Our Constellation--Dramione

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me, plotlines, characters, places, events (etc.) all belong to J.K. Rowling, she is the rightful owner. When a character is created by me, you'll know right away ;)

A/N: I wrote this chapter at about 1 AM and (in order to write a believable torture scene) re-watched that scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I several times to make it accurate. But I ended up having a mental breakdown... I don't know why, so my interpretation of the scene is much more of a nutshell than it could be. I can't explain it to you why it affected me so much, even when Emma Watson and Helena Bonham Carter's acting was beyond superb! And for that I'm sorry, but I hope you'll appreciate this chapter.

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26 March 1998

It was her. It was Hermione Granger, along with Weasley and a disfigured young man that looked suspiciously like Potter.

Weasley had already been identified, of course, and it didn't help that his ginger hair was a dead giveaway.

"What about the girl? She claims that she is Penelope Clearwater, a Half-Blood," Scabior grunted.

"No, this is Miss Granger, I recognize her from the incident at Madam Malkin's a little over a year ago," Narcissa added.

Of course. The incident at Madam Malkin's. How could he forget?

Hermione's face fell as she was thrust into the limelight of unwanted attention.

"Ah, yes. The Mudblood," Bellatrix whined. Then she pulled the man with the disfigured face from one of the snatcher's grip and tugged the back of his hair aggressively.

"And him?"

Draco studied him. Round-rimmed glasses, tall and lean body--horribly frail and underweight. It was most definitely Harry Potter.

What were the chances they could escape and make it out of here alive if he lied?

"Well?"

"I can't be sure."

Lucius placed a condescending hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Draco, look closely! If we are the ones to hand Potter over to the Dark Lord, everything could be forgiven and be all that it was before."

The Dark Lord didn't forgive. He disregarded mistakes, but he never forgot, and never let go without dishing out the consequences. Draco knew this.

"Well, I hope you don't forget who brought him here in the first place, Malfoy," snapped an impatient snatcher.

Lucius turned cold eyes on the man. "How dare you speak to me this way--and in my own house!"

"Lucius!"

A brawl was the last thing Narcissa needed to witness during this important time. She held her husband back and watched as Bellatrix guided Draco over to the man with the swollen face.

"We need to be sure, Draco. Or else we could be killed!" she hissed.

Draco leaned in and now, even more so than before, was he completely certain of the identity of this man. It was Potter all right.

"What's wrong with his face?"

"Yes. What is wrong with his face?"

The only conclusion Draco could come up with was a spell of negative impact conjured on Hermione's behalf, but he hoped his aunt was too dull to connect the dots.

"Was it you that used a stinging jinx?" she directed to the girl.

Dammit! Draco couldn't peel his eyes away from Potter, even if all he wanted to do was stare into her eyes--a sight that guaranteed security.