Bride of the HP Dragon

Ron was wearing a pair of sleek white sneakers with shiny silver stripes adorning the sides.The sky was dark, and the moon was covered by floating clouds, making it dim.

But Lupine still wanted to slap the boy on the back of the head.

"Move away," Lupine whispered to Harry, who was squatting between Ron and Lupine.

Harry did, and watched as Lupine transformed Ron's shoes into a pair of black lace-up boots.

"I'm sorry, I don't think..." Ron muttered, looking down at his new shoes, which were more suitable for the moment, still feeling like those comfortable old sneakers.

"Hush!" Moody said in front of them. "Someone is coming."

Harry counted nine people, all wearing black hooded cloaks of various styles.They walked through the woods and entered the open space in front of the ancient stone fortress. The noise they made as they walked showed how confident they were in the safety of this stronghold.Two people were talking excitedly, and a third was trying to strike up a conversation with someone behind him, not looking at the uneven ground beneath him.Immediately he stumbled and almost fell, and there was laughter all around him.

If these people were really Death Eaters, they were nothing like anything Harry had ever encountered.What a sorry bunch of outlaws he thought, when a small, cloaked figure walked ahead of the mob and took his hood off.

Her hood, Harry corrected silently.Clouds no longer obscured the moonlight, and the woman's pale face stood out against her black clothing and darker, thicker hair.

Bellatrix Lestrange stared at the group behind them, and they stopped talking and grew calmer and more serious.

Harry didn't realize that he had stood up from his hiding place deep in the woods, his right hand was tightly grasping the wand, it was a miracle that the wand didn't break in his hand, the anger turned into a visible electric current was in his fingers The tip swirls.

An Oro behind him cursed softly, and Harry suddenly felt Lupine's heavy and firm palm on his shoulder.A second later, the hand pulled him back.

"Don't make me regret bringing you two here!" Lupine hissed.

Harry felt bewildered and stupid.He and Ron exchanged a timid look, and then refocused on the Death Eaters who were making their way to the castle.

The anger dissipated, and after a few blinks, he never saw Sirius' face with his eyes closed again.

"What's this place?" Ron asked Lupine once Bellatrix and her party entered.

"I guess it's a safe old nest, there are several scattered across Europe. We did our best to find them and burn them on the spot, but Riddle still has a lot of strongholds that are missing." Lupine explained.

Harry at least found it comforting to see that Lupine felt the same way as he did, and it seemed that Bellatrix had done bad things to him too.

Harry turned to look at Moody, who was weaving a small white whirlwind in his open palm, which condensed into a blue-and-white sphere.Harry was amazed that on this tiny sphere he could slowly make out continents and oceans.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Global Positioning Spell." Oro, a woman in the shadows behind Moody, grinned.

"From above it looks like the portkey in that tree took us to Wales," Moody told them.

He leaned in and squinted at a tiny glowing red dot on the improvised sphere. His magic eyes swiveled twice, as if they couldn't quite focus on the twilight, and Moody muttered, "Can't see."

Lupine took a closer look, his night vision working perfectly: "North of Wales, it looks like we're on Anglesey."

"Luo Liji!"

Female Oro stepped forward, and Moody handed her the smoking orb, still spinning slowly, and when she sucked it into her wand, it looked like a deflated balloon.

"Give back the location to Hogwarts, and Dumbledore will at least be happy to know we're near the school."

"I wish you all success! (Translator's Note: GoodHunting, see Master Rizzle's note at the end of the chapter.)" Luo Liji whispered to them, and disappeared into the woods, followed by the faint crackle of Apparition.

Moody is back in the ranks, and there are currently eight Oro, Remus Lupine, the Savior and the youngest son of the Minister for Magic.

"Lupine and Huggins, when the war starts, you'll be in charge of finding people. If you find anyone imprisoned, bring them out and search the first floor and below."

"What about us?" Harry asked.

"Tanner, Quartermain, you are in charge of the upstairs, and mark it after confirming it is safe."

"Then how do you do it?"

Moody informed everyone about his problem: "Unless you have the bloody honor of meeting Lestrange, the others will either kill or capture. I don't care what you do, but you have to capture this bitch alive . We got her and we got Voldemort."

"What about us?" Harry asked again.

"You?" Moody asked him back, and snapped another order at Quartermine.

"We're going to find Hermione!"

Moody snarled at Harry: "Boy, just because you use a wand doesn't mean I want you to join my people! Stay here and keep your mouth shut, and I might get you to do something useful!"

It was a new experience for Harry, who realized that despite his relatively limited experience in dangerous missions, he was very used to calling the shots, and it seemed like a small miracle that he and Ron were allowed to join in the first place.

