Hero

Verse: Harry Potter

Genre: Hurt & Comfort, Drama

Rating: T

Pairing(s): Draco/Hermione, Draco/Lucius

Song: Hero by Lissie and Wonderland by Taylor Swift

Summary: It shouldn't have been possible but there it was. Her unlikely heroes sitting with her in some damp cave; then again she had seen what parents love could do to the world.

Part One- Heroes

Hermione Granger had known pain in many different ways over many years. She knew pain in the most intimate way and yet she still marched on. She still stood tall beside her friends and she still stood tall when insults along with curses were sent her way.

And she had stood tall and unflinching when Bellatrix had glared at her with such hate and madness; she had not cowered when curse after curse had been thrown at her. Her best friend stood a chance to escape and she would take that stand against evil all over again. The only time she faulted under the stress of pain was the moment that tip of the knife bit into her flesh and she was branded.

She screamed and screamed; no release from the pain that ripped apart her very soul, the mad laughter chasing more pain across her flesh alike a flame consuming everything in it's path. The last curse before darkness swelled up behind her eye lids didn't cause any more pain but she did hear a thud that awoke a second of confusion within her mind but then she knew nothing more.

The cold and hardness biting into her back was nothing compared to the bone aching pain that lingered within her body; she was almost content to remain there, basking in the warring pains with in and with out her but a dripping sound and hushed whispers wormed their way through it all and she opened her eyes.

Even in the dimmed light her eyes flared in pain and she whimpered; the tears leaking from eyes soothed her aching cheek but she noticed the whispers had stopped and only the drip remained.

The drip and her ragged breathing.

She fought against the urge to close her eyes but she was losing when there was movement beside her and her eyes focused on the dark clothed legs.

"Granger?" the voice caused her stomach to roll and her bones to ache all the more. She was never to be free, simple as that and Harry would still win. The balm to her pain was that her friend would win and would claim his freedom as well for the wizarding world.

"Father?!" that snake within her stomach twisted again causing her stomach to roll once more but she held no strength to fling her self to the side to heave; actually she had no strength to heave. A second set of legs and she tried to glare; tried so hard to convey that nothing they could do would break her.

She hissed when her arm was lifted and blood pooled quickly against her elbow and for a moment she wanted to laugh that her dirty blood would touch the perfect purebloods but she couldn't twist her lips that way. Instead she twisted them in to a snarl hoping that would be enough to scare them.

Another hiss as something cool and hard pressed against the wrist and there was a tut. She didn't know if she could with stand against that pain again. But within a moment the pain that crawled across her arm faded like shadow retreating away from the light. Her eyes widen as for the first time she saw beyond the blood, her mottled skin cleared of most of the blood showed her branding.

"Bella always did have a flare for the dramatics" a cluck of the tongue and her arm was lowered back down, her ragged breathing feeling the silence as her eyes traced the word carved into her arm; a sick fascination forming within her as her eyes traced the letters again and again.

This was to be her madness.

"Shit... a flare father? She carved a knife into her skin" she didn't look away, didn't stop the madness from creeping in with the pain.

"I'm aware Draco! I was witness to her screams; I've been witness to many of your aunts games- but I have never seen her use a curse blade" her eye lids fluttered closed when the hard tip touched her skin again and a warmth washed over for a few seconds.

Then pain and her scream was ripped from her lungs. She knew hands held her down but she didn't care because pain was tearing her apart; she wanted to claw at the mark on her arm to stop it reaching the rest of her body.

"Miss Granger" the words were drowned out by her screams, stars dancing against her eyes, the tears leaking fast and furious against her cheeks.

"GRANGER" she sought out the older wizard and stared into his grey eyes that were storming, a twitch catching the corner of his eye. She tasted the blood when she clamped her teeth against her lips to stop the screams.

"I'm very sorry Miss Granger but I do not hold the counter curse to make this stop from causing you pain but I have upped the speed" she flinched at the sadness in his eyes; the pain shouldn't be reflected back but she just nodded, her chest burning against the screams that wanted to leak out.

"I could-" she saw the sharp look the elder sent the younger and she wondered if maybe she had missed something, something important but when a fresh wave of pain shot up a vein and she proudly only managed a whimper. Two set of stormy grey eyes shot to her and she heard the sigh.

