Dark Matter

As she ran, she saw Deatheaters from across the castle trying to break into the barriers of Hogwarts. Bellatrix was doing a hell of a job as her wand kept sending out lightning-like strikes all over the castle, making the floors rumble like the earth had aftershocks. She saw Aurors running all over the place, in desperate need of back-up from others. Even six Aurors were no match for one Bellatrix.

Hermione nearly tripped on her gown, running through countless flights of stairs, running through debris. Reaching the turret, she looked up and saw a faint glow of light coming from the top.

"Draco?" she whispered. The door to the last room had been opened and Draco stood in front, his black robes billowing into the cold night, he looked nearly perfect in his tuxedo, except for that heated look in his eyes.

"I told you to stay with them!" Draco said angrily. His hand was bleeding profusely now; the blood seeped through his glove, dripping on the unwelcoming stone floors. Inside his robes was the wooden box his aunt had craved to give to the Master personally. Since he was the first to open it in hundreds of years, naturally, the box owed life to Draco. Hermione saw the box and she nearly shuddered, knowing she had touched it and had wondered what was inside it since she had seen it shut the last time.

Hermione took a step back, in panic and uncertainty. "I- please tell me what's going on?"

"Leave! Get out while you can!"

She shuddered, taking another step back. "Please let me help you?" she whispered. She held out a hand in the air, as if to grasp what was around Draco's neckline.

"Don't you understand? You could die in here!" he shouted angrily, determined to send her off in fear for her life. He held her by the shoulders, roughly shaking her without him really meaning to.

"Tell me what's going on! We can stop this, please!" she cried out.

She stood in the centre of the turret, her hair in slight disarray, her gown's hem in tatters. How could she still look so heart achingly beautiful? Draco nearly buckled down in despair. She would never listen. She loved him that much...She loved him. And he recalled her trust and her words, words he was sure she never whispered so endearingly to anyone else...

He shook his head, determined to push through, no one else would die for him, ever. Just as he was about to take a step forward again, someone grabbed Hermione from behind, stifling her scream.

Draco's eyes widened. "Let her go," he commanded in a deep tone, masking his apprehension.

Hermione struggled, her screams muffled, her movements restricted by the large, hirsute arms around her. Her eyes widened, and Draco knew her eyes were screaming for help and screaming out of disgust as the werewolf smelled her nape and her hair, all the while gloating at Draco.

"What's this young Malfoy?" he said in a hoarse, wolf-like voice. "Has someone gotten wind of our plans?"

"Shut it," Draco spat out. "Let her go. She knows nothing. She's just a snoop, nothing more."

"All the better to eat her with, my dear," Fenrir mimicked in a high pitched voice that sounded like a grandmother on a lot of Pepperup potion. He laughed and howled and Draco showed no emotion.

"Leave her here," Draco told him.

"Alive?" Fenrir said incredulously.

"Indulge your appetite later," Draco said shortly. "We have to go. The White Tomb waits for us-"

"Ah Fenrir, you found my good old nephew!" a voice interrupted them. "And wait- what's this?" She asked theatrically, "Potter's comrade in arms?"

Draco's eyes nearly widened in horror. He said nothing, made no move, his nervousness growing every millisecond. He took a step forward and walked past Fenrir and his aunt.

"We should go," he said, trying to sound as lacklustre as possible. He walked out and didn't look back; afraid the werewolf would hear his heart beat like it would never end.

"I'll meet you at the docks. There's a little tomb we have to break into," Bellatrix informed Draco.

"And the girl?" Fenrir snarled, hinting at Bellatrix his true lycanthropic intentions.

Bellatrix pursed her lips, seeing Draco's figure disappear from the steps. She took a short glance, disinterested with the tattered look of Harry Potter's chum buddy. "Take her along; she might be useful to lure the boy in, aside from target practice for those weaklings," she said, enjoying the fear in Hermione's eyes.

"You still have so much to learn about the real Wizarding world, my little piece of filth. One is that Mudbloods and Purebloods don't mix," she whispered near affectionately into her ear alone as she grabbed Hermione by the hair.

She knew! Bellatrix knew! Hermione gasped and had started to resist and scream when something heavy hit her head and her vision faded to black right before she hit the floor.