So he made an effort to keep his mouth shut.

Lupine walked up to the boys before he and Astrid left, holding Harry's arm so hard it was almost bruised: "I want you to stay with Moody, okay? Listen to me, Both of you. Be wary of anyone you see, even Malfoy, you hear?"

"Yes," said Harry, but the look of ironic contempt on Moody's face gave Harry new worry, and he was madly eager to hold on to Lupine to keep him from going: "Please take care. ' Harry whispered.

He couldn't blink, and if he did, he knew he'd see Sirius.

Remus returned a very scary smile, Harry didn't know that the man had so many teeth, Harry shivered and thought of a word, which was definitely "jackal".

"We'll be back," said Lupine, and he and Astrid left, disappearing into the night.

Harry faced Ron, who he noticed was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Ron?"

"I'm fine," Ron nodded nervously, "it's just...we finally have to face it."

Harry tried to suppress the burning, articulate hatred that seemed to be mingling in his blood and flowing through his veins: "It's been destined since they orphaned me that one day, if something happens to Hermione, I..." Harry couldn't say the word: "She's family, Ron."

Ron suddenly looked much more mature than his seventeen years: "She's all right, she must be all right."

The man gasped.

In the room of Nebras, the Death Eater stronghold, Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, watching Travers who was staring at her warily.

He looked at her, panting.Luckily, the smoker's emphysema had to stop to climb even one flight of stairs to catch his breath, so it would be easier to kick his balls and run away.

But it was not easy at the beginning, and to be honest, she was about to lose her composure completely.

"You're a Mudblood aren't you? Potter's Mudblood."

It didn't sound like a question, so she was happy to ignore him.The quill she tucked into the back of her skirt tickled her, and she focused on feeling the little comfort of the better-than-nothing weapon.

"You don't look the same as in the photo. I have a few, you know," he nodded. "The clippings are all in a book. I like to collect a lot of information in daily life. I've been here It's been eight months in this small, damn place, and I've spent most of my time alone."

That would explain why he was enjoying himself talking to himself, she really didn't want to hear about his Death Eater scrapbook or Voldemort's terrible employee benefits.

Also, the way he stared at her breasts made Ron's previous flirtatious indiscretions as cute as an angel.For a moment, Hermione wanted to grab the blanket on Blaise's bed and wrap herself up, but doing so would expose the entire bed, and Hermione didn't want to give Travers any hints.

"You're in seventh year at Hogwarts, so about... 17?"

Actually, now why don't you be a loyal lackey and go see what's holding Blaise and Pedillo up.

She said aloud, "If you get caught, you know you'll be locked up in Azkaban for a long time. People are looking for me now."

He shook his head at her, not stubbornly, but more encouraged, which was worse.This is a kind of confidence, and she sincerely hopes that this is just an illusion.

"They can't catch us."

Hermione really disapproved of the way he said "we".

Then the sound outside the door also became louder, footsteps, shouts, orders, and the sound of huge iron hinges being dragged.The originally latched door slowly opened, and something was happening outside the door.Hermione wondered if reinforcements had arrived, or if all she'd heard was the arrival of Death Eater reinforcements.

The latter made her feel like she was going to pass out.

She didn't know if she was still under the Imperius Curse, and she didn't want Travers to test the spell.Just let him think he was tame and submissive, and if he decided to lean in again, she would attack his underbelly and disarm his wand.

At least she has a plan.

Draco had escaped somewhere on his own.

It didn't take her long to learn that he was still alive, but not entirely unscathed.If she was really paying attention, she could feel like a hammer hit her chest because her heartbeat doubled.She imagined putting two fingertips against the side of her neck and feeling her pulse beat twice as fast.Wherever he is, he is moving, he is approaching.

"You know, Zabini won't last long. The little upstart thinks he's getting more attention. If you're interested in picking a favourite, you should bet on me."

That's funny, Hermione began to pay attention to the man, and she was relieved to find that this attention made Travers a little smug.Who would have guessed that all that trying to scare those mischievous junior Slytherins would end up working?

Or maybe just all those experiences with Draco in his company, no doubt a little bit of his style.

"Then who are you?"

He smiled, revealing a set of Dickensian teeth, the stuff a dentist's boy knows. (Translator's Note: I don't know which book is specific. The thief's teeth in "Oliver Twist" are black and yellow and sparse, and in "Dombey and Son" the protagonist shows all his teeth when he smiles. It is possible.)

"I'm someone you need to treat right now, girl."

"Get me out, I swear I'm not going to tell the authorities you're involved, it's not too late."

