A/N: Wow…so sorry for the long wait, I've been insanely busy this month with my job and the last month of high school ever! Woo! So, yeah, but thank you to all those who have waited and are now reading this. You rock. I promise to update sooner!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Hermione opened her eyes, and for a moment confusion clouded her brain. She was in a red room, and she was tangled in a silk quilt. Her head was on a pillow so soft it felt like a dream and the gold and jewels that iced everything around her glittered in the sunlight streaming through an open window.

As reality seeped into her mind, she jolted out of bed. A knock resounded through the room, and she glanced at the heavy wooden door and pulled her blankets to her chin before timidly shouting for whoever it was to come in. A young woman with flowing blond hair and glowing skin walked in, her eyes facing downwards. She was carrying a plate of food, and Hermione smiled at her, hoping to find some sort of a friend. The blond didn't even acknowledge the gesture, setting the food down next to Hermione and turning away.

"Excuse me?" Hermione tried once more, and the girl stopped, still facing away. "Do you know why we're here?" The girl pivoted slowly, and met Hermione's eyes, causing her to freeze with renowned fear. The eyes were completely black, as Malachi's had been. The girl curled her lips in a small grin before bowing slightly, turning, and leaving the room.

Closing her eyes briefly, Hermione prayed for a sudden miracle to return her home to her friends. Opening them, she sighed in resignation and looked at the food displayed for her. Red meat swam with tender juices, and a creamy broth was next to it. Her stomach turning, Hermione turned away from the pungent food. Eating strange meat delivered by an inhuman girl in an obvious enemy's house didn't strike her as an appealing prospect. Instead, she slowly climbed out of bed and slipped on her clothes from the night before, wincing at the coarse feel that contrasted so sharply with the silkiness of her bed.

Walking out of the room, she noticed that Draco's was cracked open, and despite herself, Hermione walked over and peered in. Draco was staring at the same girl who had come into her room moments before, his face a mixture of fascination at her beauty and horror at her black eyes. She also noticed the haggard appearance prominent around his eyes, and something in her stirred.

Shaking it off, she turned away and looked at the living room that had been ignored in their fight the night before. It of course was rich in design, but besides the Pensieve, there was nothing that held her interest for too long. She almost wanted to see what kinds of memories were held in the swirling depths of the device, but resisted the temptation, saving that experience for a time when the king's servant wasn't in the next room.

Hermione noticed that the door to their living quarters was open, and without hesitation she ventured into the vast hallway. Walking through the palace, she gazed at the portraits of great deeds and the empty rooms that were furnished with such luxury that they could fund an entire country. Thinking back on the shabby conditions of this king's city, Hermione frowned. Surely he could afford to provide for the clearly starving inhabitants, and surely they must know what he was keeping from them.

So why did they merely wander the streets without a word of dissent? What horrors must have happened to them to put enough fear in their hearts that revolt was an impossible thought?

Suddenly, Hermione skidded to a stop, staring in wonder at a room in front of her. A library as big as a house stretched out, filled with neatly organized books and parchments. Hermione walked in, her lips parted in awe. She lightly ran her fingers over the spines of the books as she walked passed them, her mind subconsciously skimming their titles. A hunger within her reawakened, quelling the fighting instinct that had been planted the night before.

As her fingers grazed the coarse paper, memories of the library back at Hogwarts filled her mind, and images of the time before the horrible war bombarded her thoughts. Harry and Ron copying her homework in between classes, curled up alone but content in a corner of the library with a book, watching Viktor Krum as he wandered in and out followed by groups of girls infatuated with him…tears sprung unwilling to her eyes.

A sharp pain in her finger snapped her back into the present, and Hermione quickly stuck the bleeding paper cut into her mouth, the metallic taste stinging her taste buds. She looked at the single piece of parchment sticking out from between two books, and slowly pulled it out. It was a page out of a book, deeply creased from years of folding and re-folding.

Once there were only two in power, and They ruled the earth with fiery passion and fierce pride. He was an unforgiving Lord with an infatuation for blood, and She was the most beautiful woman ever to grace the earth. With a single look a man would fall to Her feet and beg to be Hers, and He would kill them with a furious blow. He was the force, but She had control over Him, as He would do anything to please Her.

One day, an old woman came to Their palace and demanded to see the Queen. The servants tried to stop her, but with a flick of her wrist they became still and she walked past them. When she reached Her, she told Her of a prophecy that made the Queen tremble for the first time in Her life. She called for Him and when He heard the words, He attacked the old woman with unprecedented force. However, the woman withstood his fury and bowed, leaving Them, never to be seen again.

