Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Inc., Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Raincoast, and any other affiliated party.
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"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs."
Proverbs 10:12 Chapter 7: A Supposed Betrayal
"Wizards! Those damn wizards have come!"
Hermione woke up from her peaceful slumber. She had, like many nights before, been blissfully dreaming about being in Harry's arms, legs and all. However, it seemed that now was not the time to be having peaceful dreams.
Once she was fully awake, Hermione dragged herself out of her bed into her wheelchair right next to it. She also threw a blanket over her thighs, covering the fact that she had nothing below them under the skirts of her nightgown.
Hermione managed to wheel herself out of her room and gasped at the sight before her. Legions of Death Eaters were streaming into the palace. The members of the muggle resistance were fighting them off, but bullets and explosives didn't stand much of a chance against magic. Feeling defenseless, Hermione tried to wheel away from the thick of the battle. She wheeled into Seymour and Susan.
"Hermione, are you OK?" asked Susan. Hermione nodded.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"I'll tell you what's going on," hissed Seymour. His face was very red with anger. "Some one betrayed us to the wizards!"
"We don't know that for sure," countered Susan.
"How else could they have figured out where we were than? The only way they could've found out is if we were betrayed!" yelled Seymour. He glared at Hermione and Hermione shuddered; it was clear that Seymour suspected her.
At that moment, an explosion rocked over their heads. "Dammit!" yelled Seymour as he started firing his machine gun at the Death Eaters who were closing in. One of them fired a beam out of his wand that created an even larger explosion. Hermione was flung off her wheelchair and hit the ground quite hard. She promptly blacked out.
* * * * * * * * * *
When she finally came to, Hermione was still on the ground, and she found herself surrounded by a dozen Death Eaters. It was clearly only a few minutes later and she saw Susan and Seymour tied up with other members of the resistance near by. She also shuddered when she saw the bodies of some resistance members who weren't so lucky. Tears brimmed on her eyes and she tried to sit up, fighting a throbbing headache.
One of the Death Eaters took a step toward Hermione and muttered in a sophisticated British accent, "Granger?" Hermione immediately sat up, her eyes wide in astonishment.
"How do you know her?" demanded Susan. Seymour looked absolutely livid.
The Death Eater whipped around to face them. After considering them for a moment, the Death Eater said, "Why, I've known her for quite some time now. Did you not know that your 'friend' here is a witch?" His voice suggested that he was smirking.
"Ha! I knew it! I knew she was the traitor!" shouted Seymour, a look of satisfaction on his face for having his suspicions apparently confirmed. Susan's eyes widen into a look of betrayal. Hermione tried to catch her eye while shaking her head. That tears were falling freely now.
"Take them away. To the camps," said the Death Eater to his comrades. The captured resistance members were led away, leaving Hermione with the Death Eater. Hermione glanced up at the Death Eater with fear in her eyes. The Death Eater chuckled and said, "Who would've thought that I'd run into you here, mudblood." He threw off his hood and Hermione gasped.
It was Draco Malfoy.
"You!" shouted Hermione, her previous fear replaced with anger.
"Yes me," said Draco with a smirk. "My, have you changed, Granger," he said as he glanced down at her skirts where the lack of her legs was obvious. "Your new look actually suits you better."
Hermione gritted her teeth, trying to hold her anger down. "Say something like that again Malfoy, and you'll lose more than just your legs."
"I see that other things haven't changed," said Draco. He started gazing her up and down. Hermione shuddered and wished she had more on than her thin nightgown. "Good thing the rest of you is intact," he said with a sick grin.
"W-what do you mean by that?" demanded Hermione. She started to get frightened of the gleam in Draco's cold gray eyes.
"What I mean is that you could provide me with some very private entertainment," said Draco, with a look in his eyes that could only mean mad lust.
Hermione was now shaking with fear, and she tried to crawl away. She backed up into a pile of crates. Draco crouched right next to her and grinned. He cupped her cheek. Hermione shuddered at how icy Draco's hand felt.
"Not right now, of course, but once we get back to Malfoy Manor. I will show you how I made many a girl scream with pleasure."
Anger welling up in her blood once again, Hermione slapped Draco as hard as she could. "I would rather die," she hissed. Draco's face rocked back, and he looked furious when he turned back to her.
"Perhaps you would like to lose your arms as well, mudblood! Then, you will really know what its like to be helpless!" He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Hermione's right shoulder. Hermione simply glared at him defiantely. Finally, Draco's face relaxed into a smirk.