"So you're begging for mercy?" The fake smile on the man's face was as stiff as concrete.

"As you wish," she said.

"Fine, I like being rude. (Annotation: sass)"

For a moment, Hermione thought he had said "ass", and her face turned pale.

Upstairs there was an explosion, the foundations of the building seemed to shake, and dust fell from the rafters like pepper.Hermione waved the dust away in front of her with her hand, squinting towards the door.

Travers twisted open the door and was looking outside.

"Merlin..."

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, momentarily forgetting that she was afraid.

"Stand up!" he ordered, pulling her past and dragging her out into the hallway.

"Where are we going?" she asked, standing her ground. "Where are you taking me?"

Hermione thought he was going to hit her, but he just grabbed her by the hair and dragged her forward. The pain made her cry: "Shut up and move on!"

Travers had already dragged her halfway down the corridor, when Hermione suddenly took out the quill she had hidden earlier, and slammed the brand new tip into Travers' right hand.The hard thrust managed to sink the nib a full inch into his thumb before Hermione twisted the barrel and snapped it off.

Travers snarled like a wounded dog, and this time he really punched Hermione.Hermione dodged the attack and tried to sprint for the stairs with all her might.Travers, anticipating her movement, stuck out his foot and tripped her.

Hermione staggered back towards the door when Travers gave her a "Petrify Everything".Hermione's legs were petrified, and she barely had time to roll over and fall to the ground in pain.

When she opened her eyes, she was being roughly pulled up under the armpit by Traversto: "You will regret it." His moist breath sprayed in her ear: "Right now."

Hermione's body was petrified from the waist down, but her hands could move.Hermione reached out and scratched his face. If Travers had hair, she would have pulled it out.

"Stop!" He shook Hermione roughly, causing her teeth to butt together, and grabbed her wrists with one hand, so hard that Hermione cried out in pain, her knees went limp. "If you dare to do it again, I'll break your neck," he threatened, "Zabini can find another plaything for himself."

He was no doubt panicking now, and all he could think about was that something bad was going on upstairs or outside for the Death Eaters, and the thought filled Hermione with hope.

He wobbled her down a few steps, dragged her further, and finally reached the ground, where the air was stale and damp.

There was a torch at the end of a winding stone corridor flanked by a set of heavy iron bolted doors.This floor feels very different, the composition of the air is more complex, and even the light of the torches flickers on and off in an unusual way.

Hermione realized that this place was guarded, and unlike the ruins upstairs that were going to be abandoned, this was an important place.

Hermione had an ominous hunch that if Travers took her through those doors, then she might never get out again.

With or without help, she would never see Harry or Ron again, nor her parents.

And Draco was all alone.

She was about to fight him with everything she had left when a familiar voice made her freeze.

"Let go of her."

Draco was standing about 20 feet behind them, looking like he'd been waiting there.There was a thick wooden railing to his left, his only protection, and Hermione was frantically afraid that Travers would attempt a spell attack without saying a word.

Hermione gasped at the sight of him.

Blood was streaming down the right side of his face, his feet were spread apart, his weight was clearly on the right foot, and there was a horrific rip in his trousers.

He looked like he'd just come back from hell, bloody or not, and she was so absurdly happy to see him that she started crying.

Travers responded by wrapping his arm around Hermione's chin, pulling her head up with such force that it tore out her hair and Hermione started coughing and choking.

The two men pointed their wands at each other, the only difference being that Draco's arm was visibly shaking from the confrontation, while Travers was completely poised and in good shape.

Draco didn't look at her, and Hermione couldn't turn her head.

He couldn't look at Hermione, nor would he look at her.If he did, Draco was sure he'd run up to the son of a bitch who was about to strangle her, and beat the man to death with his fists.

The Cruciatus Curse is such a damned spell that it takes a while for its effects to wear off completely.Draco's whole body felt like it was made of little springs, and every now and then it felt like it was going to fall apart weirdly.

But Death Eater scum doesn't have to know that, Draco staggered forward, trying to keep his knees steady.Another hot blood ran from his hairline to his chin, dripping onto the collar of his black shirt.

"Let her go or I'll punch a hole in your head," Draco repeated, hissing rather than declaring, clearly spelled out.

Travers bared his teeth. "Try it, you bastard."

This man was not stupid, there was no shelter where he was standing, so he used Hermione in front of him as a shield and a deterrent.This was his method, and he cast the first spell.

Draco leapt and ducked behind the beam, smoking red and black lights flying overhead.

Several spells struck the beams, charring the wood where they had been hit.Draco gritted his teeth, he only had one chance, and it was all or nothing.

