. The wizard immediately lowered his wand and all the utensils fell towards the opening. The air began to whistle; the blades struck everything in their path : wood, stone, but also flesh.

— "Repulso !" was thrown by a wizard.

The furniture that blocked the entrance was thrown against the walls. Draco crouched behind the table where he was standing: he did not want to be spotted and he did not want to be hurt by debris. A light veil of dust hung in the air, making it difficult to see how many people had entered the kitchen. Draco relied on the sound of footsteps that began to echo in the huge puddle he had caused a short while before. Three of them. There were three of them coming forward and they all had their feet in the water.

Draco brought the tip of his wand down towards the water beside him, but without touching it directly. A trickle of electricity came from his wand and spread across the puddle. There was no scream, only muffled moans. The Slytherin held his spell for a moment until he judged that his opponents must have been electrocuted. As soon as he undid the magic, the bodies collapsed to the ground, lifeless. He exhaled slowly and silently, satisfied that he had eliminated three enemies at once. But his joy lasted only a brief second, for it was interrupted by slow, loud applause. This prevented him from noticing that his wand had cracked slightly from the excess magic he had just used.

— "Show yourself, little one !" Bellatrix Lestrange sang happily.

Draco gritted his teeth in annoyance; his aunt had not perished under the onslaught of sharp blades. She was a formidable opponent and she knew a lot of spells. As Draco knew, Bellatrix Lestrange was a very powerful witch with a psyche bordering on insanity; that made her even more dangerous.

— "I wonder who was the one who dared... dared to challenge the Dark Lord... come out of hiding, you traitor !" she almost sang as she scanned her surroundings for the slightest noise and movement.

The cloud of dust was still quite dense and it made it difficult to see the surroundings clearly. The witch listened carefully, for she had heard a whisper coming from a corner of the kitchen. She looked in that direction and saw a human form crouching. The cloud continued to dissipate to reveal the figure.

— "Oooh... but it's that you released the Mudblood... tss tss tss...," the witch nodded in displeasure, "you shouldn't have ! Avad..."

But she stopped in the middle of her incantation, her eyes suddenly widened and seemed to pop out of their sockets a little more. A piece of kitchen furniture was flying at high speed in her direction, forcing her to step aside abruptly, even in extremis.

— "You talk too much !"

Draco had just spoken clearly and intelligibly in order to draw his aunt's attention to him. The desired effect was achieved: Bellatrix looked away even more in surprise.

— "Draco ?" the witch gasped.

— "Did I surprise the great Bellatrix Lestrange ?" the blond man laughed at his older sister's bewildered expression.

— "Why would you do that ? Why do all this ? To sully your name... to betray your master... All this for... for this..."

— "It would take too long to explain, dear Aunt, and I'm not sure you'd understand," the blonde taunted before casting a deadly spell in Bellatrix's direction.

This action revealed her position and a merciless duel began between the two wizards. Meanwhile, Hermione was trying to persuade the house elf to help her escape from the premises. But this was no easy task : the magical creature was behaving like many of its kind. Besides, it didn't seem to be affected at all by the way Draco had manhandled it just before. The elf had gotten up, started dusting off the clothes he was wearing and was about to return to his task of putting the kitchen back in order. But he was unable to do so because Hermione, still kneeling before him, spoke to him.

— "Why don't you answer the question ?"

— "I'm not answering to a bloody muggle !" the elf retorted as he spat on the floor.

— "But you didn't do it either, for your master," she said, pointing at the blonde.

— "He is not my master. I only serve the Dark Lord," the creature said as it stared at Hermione with its big bulging eyes.

At that moment the elf snapped his fingers and blew away some debris from the fierce battle between the other two wizards. Hermione had always been impressed by the magical power of these creatures, but she also knew that it was very difficult to convince them to do anything against their unwavering loyalty to their master. And when the master in question was none other than Lord Voldemort, it made the exercise even more complicated.

— "But Malfoy serves your master too ! If he asked you to leave, he was ordered to do so..."

— "Why should I believe a filthy Mudblood like you!" he retorted with disdain.

— "Because this is all part of a plan hatched by the Dark Lord himself. He has given Malfoy... a mission... to... to get close to Harry Potter."

As she spoke the Survivor's name, Hermione saw in the elf's eyes that he was thinking. Harry Potter was the enemy his Master most wanted to find and eliminate. The magical creature stared at Hermione and then at the fight going on behind them.