Days later, the Queen died, leaving Him alone on Their throne to destroy everything that came before Him. He never completely died, but faded away slowly, leaving behind Him a wave of miserable darkness that would condemn the hearts of man. Nobody would ever again be pure.

Another prophecy soon arose that He would rise again someday when the foretelling that had killed His love came to pass. She would also rise from her grave to join Him and Their rise to power would be joined with followers that would come to worship Them.

As for the prophecy that terrified the Queen, some state that it foretold of a force even more powerful than Them that would join with…

The page ended, and Hermione realized that she had been holding her breath the entire time she read. Drawing in a gasp of air, she folded the parchment once more and hid it in her clothes. This must be the God that the woman in the forest was sacrificing to, and the promise of power that would accompany submissive following of this God was holding the city's people back from rebelling against the Lord preaching to them.

Hurrying out of the library, Hermione headed back to her room, the fury bubbling in her once more. She had seen what greed and lust for power did to people, and had no desire to be caught in a web of the same thread. Voices drifted from a room as she passed, interrupting her thoughts. She halted, and listened, recognizing the king's and Malachi's voices.

"My Lord…I believe that the prisoners do not know why he wants them…"

"No! They must know, how could they not? You say the girl has dreamed of him, and he only reaches out to those he has a connection with already."

"Maybe he has changed his reason to fit his purposes, Lord…"

"I need to know why they are going to him, or I must kill them. They cannot be allowed to reach him if he wants them this badly. There has to be a reason for it!"

"Of course there is a reason. He does nothing without motive."

"The vampires are right outside of the borders, you say?"

"Yes my Lord…they are demanding the prisoners back. Azrael is ravenous for the girl, but the others have repressed his thirst out of fear of him."

"Well they shall not receive them. I will kill the boy tonight, and in the morning I will sacrifice the girl. If they cannot tell me their use by then, of course. If I cannot utilize them, I will not just give them up to him. Then again…the girl might have some use. We could convert her into one of you, Malachi…she could be your mate if you wish."

Horror filled Hermione at these words, and it only increased at the rumble of satisfaction that came out of Malachi. Fleeing down the hallway, she reached her room and almost ran into Draco, who was coming carefully out of their prison.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong with you?" His voice was scornful, but softened at the look on her face.

"We have to get out of here, Malfoy. Now."

"What happened?"

"The king…he wants to kill you tonight because he can't figure out what the guy who the vampires were taking us to wants with us."

"And you care if I die?"

The question took Hermione back, and she didn't say anything. For the first time, she realized that she had been as concerned for Draco's fate as she was for her own. Recovering, she lied, "I don't. They want…well…they want to do things to me as well."

At her ambiguous statement, Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. "Well how exactly so you plan on getting us out of here, Granger?" His slow drawl made Hermione want to shake him, but she realized he had an uncaring façade that was altogether too natural.

"I don't know…anything would be better than here."

Silence surrounded them as Hermione thought. She had escaped many situations before during the war, but never had she been faced with this great of odds. Her greatest advantage, her intelligence, was wasted here because she didn't know anything about the land she was trapped in, only that magic was practically useless. Her attempts at Apparating had failed miserably the first day Draco had transported her here, and even lighting her wand was incredibly difficult.

As she reached further into her mind, images began to seep through, images she recognized only from dreams. The eyes of the man calling her suddenly emerged, and she grasped onto them, dread mixing with sinister excitement.

Help me. He had been able to enter her mind through her dreams, and now she reached out fully back to him.

Please, help me.

Nausea gripped her as fleeting visions swarmed in her mind. Pain racked through her body as she screamed silently for help, for his help, for anybody's help.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How can we trust this guy?" Harry's voice was demanding, and his eyes were disapproving.

When Ginny had woken him up in the night with Hunter by her side, explaining what he had said to her, mistrust had saturated her lover's face. He had never had a natural instinct for liking or disliking people, as she had seen through his trust of Moody/Bart Crouch Jr. in fourth year and his constant suspicion of Snape.

She had lead him away from her new companion, and was now trying to make him understand what Hunter could do for the baby. "He's our only hope, Harry…and you've always wanted to find survivors. Now we have. Don't just give up on this. Besides, we all know how to fight. We aren't completely defenseless."

Harry seemed to accept this, and looked back at Hunter, who was waiting silently by their makeshift tent. "Fine…but we keep our guard up. I still don't like that you were out there alone with him. It could have been anybody."

"It's not like I really had a choice…he just kind of appeared. And we always have our guard up."

With a nod, Harry walked back over to Hunter, and Ginny gave the man a small grin. He smiled back, and she felt warmth inside of her for the first time in ages. He might be able to save her family. That was all that mattered.

The sun soon rose, and the rest of their group was introduced to Hunter. With a set destination at last, the survivors packed their things and began to follow the dark-skinned man with more energy than had shown since the flooding.