"She wasn't part of the plan! Forget Zabini! You know he's gone too far! Let her go!" Draco yelled at the spell.

The spell was still coming, but Travers couldn't keep attacking.He wanted to suppress a struggling Hermione, and tried to open the dungeon door at the same time.

The spell stopped for a moment, and the man moved.Draco could hear the heavy bolt slide out of place and the magic lock spring on the other end pop.

His father had said that the dungeon was magically restricted, and he had to act now or never.Within ten seconds, Hermione would be out of his reach, and likely out of reach of anyone trying to rescue her now.

If this happened, his heart would stop beating.

Seekers aren't known for their extraordinary positioning abilities, and what's less known is that it was the seeker position that Draco originally wanted to try.It was only because of Harry that Draco finally accepted the Seeker position offered by Marcus Flint.

Draco's positioning ability is very, very good, even under the influence of the Cruciatus Curse.If Travers hadn't stuck his head out at the last moment to see where Draco was, Draco would have cast a Ripping Curse on his shoulder, and had to will hit this particular target.

At first, Draco thought he had missed, that the spell hadn't hurt Travers at all, but then Travers fell to his knees.Freed from Travers' grip and petrification, Hermione also slid to the ground, a thin red line slanting across the man's neck.

He made a muffled sound, and reached out blindly to grab Hermione, and the wand fell to the ground with a click.The thin wound turned into a torrent of blood, and the blood spurted from Travers' severed carotid artery didn't flow out much, but it splattered everywhere.

Sprayed on the stone floor, sprayed on the walls, and even Hermione was affected.She backed away sharply from the small dark pool of blood on the ground, looking like she was going to throw up.

Draco's gentle touch on her shoulder startled her, and for a moment she looked at him in a way he never wanted to see on her face again, but that changed quickly.The light of reason came back to her eyes, and with a cry of distress, she tried desperately to wipe the splatter of Travers' blood from her face.

He didn't know where his cloak was, but Draco guessed it was lying under the broken stairs.Ignoring the searing pain in his injured thigh, he knelt beside her and quickly unbuttoned his shirt, wringing it up and wiping the blood off Hermione's face, forgetting how quickly the thing dries.

Smearing made things worse, he should have dabbed away, so he slowed down awkwardly.

When this was done, he threw away his soiled clothes and shook.

He killed a man.

Hermione looked dazed. "Is he dead?" she asked softly, looking down at the Death Eater's twisted corpse.

Draco swallowed his throat convulsively: "Don't look."

Still dazed, Draco fumbled the hair from her face awkwardly, running his palm up and down her arm.He didn't know who he was comforting, him or her, or both of them.

She was fine, she wasn't hurt or killed or anything worse happened.Maybe he could catch his breath now, he was sure his lungs had forgotten how to work.

"Granger." Draco's voice was low and hoarse, suddenly feeling a little breathless again.His hands were pinching the hem of her school shirt, as he had done the day before when she was leaving him in the Quidditch warehouse.

Draco realized that he had never been so terrified in his relatively short life.

Draco needed Hermione to watch him.

His palpable grief seemed to pull Hermione out of her state, and as they both knelt on the ground, Hermione moved slowly a couple of times into his arms.

Draco didn't know what he was slurring, and this was his most incoherent moment, and there were a lot of "oh my god" among the repeated asking if Hermione was hurt.Her cheek against his bare chest, knowing she was listening to his own heartbeat, was so reassuring.

He still couldn't make any promises to her, either because he couldn't or because he didn't want to.She could beg him with her astonishingly obsessive love, and the chips he was banking on—his talent, his blood, his name, his fortune—were worthless to Granger.

If he wants her, all he has to give is himself.All the good, worthwhile, and important things he'd grown up believing in now seemed like piles of goblin gold.It looks beautiful, but it is often illusory and disappointing.

What's the value of pure blood when your heart and soul are dark and sick?How could anyone want him just for who he is?It's incredible.

But Granger did it, she'd have him, he'd become less and less of himself, and maybe in the end, that was the right thing to do.Perhaps Granger, the girl with her secret romantic feelings, with her idealism, optimism, and innate goodness, is what a smart man defines as "wealth."

If that's true, he's the richest man in the world.

"I should have known he wasn't you, it took me too long to figure it out," Granger told him, sounding extremely angry at herself.

Draco assumed she meant Blaise, and he was annoyed at that too: "Yeah, you should have recognized it."

She looked at him in surprise: "why did you come so fast?"

Glad to see the fear no longer in her eyes, he kissed Hermione's forehead, delighted by her reply: "I'll explain later, we'll leave when we find Tonks and Goyle."