Harry's heart pounded terribly, he ran into empty classrooms, wondering where Hermione was. Ron kept calling out her name in the darkness. Harry couldn't fathom why Hermione and Draco ended up together. Was that what Draco once approached him for? When he had denied Draco of any right to speak in his anger for anything related to Voldemort? A blast came from a floor below. Was this a full assault? Harry had heard that the Deatheaters were outnumbered by Hogwarts' student and teacher populace- perhaps it was another distraction?

Harry was about to come into a corner when he stopped in place, holding Ron back with a hand. Peeking quickly at the end of the corridor, he saw the dirty blonde Slytherin slinking for a staircase that led to the eighth floor and into a tower.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Nott- he's looking for something," Harry whispered back, readying his wand.

Ron took a deep breath and readied his wand. As soon as Nott disappeared from the steps, they quickly followed suit, making less noise as the blasts from outside and inside the castle concealed any movement they made. A faint light glowed from the top of the tower. Harry walked up first, his wand out in the event of an attack. Creeping up the steps, they saw Nott stand over the messy room, items strewn all over the place like a freak storm had ripped right through it.

Nott heard the shifting of feet and he quickly lunged out in an attempt to stun Harry. A blast ripped through the turret and Ron slipped a few steps down the stairs. Harry hid behind the staircase and his hand managed to grab Ron's collar.

"Son-of-a-!" Ron breathed trying to balance himself; his lower lip bleeding.

Nott stood wary of their next movements. He saw the sparks flying from outside and knew that the cavalry had come for Hogwarts. He needed the book; he needed to get the book to Draco...

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shot out a spell for Nott, narrowly missing him as Nott dove for the floor.

"Incendio!" Nott yelled out, nearly hitting Harry's hand were it not for Ron's quick repelling spell.

"What's going on, you bastard?!" Ron shouted amidst the din.

Nott took a breath as he slipped into an empty room. His saliva suddenly felt dry, so dry it felt like a cat had gotten hold of his throat, holding it by the claws. He heard Ron's angry question and his jaw tensed. "Isn't it obvious by now, Weasley?" he spat back.

"We can help, I know Draco needs help!" Harry told him from across.

"Help?" Nott laughed bitterly, holding his wand tightly against his chest. "It's too late. As long as everyone doesn't die...but someone has to," he said the last part in a near whisper. He sounded angry and hurt.

Harry had heard enough of it though, and he wondered if it meant his demise.

"Have- have you seen Hermione?" Ron's voice faltered.

Nott stopped breathing for a moment. Damn it! Hermione! Always Hermione! He had nearly forgotten...how was she? She couldn't be dead this early, right? He had only danced with her moments ago and he couldn't forget the first time he had ever asked someone to dance. The way he knew she was nervous and still she tried to be pleasant...

"No," he said, his voice sounded detached.

"Don't do anything to her," Ron begged suddenly, trying to sound assertive at the same time.

Nott blinked twice. Do anything to her? He would have done everything for her! He gulped again, his throat hurting all of a sudden. "Excuse me for a moment, gentlemen," Nott said through gritted teeth. In less than a second, Nott's stood on the window pane, ready to jump.

"No!" Ron shouted just as Nott jumped out.

Harry and Ron ran for the window just in time to see Nott riding a broom, heading for the forest at breakneck speed.

"Bloody arse!" Ron bellowed, his palm hitting a wall.

"Accio broom!" Harry shouted out to the open air. Ron followed suit. Whizzing into the room, their loyal brooms came, halting in midair. Harry kicked off along with Ron, praying they would reach and stop whatever it was the Death Eaters were planning in time. Their eyes stung and so did every part of their bodies. Dress robes were an ill match for the blizzard coming ahead.

"Do you see him?" Ron shouted out.

Harry shook his head, enchanting his glasses to repel snow and water. Then he pointed out. "There!"

Ron trailed after Harry as he sped for Theodore Nott who was beginning his descent back to solid ground. Ron let out a stunning spell which Nott quickly evaded. There was a burst of green light, nearly hitting Ron's arm.

"Did he just try to use the Killing curse on me?" Ron was shocked. His shock turned to anger though. "Bloody hell, you're going down, Nott!"

""Watch out!" Harry yelled, knocking Ron out of harm's way. A red flash of light missed them by a fraction.

"Still alive, you lot?" Nott sneered, ascending this time to lead them away from his actual direction.

