The fall of the wards shocked Draco to his senses. He leapt out of bed, snatching his wand, Disapparating an instant later.

Reappearing in Ginny’s room, he raced to her bed. One hand clamped over her mouth, he shook her awake.

Her eyes shot open. A wand pressed painfully against his neck.

“It’s me, Ginny!” he whispered forcefully. The wand lowered and he removed his hand from her mouth. “Death Eaters are here. We don’t have time.”

“The others?” she whispered.

“I don’t know yet. The Death Eaters could be--”

He cut off as footsteps pounded up the stairs. A gruff voice drifted softly through the walls. “I think this is the one.”

Draco didn’t even have to think. Wand in hand, he grabbed her, and an instant later they were gone.

They reappeared in a small, dark room, clothes hanging down around their faces, and shoes covering the floor. Ginny lightly touched Draco’s arm, her wand at the ready. “Where?” she asked as softly as possible.

“Blaise’s closet,” Draco replied. Crouching down, he stepped forward, pushing the closet door open just a hair. Her Auror training showing, Ginny didn’t bother trying to look out the door as well. She trusted Draco to do that. Instead, her eyes roamed around the closet, constantly watching, and giving Draco enough space to maneuver if he needed. With the wards down, a Death Eater could Apparate around the Manor just as freely as they could, and Ginny wasn’t about to let anyone sneak up on them.

"Expecto Patronum," Ginny whispered. The silver mist coalesced into her horse. "Find Harry, tell him Malfoy Manor's under attack." It galloped off.

Still unable to see, Draco pushed the door open a hair farther. From behind, Ginny muttered the Disillusionment spell on him, and he slid out of sight.

A shape loomed above the bed. “You thought you were so safe here!” he hissed. “Back in the little Malfoy den.” The voice laughed, and Draco instantly placed it. Macnair. “We’ll see about that. Get up, let’s move!”

Blaise drifted unnaturally to his feet. A body-bind with a Hover charm, Draco realized. About to charge, three cracks of Apparition stopped him.

“What did you find?” Macnair asked the three new Death Eaters. Reaching behind him, Draco tapped four times on Ginny’s leg, hoping she understood. She tightened her grip on her wand with a sharp nod.

“Nothing. No sign of the brat or his bitch,” a deep voice snarled.

“And Narcissa’s locked in her room?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t want to disturb her.”

Macnair grunted in satisfaction. “Good, we’ll--”

“Stupefy!” Draco whispered. The red jet took the deep voice in the back. He dropped.

Macnair and the other two spun, not sure exactly where it came from. Macnair’s silhouette stopped facing the closet door, still hanging ajar. He raised his wand. “Confrin--”

“Protego!” Ginny yelled before the spell finished. Macnair's spell bounced off her shield, rebounding into Macnair and slamming him into the wall.

The door to the room burst open, more Death Eaters spilling in. Before Draco could count, Ginny’s hand was on his shoulder, Apparating them away.

The dining room, Draco realized. A man stood in the open doorway to the room, watching them.

“Expelliarmus!” Draco yelled.

He dodged, firing a yellow jet back.

Draco deflected it. Ginny roared, “Expelliarmus!”

The wand flew from his hands. He scrambled after it, but Draco lunged for him. He caught the back of the Death Eater's robe, slamming him into the wall. “What are you doing here?” Draco's voice dripped with controlled malice. “In my home?”

The Death Eater cowered into the wall. “Just capturing! No lasting harm!” His eyes flicked to Ginny inadvertently.

Draco dug the tip of his wand into the man’s throat. “And her?” Rage burned inside of him.

The man swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing painfully against the pressure. “Killed, of course,” he whispered.

All hesitation left Draco. “Imperio.” The man’s face relaxed as the spell took hold. “Apparate instantly to the Ministry, turn yourself in, and send every available Auror here. Move!”

Eager to please, he jumped up, grabbed his wand, and Disapparated.

“Clever,” Ginny breathed.

Draco’s face remained steeled. “Ginny? Ideas on how to get Blaise?”