"My son wishes to cast a spell that will lessen your pain- not completely but enough" he looked away and she refused to believe that it was from guilt. But she also knew what spell they were talking apart and she shook her head, finally able to drag a breath over her broken lips and fill her lungs. The spell wouldn't just lessen her pain, it would take half of it away and give it to the caster.

"I-i-i-i can-n-n-n t-t-t-ake it!" she wanted to snarl but the screams had scratched her throat, she would not share her pain with him, she would hold on to it with all her might. Even when her screams pierced the air and her body arched off the ground.

She tasted blood but the screams still crawled from her like a flock of birds across the sky. She didn't know what brought the darkness; her screams or the pain but she had never been so happy before she passed out.

The next time she awoke there was several things different; there was no more sharp pain with in her arm, just a dull ache that she could ignore in favour of the warmth coming from the fire before her. The cold and hard ground no longer prodded at her sides and when she swallowed she felt no scratching and no taste of blood. She focused on the fire before her for a few seconds, enjoying the shapes she could pretend was there before movement beyond caught her eyes and a weary looking Lucius Malfoy stared at her.

Without second thought she was up and trying to scramble back but a sharp stab to her palm caused her to hiss and fall flat on her back.

"I did not heal you for you to injury yourself again Miss Granger" Lucius scolded almost lightly as he eyes danced with the flames. Hermione could do nothing but gingerly lift her self up and stared at the man, an almost mirth danced across his face but she half guessed that she had gone mad and this was nothing but a wild dream her mind was building to cope with the pain.

"At least I healed most of you" his eyes flickered down and her eyes quickly went to the arm that was attached to her pierced hand. There against her pale flesh was the words she had spat her for years. Words that was meant to make her feel lower than dirt. She slowly cradled her arm against her chest and flickered her eyes up again and saw the hard glint of power that made most fear Lucius Malfoy.

"It was a curse blade; meant to cause pain even after it no longer touched you skin. The pain you felt was the curse working it's way through you blood" he explained turning away from her, his eyes drinking in the light and his hand sharply jabbing his wand towards the fire causing it to erupt with an angry hiss before settling down.

"Once the curse was finished inflicting pain it would then leave a scar that would never fade; would never heal" the muscle in his jaw ticked and she wonder just when she slipped in to this world.

Lucius Malfoy was talking to her as though she was something worthy of his attention instead of the mudblood she was meant to be in his world. She laughed at the word and ignored his questioning glance, it was meant to marked her out as something that was to be tossed away. It was to be a reminder of her pain and her unwavering loyalty to Harry.

The sudden stop of her laughter caused the heir to the Malfoy line to stumble through an arch tucked into the wall and stare at the pair, his questioning glaze looking from her to his father.

"Why heal the mudblood when you are just going to hand over to your pathetic lord" she would have spat in his face along with her words if she wasn't so far away, she didn't even flinch when Draco halted at her words then slumped to the ground beside his father and glared at the ground. The scowl had become a fixture on the younger man's face for the past two years and she would have laughed again because here she was sitting with the two men who hated her more than Voldermort.

"Because we aren't handing you over to him Granger! In fact we just saved you from him"Draco snarled, his eyes hardening as they sought her own out and she lifted her head with a snort. This she knew, this she could deal with because their concern unnerved her and almost made the crazy laugh tumble from her lips again.

"DRACO" she smirked when Draco ducked his head but still glared at the ground as though it was Hermione, Lucius however looked between the pair, something turning over in his mind but before she could figure it out he was shaking his head.

"What? it's not like she will believe us... if she had her wand she would have hexed us the moment her eyes open" Draco snapped with little heat as he father studied Hermione who refused to look away from him. With a curt nod she agreed with Draco and almost smirked as Lucius furrowed his brow.

With a elegant flick of his hands Hermione felt an object fill her lap and with a blank face she stared down at the wand within her lap. She took several seconds before she understood that there was a wand in her lap and that she was free to pick it up. Looking up she found two set of grey eyes staring at her and she fought the urge to pluck it up and make her escape.

She wasn't stupid but she also knew that neither one of them would have done something as stupid as snatch her from Voldermort grasp. Or sucidial to take her from Bella but they had and she guessed she would give them five minutes.

"It's not your wand of course; that is currently sitting in my study at the manor" Lucius admitted tilting his head towards the wall behind her and she simply nodded. Her fingers ghosting over the wand before her, the light from the fire danced over the golden tan wood, the engravings almost came to life and she was sure she saw small animals at the base and pulling it slowly up to her face, she studied them, feeling the magic from the wand core taste her and seem to hum in agreement to her.