"But we have plenty of time, Granger," he said. "Once we're at the manor, maybe you'll think differently." He placed his hand on her shoulder and the two promptly disapparated.
* * * * * * * * * *
Back in Scotland, Harry was just about to leave Hogwarts when Ron cornered him at the front door. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"I need to go away for awhile."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you. But I promise I'll be back in a few days."
"How do I know that? The last time, you disappeared for two years!"
"This isn't the same as last time. I promise I'll be back. I just have to go do this."
Ron was about to say something when Margaret came by, looking exhausted from her training. "What's going on here?" she asked.
"Nothing much," said Harry. "I'm just leaving for a few days to do something very important and Ron doesn't seem to trust my promise that I'll come back."
Margaret glared at Ron and Ron backed away looking a little sheepish. "You should learn to trust your friends more," she said.
Ron sighed. "All right. You can go. But you'd better come back!"
Harry grinned and nodded. He left the school and proceeded to make his way to the forbidden forest. Although it was generally known that most people would rather kiss Voldemort than go into the forest alone at night, Harry seemed to have no problem walking through the dark canopy. Eventually, Harry made it to a large clearing, deep in the forest.
After waiting for a while Harry looked up to see someone enter the clearing. It was the rider on the stag. Harry smiled as the stag walked up to him.
"Hey," said Harry.
"Hello Harry," said the rider with a clear feminine voice. She climbed off the stag and walked up to Harry. Before either could say a word, they embraced each other. They remained in that position for a few minutes before they finally pulled away. Harry then went up to the stag and pulled its neck into a strong hug. The stag rested its head on Harry's shoulder, making sure its long antlers didn't hit Harry. Finally, Harry pulled away.
"I received your owl," said the rider. Hedwig suddenly swooped down and landed on the rider's shoulder. "She's very clever," she said as she stroked the snowy white owl.
Harry smiled and said, "Thanks for coming here."
Both the rider and the stag looked at Harry. "So, you're really going?" asked the rider.
Harry nodded and said "I know it's not wise to leave Hogwarts now. If the school is attacked while I'm gone, the resistance will be over. But this is something I really need to do."
"Well, I suppose that's why you wanted to see us," said the rider.
"Yes. I want you to protect Hogwarts while I'm gone."
"Are you sure we can handle the job? Voldemort will probably have the school attacked with his most powerful forces while you're gone. Do you really think we can stop them?"
Harry smiled. "When I called you two back, I also managed to grant you powers similar to my own. The two of you are practically Battle Wizards now, like me. I have absolute confidence in your abilities."
The rider beamed behind her mask. Suddenly, the stag started prodding Harry with his antlers in a playful way. Harry grinned and transformed into a lion. The lion and the stag started prance around the clearing, playfully pouncing on each other occasionally. The rider laughed at the antics of the two animals as they occasionally rolled around on the grass. At times, the lion's mane got tangled with the stag's antlers. Finally, Harry turned back into his human form.
"Well, as much as I like frolicking around, I really can't waste time. I need to go."
Both the rider and the stag nodded in understanding. Harry hugged the stag again. He then, walked up to the rider.
"Remember Harry," said the rider as she hugged him, "that I always loved you, and I always will."
Harry nodded and hugged her back. "I love you too. Always have, and always will."
They remained in an embrace for a few minutes. The stag also placed his head on Harry's shoulder and Harry hugged him as well. Finally, he pulled away and pulled his Firebolt out from beneath his cloak.
"I've got to go," he said. He mounted the broomstick and took off into the night air. The rider looked up as Harry flew away before she climbed back onto the stag.
"Go get her, Harry," she said, as the stag galloped away into the forest.
After flying for a while, Harry stopped in the air. He pulled out the bracelet that had the three gems on them. All three gems were shining. Harry started concentrating and sending magic into the bracelet. Suddenly, all three gems flashed and gave off beams of light! The green gem gave off a beam that was pointing toward Harry's chest. The beam of the red gem pointed to Hogwarts. And the beam of the blue gem pointed toward the south.
"Yes!" shouted Harry. "The connection is still strong!" He turned around, and sped his broomstick toward the way the beam of the blue gem was pointing.
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A/N One of the things I like about Draco Malfoy is that he works either way. You can use him as some kind of hero, or you can use him as a nasty villain, and they both work in character surprisingly enough. Well, a little warning: next chapter is the chapter that warrants the high rating of this story. So please keep that in mind while you read it. So please R/R.