Yay, it's my birthday!
You know what that means...
DOUBLE UPDATE! Find out what happens to Hermione... and why Harry is the way he is (that's another evil cliffie actually ), any MORE
Here's update one. I'll update again in a few hours.
P.S: We're nearing the end of this F.F There're only 26 chapters, and the last chapter is like.... 2 or 3 paragraphs and they're kinda short... so yeah, just so you know.
P.P.S: I wrote this at 1am... so it’s not the best I’ve done I can honestly say (well, that’s what I think. I was bored so I over-used the sarcasm). Just to warn ya

Chapter 23
Escape

Hermione slowly stirred to a pounding head. Light flooded into her eyes, and she nearly passed out once more from the pain and the light.

“Mione...?”

Hermione tried to turn her head, but she moaned in pain and fell from her sitting position against a wall to her side on the floor.

“Draco...?”

“Yeah. So... how are you?”

“Never been better, how about you?” Hermione snapped. She tried to move her hands down to her sides, since they were hanging above her, but found shackles around them. She looked down at her feet and found them in the same predicament.

“I could say the same,” Draco drawled sarcastically. “Where are you?”

“Oh I don’t know, how about I get up and walk around to get a good look,” Hermione snapped. “How should I know?”

“So you can’t move either?”

“Well spotted, chap!”

“No need to be snippy,” Draco snapped. “It’s not like I can see anything either.”

“Then why ask?”

“I dunno, conversation starter?”

“Well you started a great conversation, let’s keep it flowing,” Hermione responded flatly.

“I never knew you could be so sarcastic...”

“Really? I never guessed,” Hermione drawled. “Why does it matter?”

“It’s kind of sexy actually...”

“How unfortunate that you can’t see the scowl on my face,” Hermione snapped, scowling. “Now, we have to get out of here. Try Apparating.”

“Why don’t you? Your idea.” Draco could almost sense the overpowering fury coming from Hermione. “Ok, ok...” Draco thought of appearing on the other side of the room, but when he tried to Apparate there, he failed. “Didn’t work. And unless you have some butter handy...”

“Oh yes, because you never know when you’re going somewhere for breakfast and they don’t have butter,” Hermione responded derisively.

“You’ve used enough sarcasm for the week. Now honestly, use that brain of yours and help me with thinking!”

“Where are we anyways...?” Hermione realized, her eyes taking in the stone and light bouncing off of it.

“The only dungeon in the Malfoy Manor with windows. How ironic, an underground room having windows...” he trailed off.

“Draco!”

“Anyways,” Draco said sharply, coming back to reality. “Do you honestly think the Death Eaters that took us would leave us with our wands.”

“How would I know? I can’t do wandless magic, I’m only muggleborn, remember?”

“If that was noted last year, then it would’ve actually been considered a burn,” Draco snapped.

“Families like yours can usually do wandless magic, but since you couldn’t even grasp how to do wordless magic...”

Draco glared at the wall ahead of him, only wishing it was Hermione there instead. He didn’t get why she was so snappish all of a sudden, but he didn’t bother to dawdle about it.

“Accio wand,” he muttered.

Suddenly, two wands flew into his right hand.

“Oh joy, they did,” Draco said flatly. “Can you at least try to summon your wand?”

Hermione sighed. “I’ll try.” She muttered the summoning charm, but all her wand did was wiggle.

“Ok, well I at least know which wand is mine...” Draco carefully opened his hand enough to drop the wand held on the tip of his fingertips. “Now, do you have any plans on what to do next?”

“Try Alohomora,” Hermione responded in an obvious tone. Draco rolled his eyes and did as he was told. Nothing happened.

“Anything else?”

‘Reducto?”

Draco shrugged and carefully aimed his wand at the shackles. He muttered the spell, and the shackles disintegrated. Draco aimed his wand at his other shackle, and it disappeared. Sitting up more, he got rid of the shackles on his feet.

Thump, thump, thump!

“Hurry up!” Hermione whispered urgently. Draco hurriedly got the shackles to recede from Hermione’s ankles and wrists, and they stood up.

“Only dungeon with windows, eh?” Hermione asked, grabbing her wand and looking at the windows.

Thump, thump, thump!

“They’re coming, hurry up,” Draco whispered and held out his hand. Hermione took it, and they together managed to blow away the bars and glass. He first climbed up and out, and squeezed between the spaces and onto the land. He turned around quickly, squatting, and started to help pull Hermione up.

“HEY!”

“Crap,” Draco muttered, now pulling Hermione between the space of the window and ground.

“Just let go!” Hermione said in a whisper.

“No, you’ll be killed in there,” Draco responded. “Now come on; are you being pulled by hand or by magic?”

“By hand funnily enough,” Hermione responded flatly. There was a quiet, yet distinguishable, sound of a crack. Hermione’s eyes widened and her face paled. Draco took advantage of this and pulled her through.

“What happened?” Draco asked as he helped Hermione up. Tears were falling down her cheeks from pain.

“That... he broke my ankle!” Hermione exclaimed. She muttered a few swears under her breath.

Spells started to circle around them, all coming out the window at their feet. Draco picked Hermione up off her feet and ran into the forest, only hoping that there were no Death Eaters lurking.

“Can’t you Apparate?” Hermione moaned.

“The spell goes for 500 yards around this place if I remember correctly; we’re only halfway out,” Draco responded. As soon as he spoke, he saw the outline of a human in the distance and stopped dead.

“What...?”

“Someone’s there...”

The person saw them and started walked slowly towards them. Draco backed up.

“I’m not a Death Eater!” the person called.

This made Draco turn to his left and run. He carefully, yet quickly, navigated around trees and through the forest, until he saw the same person 100 feet ahead of them. Whoever it was appeared familiar...

“Potter?” Draco exclaimed, surprised.

“What’d you do?” Harry growled, getting closer.

“Would I be running from my house if I did something to capture you and Hermione?” Draco pointed out. As Harry got closer, Draco saw he was swaying on the spot, as if he had been hit in the head recently.

“Then what happened?” Harry asked slowly, now only 30 feet from him and the half-conscious Hermione. “And what...?”

“What happened to you, Potter? You’re all...” cuts, fresh and dried blood, and bruises covered Harry’s face and any exposed skin.

“Well last I recall you punched me continuously...”

“You started that!”

“Don’t go back to that,” Hermione snapped, her voice growing quieter.

“What happened to you? Are you ok?” Harry asked Hermione worriedly, now only a matter of steps from her and Draco.

“Why do you care, Potter?” Draco asked, growing suspicious.

“Why do you care enough to carry her?” Harry responded.

“What happened to you?” Draco finally snapped.

“What do you mean?”

“Stop with the ‘what’ questions and keep walking,” Hermione mumbled.

“Stay conscious, Mione,” Draco whispered. “If I recall correctly, we’re near the end of the forest.”

“No we’re not. This place is endless, and you should know considering you live here,” Harry snapped.

“Oh shut up!” Hermione snapped, her voice now back to normal. “For once, just listen to Draco.”

“Since when did you call...?”

“Did you loose your mind in there?” Hermione cut him off as they started walking.

“No... but I don’t remember anything that happened from the summer on... well not very clearly,” Harry responded absentmindedly. “It’s like... something disappeared and I relied on it.”

“Oh no...” Draco breathed in realization.

“What?” Hermione asked worriedly.

“That’s who they meant...” Draco muttered to himself. He then looked at Harry and said, “You’ve been Imperiused since the summer.”