"Why?" what else could she ask, her eyes never lifting from the wand, making it easier to listen to them if she didn't see them.

"Be a little specific Granger" she did throw a glare at the smirking boy who simply raised a challengingly eyebrow at her, her face turned to a scowl and she wanted to use her wand on him. However Lucius furrowed brow at their interaction caused her to lift her own eyebrows. The look wasn't troubled in fact it was almost... acceptance.

But it was gone and Lucius shook his head at his son, huffing and turning away from him.

"You are a witch Miss Granger; you may have done some work with wandless and even unspoken magic but I doubt it could be strong enough to fight against what is to come" Lucius offered and Hermione nodded, swallowing at his words.

A war was coming.

"Why you are no longer in the company of my deranged sister in law" she half mused over the disgust in his voice at the words "is because my wife took you away from her. After assuring that Potter and Weasley escaped, she went back to retrieve yourself and my son" Hermione flickered her eyes to Draco who was grinding his teeth into almost dust.

"You want me to believe that you just turned on your so called lord out of the goodness of your hearts" she questioned, her eyebrows jerking high up her brow. Lucius pursed his lips and tilted his head.

"Just! No of course not just now, however it was not a decision that has just been made in the heat of the moment, it was decision made nearly eighteen years ago" Lucius told her causing her to frown, Draco offering nothing but a bored look.

"You slipped Ginny that deadly diary... you housed that murderous bastard" she was almost hysterical, all the horrid things that had been visited upon people by the Malfoy's flashing through her mind. Her eyes darting to Draco who refused to look up.

"Buckbeak was almost murdered because of you" Hermione snarled causing the younger wizard to look up and snort, his eyes rolling at the mention of the creature.

"That sodding creature did try to kill me" Draco pointed out with a smirk causing Hermione to shake her head, unwilling to believe the lies being told to her but Draco quickly turned towards her and jabbed a finger towards her.

"And as for that diary, we both know you didn't rip that page from any book in your precious library" Draco snapped and Hermione raised her eyebrows in shock. She hadn't told anyone beside Harry and Ron that she had found a page among the books in the library to help them with the basilisk back in second year.

The very fact Draco knew worried her.

She ignored his glowering look and sent her own. Just because he had given her the page didn't mean anything because his father had given Ginny that cursed diary and nearly cost both her and harry their lives.

"But she was still given it!" Hermione snapped as Lucius bowed his head in agreement and Draco snapped his mouth shut and turned from Hermione.

"Miss Granger until you have your own children you can not understand just what a parent will do for their child" Lucius stated matter of factly causing Hermione to glare at him.

"I'm well aware of what the love of a parent can do; Harry's parents gave their lives to ensure his survival" Hermione snapped and Lucius smirked at her and tilted his head, a dark amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Yes; their act was one of love for their son" Lucius conceded in a manner that caused Hermione frown at him. She was almost being lured into a false sense of security she was sure because there was no way she could be sitting there having an almost civil conversation with any Malfoy let alone the head of the house.

"But there are so many; your parents chose to allow indulge your magical side, that was their act of love. The Weasley's chose to be consider blood traitors instead of being anything other than what they were for their children" Lucius almost sounded like he admired Molly and Arthur. Almost but Hermione refused to believe it.

"And you chose to follow blindly behind some tyrant of a half blood wizard for your son" Hermione snarled, ignoring Draco's snort at the word blindly. She didn't follow Harry blindly; she knew the dangers with her eyes wide open.

"No; before you judge" it was her turn to snort but for his credit Lucius ignored her "perhaps you would be willing to listen to just why a decision made years ago means your survival and hopefully the victory of your precious friend" Lucius asked and for a moment Hermione wanted to spit at him and his son and escape.

She would help harry not them; but the longer she sat there she knew in her silent way she had agreed to listen.

For all that should be making her run it was just as much that was keeping her there; she didn't want to believe them but then again they hadn't tried to kill her and for people lying their had sounded so convincing.

With a sigh she finally gave in and nodded her consent to listen.

This was to be her rabbit hole and looking between the pair before her she figured they were going to be her white rabbits.

A/N: Hi there, this was started with every intention of it being a one shot with a companion piece to follow (which is still in the works) but after five pages and only half way through it I decided to make it a multi character piece.

Hope you enjoy.