"Accio book!" Harry called out and without another moment to lose, the book in Nott's robes flew out into the air and into Harry's waiting arms.

Nott swore. "I'll let you in on a little secret if you give that back to me," he shouted over the winds.

"Aside from the fact that you're a total sissy, what other secrets can you share?" Ron challenged.

"Ah Weasley, always one for a hard bargain-"

"We can help you," Harry interrupted.

Nott was silent for a moment as he floated from across them more than a thousand feet up on his broom. His grip tightened on both his wand and broom. "Help us achieve our goal of killing you?" Nott laughed hollowly. "Is Harry Potter forever a willing victim? Would you sacrifice yourself just so you could help me with my adolescent issues?"

"I don't know what's going on-"

"You don't! " Nott spat out. "So hand it over, lest you want people you love, die."

"If Hermione-" Ron began.

"Get over her man!" Nott said angrily. "It was her misfortune to actually fall for someone like Malfoy, the lucky sod. By the way, if those others do get wind of the fact that they're together, who knows how they'll respond-"

Harry looked at the book, unable to understand a thing. What the hell was this? The text moved like a thousand ants, they constantly swerved and crossed paths. It was meaningless to open the pages! "What the hell..." he whispered.

"What?" Ron asked, distracted. Then his eyes widened. "Are those spiders?"

Nott grinned. "I told you I'd tell you a secret. You can't read that without Draco around."

Ron's fists clenched. He had wanted to hurl something heavy onto Nott's face and smash every bone on it. He felt his teeth grind together.

"I'll let you in on another secret," Nott said mischievously. "Draco took something that rightfully belonged to a Peverell."

"Stop it with the guessing games!" Harry shouted out over the roar of the winds. "What do these runes have to do with Voldemort?"

"It's something I could have never guessed in a million years," Nott replied. Without another breath, he brandished his wand and tried to knock Ron off his broom. Ron let out a yelp as he held on for dear life on the edge of his broomstick at the same time Harry let out a stun for Nott.

Nott laughed, but the laughter lasted only a millisecond as he found himself falling off of his broom. He mouthed what seemed like "damn" as he saw himself descend away from Harry who was trying to help Ron mount his broom again. Harry's eyes widened.

"No, Harry, stop! I know what you're-!" Ron bellowed as Harry quickly dashed off to save Nott from an untimely death.

Draco had stood for about five minutes on the docks, the air gripping his lungs, hands and eyes- when his aunt arrived with Fenrir, who strangely, was carrying a large rucksack. Draco had a bad feeling a body was inside. The figure within the sack however, remained unmoving.

"Ah, fresh air," Bellatrix took a gulp of wintry air into her system. She cackled and motioned for Fenrir to drop the sack (which he did without much care) and then the werewolf untied a thick piece of rope attached to a dinghy. Bellatrix gleefully stepped onto the little boat and it creaked and swayed under her weight. She sat at the end of the boat.

"Now where were we?" Belltrix murmured. She stared at the still dark waters of the lake. From hundreds of feet away, she saw the little island where Dumbledore's body lay inside a chaste coloured tomb. She felt a frisson of thrill. "Now, since you have the highly important entity with you, I trust you know what to do with it already."

Draco could barely bring himself to nod.

"Come Draco, space just enough for the two of us," she summoned her nephew.

Draco paused, his eyes trying their hardest to avoid the sack. "What about Greyback?" he asked.

Bellatrix smiled. "Oh, he's going to have a little snack time," she said brashly.

Draco's eyes fell on the sack once more. "What's in it? Some hapless student?" Draco asked, sounding irritated.

"You might call it that," Bellatrix said impatiently. "We're wasting time, Draco. Get on the boat. Those Aurors will have substantial assistance soon and I don't want to be late for an appointment with the Master."

"What's in it?" he asked Fenrir directly.

The huge werewolf let out a grin and dramatically bent down to reveal his prized catch. He smiled, wondering if the Malfoy heir would laugh at the irony of it all, after all, this was Potter's close friend and he had caught a rather smart bite. Hermione's upper body lolled helplessly on the icy wet dock, looking pale and nearly dead.

Draco felt blood leave his face and the cold had nothing to do with it.

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update. Adult life happened. I hope there is still an interest to read this :)