"Tonks!" Hermione held her breath. "So she's still alive?"

"Alive now," Draco replied, "Where's Goyle? Granger, have you met Goyle?"

His tone was meaningful, as to why he wanted to know what happened to Goyle.

She shook her head: "No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen it."

"Okay." Draco ripped his hair with one hand, and grimaced as his own bloody hand touched the same blood-stained hair.

He pulled her against the wall, suddenly realizing that if someone appeared on the other side of the corridor, they would be completely exposed to the view of others.

"Stay close to me and hide in the shadows. If anything happens, you run. If you can't run, hide until you can get out safely. Do you hear me?"

Hermione glared at him. "This is not the time to be a hero!" she said angrily.

"Do as I say!"

"You might be surprised to know that I've been in this situation several times! Probably more than you!"

"It doesn't surprise me, it scares me!" he retorted in a low voice, but his tone softened.

This immediately calmed Hermione, after all she had been crazily worried about him not so long ago.Hermione nodded understandingly, but the gesture caused a crystal tear to roll down her cheek.Draco knew Hermione didn't realize that she had started crying the moment he found her.

Tears were the only thing that showed she was afraid, and her brown eyes showed strength now.

That's what Potter saw, Draco thought, feeling an irrational, ill-timed outpouring of jealousy.

"What are you planning?" she asked, and Draco was stung by the suspicion in her tone, the girl was as vain as he was.

Though he's been confused, he's not Harry Potter, and he doesn't act as impossibly stupid as Gryffindor bravery.

For example, the idea of ​​catching Blaise came up.

Asshole Ministry of Magic, Oro can beat Blaise by himself, thank them so much.He was going to get Hermione and his purple-haired cousin out of here safely, Goyle or not.

"My father is here." He chose to tell her that Lucius himself had rescued him and talked to him still unbelievable.

"what?"

"I know, don't ask. I don't know what to do now, but I suspect Snape had something to do with it. The explosion you heard earlier was probably the cover-up he promised me earlier."

He took her hand. "Now we'll go find Tonks, and then the three of us can get out of this damn place. Agree?" He knew that asking for her obedience was far more effective than mere orders.

She held his hand tightly: "agreed."

People were coming, and Goyle could hear the sound of wands casting spells behind the dungeon's enchanted door.

There was the sound of shouting, damn it, they're already in there?He was too late, he waited too long to free that Oro.

In any case, she was free.He desperately tried various spells to unlock the dungeon door without raising any alarm.This skill was clearly beyond his ability, but he especially remembered what he did every time he accompanied Blaise into the dungeon.

For one terrifying moment, the password didn't work, and Goyle was sure he was about to be torn apart by the dungeon's defenses, but then there was a hissing sound, like compressed air being released, and the latch on the other side of the cell door slid open. up.

It was easier to open the door of Tonks' cell, and she rushed out.

"Should I hit you now or later?" she asked dryly, holding aloft the stone Goyle had given her earlier.

"Plans changed," he blurted out.

She blinked and threw a stone: "Yes, I know, I can hear it."

Maybe it's time to tell her something else, she won't like it: "Hermione Granger and Draco are imprisoned, I didn't know until they came over."

Auror is a tough job, Goyle thought, as Tonks digested the dire news with a grim expression.

"Are they still alive?"

Draco?Goyle swallowed.Maybe dead.Granger?He wasn't sure either.

"Alive." He could only guess.

"Very well, then run away alone, I won't leave until I find them."

That was what he had counted on, and it was time for another bad news: "Bellatrix Lestrange is here with Bubaston and the new Death Eaters recruited by Durmstrang." Goyle told her.

Her lips were drawn into a line: "Where?" she asked softly.

"The new people are in a room on the top floor, and I'm supposed to be there, too. I guess Bellatrix was going to start the interview there, and the east wall fell down, and Wormtail disappeared."

She thought quickly, and Goyle thought she really looked like Hermione Granger at this moment.She frowned slightly, and her expression showed that as long as she was smart enough, no problem was insurmountable.

"Let's find those kids first."

Goyle was confused for a moment before realizing she was talking about Draco and Granger.He strode to the entrance of the dungeon and spoke the password that would stop the magic defense.

Tonks stepped back, six sets of locks unlocked, and Goyle pushed open the heavy door.

There was a woman's gasp, but it wasn't from Tonks.Goyle couldn't help but stare at Hermione Granger and Draco in shock with his mouth open, while a wand was pointed straight into Goyle's face.

*Author's note at the end of the article:

Luo Liji said "I wish you success soon!" (GoodHunting) comes from Galactica, the fortress of the sky, this is cos.