I kept trying to drown out the noise by covering my ears with my hands, but all of my attempts proved useless. The horrendous sounds of Hermione's agonising screams pierced through my head, blockning out any other noise. It felt like I was lost in a nightmare and couldn't get myself to wake up, no matter how hard I tried. It truly felt draining, and I wished nothing more than to be free of the chains in which I had been placed.
I had been dragged back to the cellar, along with Harry, Ron, and a man whom I believed to be Ollivander, the very wand-maker whom I had bought my first wand from at 11 years old, before I moved to France to attend Bauxbatons. He was sitting in the shadows of the cellar, hunched over, pale and fragile. He was definitely not young anymore, his ragged appearance seemed to show for it. Ron stood by the locked cellar door, banging on it and helplessly screaming Hermione's name, his voice tremulous. Harry tried to calm his friend down, but seemed equally terrified.
"Hermione! Hermione! Don't you dare touch her!". You could hear the frustration in Ron's voice, almost on the verge of breaking.
"Ron, we have to be calm about this. Just think; there's got to be a way out of here".
Just a few minutes before, I had witnessed how Draco was told to identify Harry, but his swollen face had seemed to make it impossible for him to be completely sure. At least that is what Draco had said. Of course, he saw that it was Harry. The scar in the shape of a lighting bolt upon his forehead was enough to prove it. Yet, however, Draco didn't sell him out to the Death Eaters, despite his fathers pleads and promises of a better life. He wouldn't break down under the pressure, and as I witnessed his act of mercy; I knew. I knew he wasn't the same person anymore.
Draco Malfoy wasn't the person everyone made him out to be. Not anymore. He had changed, transfixed into someone new. Someone better, someone caring, brave, thoughtful, loving and above all — reliant. We had been in situations where I doubted if he was trustworthy or not. Time and time again he had found himself stuck, with no visible way out. He did things that would make anyone question his intentions, but somewhere along the way, he became the person who I would come to trust with my life.
"There isn't. We've tried everything", I said in a shaky voice, on the verge of tears. I had found myself in the same situation a couple of months prior, when I was first brought to the manor. "It's useless, there's some kind of enchantment, it keeps you from leaving. So unless any one of you has the ability to Disapparate from a place where you can't Disapparate, then I'm afraid we'll be here awhile". I sat down, regretting the bumptious tone of my voice. No matter how frustrated I was, this wasn't the time.
After awhile, I noticed a lightbulb setting off in Harry's mind, and he reached down to take something out of his sock. It was small and seemed to reflect off of his still swollen face.
A mirror.
"Help us", he said, his breathing heavy. He looked into the small mirror in his hand, and a old, grey face seemed to appear, but the figure disappeared again, just as quickly and it seemed Harry's pleadings weren't nearly enough.
Suddenly, the steps of someone running down the stairs could be heard, echoing off the stone walls.
"Ron - quick! The deluminator!", I found myself whispering loudly, trying to get his attention without making too much noise, and with a click, the light went out and we were yet again surrounded by complete darkness. It didn't take long however, before Wormtail stepped out of the shadows, his face wrinkly and pale.
"You - goblin!" he demanded, and at first I didn't understand to whom he was referring, but then I realised that Griphook, one of the goblins working at Gringotts, had been stuck down there all this time, I just hadn't noticed his presence. Obviously scared for his life, Griphook did nothing but follow Wormtail, and I felt a lump start to form in my throat. This wasn't a game, and me and Draco weren't the only ones involved. There were other people's lives at stake, and knowing that; terrified me even more.
The second that the gates closed and Wormtail disappeared from view, a sudden motion could be detected. Losing much of my train of thought, I realised that the figure standing amidst us, was no other than Dobby - the house elf. He was small, smaller than I'd thought him to be, and was wearing what looked to be a dirty, shrivelled up tea-towel of some kind. He was sporting large, pointy ears and big, kind eyes. He looked sad, but at the same time; happy to see Harry.
"Dobby? What are you doing here?", Harry burst out.
"Dobby has come to rescue Harry Potter and his friends of course", Dobby replied. "Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter".
"Are you saying you can Apparate in and out of this room? Could you take us with you?". Something changed in the tone of Harry's voice, he seemed much more hopeful.
"Of course. I-I'm an elf".
"Right, Dobby. I want you to take Mr Ollivander-"
"-to Shell Cottage on there outskirts of Tinworth", Ron interrupted, looking between Dobby and Harry as he spoke. "Trust me".
Then Dobby stood back, taking Mr Ollivanders hand in his.
"Meet me at the top of the stairs in ten seconds", were the last words he spoke before Disapparating into thin air, leaving me, Harry and Ron behind.
"Now what?", I asked, my heart beating faster and faster. I was hoping the boys had some brilliant escape plan in mind and that we would be able to save Hermione in the process.
"Now, we wait", Harry said, standing behind the stone walls, ready to jump out at anyone who might be stupid enough to walk through the cellar doors at this time. I made sure to hide as well, holding my breath as best I could. Maintaining eye contact with both Ron and Harry, I prayed to God, any God, that this would end well. I wasn't sure about any of it, but hoped everything would turn out okay, with no casualties.
"Quickly - get ready!", I whispered, noticing Wormtail coming back down the stairs and motioning to the boys to hide. Just a millisecond after opening the gates, Wormtail fell to the floor, motionless. Surprised and wondering what just happened, I, along with the boys, came out from the shadows, stepping over his immobile body.
And that's when we got another good surprise.
Dobby had yet again been our hero. He was standing on top of the stairs which he had spoken of doing only seconds before, smiling.
"Who will get his wand?", he asked, igniting hope and light within my heart. Perhaps this wasn't as hopeless as I had thought. Perhaps we could save our friends, perhaps it wasn't over. Not yet.
YOU ARE READING
(1) 𝐍𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐄 | d. m
Fantastik(Previously named 'Marked for death') When I was seventeen, I learned what love truly meant. Love is waking up in the morning for your first thought to be of that one person. Love is that feeling in your stomach that you get whenever he or she looks...