She grimaced, eyes still flicking everywhere. “They could Apparate him out at any second. Might have already. We don’t know where they have him now, and--” Even in the moonlight, he could see her face pale. “Draco, can you still feel the wards?”

He frowned. “No, they’re down. They came down--”

“Can you feel them down, or can you not feel anything?” Her voice filled with panic.

The panic spread to Draco at the realization. “Nothing at all. I’m not in control of them anymore.”

The air split with the cracks of multiple Apparations. Seven dark shapes filled the room. One at the back struggled in his bonds. “Run, Draco!” came Blaise’s voice. “They’ll kill--”

The Body Bind was recast on him, and he cut off.

Nott Sr. strode forward--

Ginny grabbed Draco's shoulder, and everything disappeared.

 

 

 

The blackness cleared to the sound of screaming. His own? Draco tried to focus, but found it only coming in gaps. He rolled to his side, red hair filling his vision. Ginny. Her voice screaming.

Instantly, he lurched to his knees, forcing the dizziness back. “Ginny! Ginny, what’s wrong?” But as he shook her shoulders, he saw it. Blood pooled under her shirt across her stomach.

Night still surrounded them. Only the porch lamp above provided light. Desperately, Draco pressed his hand to the wound, applying pressure. Should he risk a healing spell? He’d never been any good--

The door of their porch slammed open. Hermione guarded the opening, wand drawn. One look at the ground, and she dropped to her knees. “What happened?” she snapped, already casting healing spells.

“Splinch,” Ginny gritted through clenched teeth. Draco grabbed her hand. She squeezed back through the pain of the wound and the healing.

“Malfoy Manor’s been compromised,” Draco filled in, the dread only now hitting him full force. “We’ve had--” He stopped to gather his breath. “The Death Eaters, they took--” He cut off again.

Still gripping Ginny’s hand, his other reached up to brush hair out of her face. She managed a small, pained smile. It nearly broke his heart. Still trying to be strong, even while so much blood…The stain spread across her whole shirt, the puddle advancing on the ground. Draco jerked his eyes back up to her face. He could pretend it wasn’t so bad if he weren't watching.

Hermione reached into a pouch at her belt, drawing out some herbs she plastered across Ginny’s stomach and side. “I’ve dealt with splinching before, Draco,” Hermione said firmly. “Help me get her inside.”

Instantly, Draco levitated her body, drifting it after Hermione through the door into the living room. “Fred!” Hermione called. “Get in here now!”

Moments later, the bleary-eyed Weasley stumbled in. “What is it--” He cut off, face paling at the sight of his sister.

Hermione had none of that. “I need fresh towels, warm water, and a thick blanket. Now!”

Her husband dashed off, no time to wallow in shock.

Draco set Ginny down in Hermione’s bed. Her blood instantly spread across the white sheets. Hermione turned to him. “Good. Now out.”

Draco obeyed, retreating into the living room. Fred dashed into the bedroom with the towels, water, and blanket. Moments later, he reappeared empty-handed. With nothing else to do, he turned to Draco.

“What. Happened.” Fred bit out. Fury blazed in his eyes.

“She splinched--”

The fire blazed to life. “Hermione, are you there?” Harry’s head called out.

Fred dropped to his knees in front of the fire. “She’s handling an emergency. What is it?”

Harry scowled. “This is bigger. Malfoy Manor’s been breached. Three squads dispatched, but none of them can get past the wards. We don’t know if Ginny’s still inside, or alive, or--”

“She’s here.” Draco dropped next to Fred, joining the call. “Badly injured. You took your bloody time getting there!”

“How’d this happen, Malfoy?” Harry snapped. “I thought your wards would hold out Death Eaters, not give them back their fortress!”

“Right, like I bloody planned this!” Draco seethed. “Blaise, Goyle, and my mother could still be in there! Or worse!”

“Got any brilliant ideas, Malfoy? It’s your own damn home!

“Homenum Revelio,” Draco replied. “The wards won’t stop it.”

The fire emptied as Harry left, flames still blazing green. Draco and Fred waited in silence.

Harry returned, shaking his head. “The house is empty. No bodies either. Whoever came already left.”