Throughout the day, Ginny kept her spirits up, trying not to look at the bodies that still lay strewn across the land in more quantity than she had remembered. Finally, they reached a Gothic style mansion that showed the first signs of life she had seen since they had to retreat underground right after the War. Plants were blooming in the garden, and a cat was stalking a mouse in the middle of a flourishing green yard.

"This is it." Hunter's words weren't needed, as the group had already moved towards the house, surprise lighting up their faces. He drew Ginny aside, however, and whispered, "I don't know how well some of my companions will react to you. Many have become somewhat of recluses…and some will be able to expand their powers so much by being around your magic that they may get either frightened or greedy. We will not stay here for long, as I believe you must find a place to live that doesn't have as much harmful magic in the air to give birth, and that may be far away from here." Ginny nodded, the subject of her baby bringing a small grin to her face. "Remember, Ginny…do not get your hopes up."

Right then, a scream pierced the air and a small girl flew out of the house. She was about ten years old, and her hair flew around her face in wild curls. "Hunter!" She flew into the man's arms and Ginny's smile grew into laughter. Finally, something in the world was not dark and drenched with death but was a resemblance of life before the War.

The girl looked at Ginny, and her laughter fled in fright. The girl's face had warped with a sickening, sad horror, and her arms had gone limp around Hunter's neck. He too, was looking at the girl, a frown tugging at his lips. He quickly carried her away and into the house, leaving Ginny to watch them leave with twisted dismay.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hunter carried Corra into her bedroom, hugging her tighter to quiet her trembling. "What's wrong, baby? What did you see?" He kept his voice quiet, knowing that when the little girl had just foreseen something her senses were incredibly sensitive.

"Death…" Her voice was eerie and detached and far too mature for a girl her age. "Death born from within her…death because of evil…because of a girl who is far, far away…it is not what she expects, she expects it to die because of evil in the air…but it is not from the air the baby's fate will come, it is from her dreams and the girl who controls them. And the boy will help, he will be the one to strike it down with a single word from the girl…Evil will come for us all when they reach out for the child." Dread pooled in Hunter's stomach, and he wished he had left the group of wanderers to fend for themselves. "There is nothing to do but wait, for they can not be stopped. They will rule the earth again with the aid of sin. Lilith and Adeo will come for the powers of the savior of the magic and his love, and they will take us for our abilities. They cannot be stopped."

Hunter felt a seizure of pain hit him as her words sunk in. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

"There is nothing. Only they themselves can shake off their purpose, and they will not. She is calling to Him now, the one who will help them change. They will die and resurrect as the ones who will feed on us all."

"Do I tell the others?" His voice was shaking.

But she had stopped, her eyes focusing once more. "About what, Hunter?" Her innocent voice, so unlike the one that had just come from her mouth, was haunting.

"Nothing, baby girl, nothing at all. Go downstairs and eat dinner, and apologize to the girl with red hair, tell her you suddenly felt sick and that's why you looked at her funny, ok?"

"Ok!" Her eyes bright, Corra hopped down from her bed, used to taking instructions that might not make sense. As she left the room, the smile Hunter had put on to ease any confusion she might have left, and he put his numbing head into shaking hands. They were all forsaken.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: So, what do you think? Is it moving along a little faster now? Also, does anybody think I need a beta? I'm not sure about that. NatCat I hoped I answered your question about Apparation in this chapter. Oh, and don't worry, this story is not going to suddenly turn completely supernatural and have Draco and Hermione transforming all over the place. Their relationship is going to take a turn in the next chapter, and they will be fully themselves. Why they are wanted to badly together by the mysterious guy will also be delved into.

One more thing, I wanted to explain some of the names in this story, because most of them have some meaning or another, but don't follow exactly what their namesakes might relate to.

Malachi – It means "my messenger" in Hebrew, as he is the messenger for his lord.

Hunter – Kind of obvious, he "hunts" for magic.

Corra – A Scottish goddess of prophecy.

Lilith and Adeo – There is a legend that says Adam (Adeo is a form of Adam, and I changed it from Adam because my character is not really an Adam at all, but I wanted to relate it back to this "first people" kind of thing) had a demon queen as wife before Eve. This demon harmed children, and is sometimes translated as the, "night creature". My Lilith and Adeo are NOT following the exact legend of these two, like I said above, but they were the initial rulers of the earth.

Azrael – The Angel of Death, this character is going to play a bigger role as the story progresses.

Please, Please review I really want to know what you guys thought of these latest developments! Any criticism, comments, questions, or suggestions are completely welcome and I'll do my best to answer anything and address any specific stuff. Thank you so much for reading!