— "Why are the Dark Lord's two most trusted servants fighting in his kitchen ?"

— "Because it's part of the plan. Malfoy has to look like a traitor in order to achieve his master's goal of deceiving the Order of the Phoenix."

Hermione had said this with such sincerity and conviction that it took no more than that for the elf to make his decision. He was in the service of the Dark Lord and he wanted nothing more than to serve his interests. The elf shifted, looked towards Bellatrix and snapped his fingers. The witch was suddenly propelled out of the kitchen and into a wall.

The elf bowed slightly to Draco who was trying to understand what had just happened. The creature snapped its fingers again and disappeared :

— "Long live the Dark Lord !"

A second passed before a section of wall vibrated until a dark hallway appeared. Draco was slowly catching his breath, but as soon as he saw the opening he rushed in and grabbed Hermione's wrist to rush in. He had no idea where this tunnel led, but it was their salvation. Especially since the alarm had just been raised: Bellatrix Lestrange's voice echoed through the walls. The elf had not killed her, she must have been slightly stunned by the shock.

— "Faster Granger !"

Hermione was at the end of her rope, even with all her strength of will, her body was giving way and she was slowing down in spite of herself.

— "They're here !" shouted several Death Eaters who had also started down the path.

Draco realised that he had no choice. It was time to use the vial his godfather had given him. He threw it over his shoulder and heard it break, spilling its contents onto the ground. He then continued his flight forward, the moonlight was coming on. He saw Hermione stop abruptly at the end of the path but he ignored it. He grabbed the witch, wrapped his two strong arms around her, and jumped into the void below them.

At the same time, the potion had begun to act as soon as it had come into contact with the air. First small wisps of smoke had appeared before bursting into flames and exploding violently. The explosion was so violent that it destroyed that part of the castle and the wave propelled the two fugitives a little faster downwards. They plunged sharply into the icy water around them. Hermione gasped. The cold penetrated her skin like a thousand knife blades. She had no strength left to fight and she expected to die at any moment. Her whole body was unresponsive. But as she felt herself sinking into unconsciousness, she felt air enter her lungs again.

Air ?

The sensation was almost painful, but it confirmed to her that she was still alive. All her senses were numb, but she was gradually regaining awareness of her surroundings. She could not move; her body did not respond. She realised she was no longer in the water when her hand came into contact with the sand.

Sand ?

— "Granger ? Can you hear me ?"

Hermione didn't answer, she was still far too stunned to react to the blonde's voice. She was shivering, freezing in the cold outside and in her soggy clothes. Draco noticed this and waved his wand again, it cracked further all the way through the wood. He had cast spells to warm the brunette up and to dry the clothes she was wearing. Their benefits were quickly felt. Hermione was no longer shivering.

Memories of the last few minutes began to come back to her mind. She had been running through the secret passage and had stopped abruptly when she saw the void below her. Then she remembered being grabbed very hard, her body plunging through the air until she was pushed brutally into the water below. Yes, that was it, there had been an explosion. She looked up and saw Voldemort's fortress. Flames were pouring out of the area they had left earlier.

— "What happened ?" she said painfully.

— "We lost our pursuers... for now," he replied, looking in the same direction as her.

— "And now ?" the brunette asked.

— "We're moving ! We can't stay here forever. I hope this explosion is enough to make the world think we're dead," the blonde explained calmly.

Draco started to move forward, but stopped when he saw that the witch wasn't moving an inch.

— "What's the matter, Granger ? Aren't you happy to be out in the open ?"

The brunette was silent for a few seconds before she said:

— "I'm hungry !"

It was true that the witch hadn't had anything in her belly for several days and all the efforts she had to produce to escape an unfortunate fate had exhausted all her last reserves. Moreover, Draco seemed to be in a little less of a hurry, so she wanted to make him understand that she would no longer obey as meekly as she had up to then. She knew they couldn't stay this close to Voldemort's fortress for long, but in the meantime she wanted to eat.

Draco, for his part, paused when he heard the witch's request. Was this really the time to complain about such a physiological need ? They were far from out of the woods. But the wizard felt that if he wanted her to be a little more cooperative in the future, he could do her the favour. The Malfoy estate had a room where food was always stored ; it was enough to use a family spell to conjure up food anywhere on earth, or at least in England. Draco grabbed his wand and began to say the spell. But something unusual happened to his wand : it glowed brightly and then shattered into several pieces.

— "No !" he exclaimed in shock.