“And took what they wanted,” Draco added bitterly.

Hermione walked in, toweling blood off of her hands. “Set a squad on perimeter guard, Harry. Monitor it for any changes, and we’ll get a team of Wardbreakers over in the morning. There’s nothing more we can do now.”

Harry frowned, but nodded his fiery face in agreement, severing the connection.

Instantly, Draco turned to Hermione, his eyes pleading.

“She’s sleeping,” Hermione replied, dropping onto the couch. Fred joined her, wrapping an arm around her. “I’ll keep checking in on her, but she should be fine. She just needs rest now.”

Draco let his body slump. The next person to check on came to mind. “Could you...cast a Patronus? I need to check on my mother.”

Hermione nodded, her silver otter coalescing from her wand. “Listen to Draco and report what he says to Narcissa Malfoy.” The otter nodded, turning its silvery face to Draco instead.

The words slipped from his grasp. All he could think of was the puddle of blood surrounding Ginny. He refocused. Alive, and going to be fine. “Mother, it’s Draco. Are you alright? Where are you?”

The otter scampered off through the walls.

Slowly, Draco slid into a chair. He knew it was far from poetry, but it was all he could manage right now.

Hermione gave him time to gather his thoughts before asking, “What happened?”

Dropping his head into his hands, Draco sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe there was a flaw in the wards I didn’t know about, but the Death Eaters took them down in less than a minute.”

Shock registered across Fred’s and Hermione’s faces. Even simple wards often took longer than that. “That’s not much time,” Hermione breathed.

“Just enough to Apparate to Ginny,” Draco responded, barely keeping his voice from shaking. “Blaise, Goyle, my mother…” He took another deep breath. “We tried to free them, but there were too many Death Eaters. We were…” Just breathe, Draco reminded himself. Don’t fall apart here, not now. “Only Ginny realized they were putting the wards back up, to trap us, keep us in. And she…” He tried again, “She…”

“She barely got you out in time,” Fred finished with understanding.

Draco could only nod.

The silver otter scampered back in. In his mother’s voice, it replied, “AAHHHHHHHHH!” in a scream of terror. Draco’s heart clenched in his chest. What would they have against his mother?!

“Oh, a Patronus,” Narcissa’s voice continued. Draco could breathe again. “Don’t scare me like that, my son. I am unharmed, and in Argentina, staying at the place I always loved. I left the moment my door was locked. If you need to contact me again, please owl like a normal child.” Her voice cut out, and the Patronus faded away.

He knew the hotel she was referencing. Their last family vacation before the War had been there, a pleasant time for everyone. A clever thing to include, which no Death Eater would know about and proved she spoke for herself, not under wandpoint. Draco turned to Hermione again--

“To contact Blaise?” Hermione cut him off.

Draco nodded.

She shook her head. “Ginny hasn’t taught you Patronus protocol, then. With a hostage, wait until it’s more likely they’ll be unobserved, and only send a Patronus with a small shape. They’re sure to have guards now, and they’ll only make them say false information.” Her face twisted in sympathy. “I am sorry.”

Instead, Draco dropped to the fireplace, tossing Floo powder in. "Daphne Greengrass."

Moments later, her sleepy face appeared in the fire. "What do you want, Malfoy?" she snapped. "It's bloody three in the morning."

"The Malfoy Manor wards have been breached. Get somewhere different, right now. Somewhere safe."

Understanding the danger, she nodded, face tight, and severed the connection.

Draco called Warrington with the same advice. Warrington understood as well.

Turning back to Fred and Hermione, Draco asked, “Is there anything else you need from me?” His voice came out strangled.

Hermione shook her head again. “Get some sleep, Draco. I’ll handle the Wardbreakers tomorrow morning, and wake you for any developments.”

He nodded his thanks, heading for the bedroom.

“Where do you think you're going?” Fred stopped him. “She needs her sleep more than you do.”

“I won’t wake her. Or even touch her. I’m just not letting her out of my sight.”

The door closed behind him, and neither Fred nor Hermione had the heart to stop him.

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