"Blaise, get off!" I whispered loudly, wand in hand. He'd stepped on my foot twice already. Okay, so it was dark, but not that dark. I was starting to worry. We weren't far from the Room of Requirement now, but we had to move quietly, in case we were caught. Ginny seemed to be getting more and more agitated, too.

"Shut up!" She muttered. "Come on, we have to find Hermione. Who knows what's happened to her now? Check the map."

Reluctantly, I opened it up, but still there was no sign of her. In a way, that was a good thing. It meant she was still in the Room of Requirement. My breathing quickened and I could feel my heart in my mouth as the door appeared in the wall. Ginny opened it quietly and peered inside, with Blaise and I close behind.

I'd shut the door behind me, feeling my chest rise and fall, when suddenly red light shot in jets across the room, bouncing off the towers of objects that filled the room. Ginny pulled Blaise to the floor behind a stack of books and I followed suit, after staring at the source of the stunning spells.

There was Hermione, standing up behind Pansy, looking forlorn and wide-eyed, with a bruise above her lip. Pansy was holding both her own wand and Hermione's, sending stunning spells out at us with each, though the spells from Hermione's wand were much weaker.

"Is she okay?" Asked Blaise, chewing his lip.

"I think so," I answered, raising my voice over the sound of the stunning spells hitting metal. Suddenly a jet of light hit the stack of books we were crouched behind and they came crashing down on top of us.

"Ginny!" I yelled, fighting my way out of the pile of books on top of me. "Blaise!"

Ginny was already up on her feet, shooting stunning spells and knock-back jinxes across the room. Blaise's hand shot out from the books and I hauled him to his feet, wand in hand.

"You definitely hate Pansy, right?" I asked Blaise.

"Definitely," he replied, narrowing his eyes. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to kill her," I mumbled. I pushed past Ginny and stormed right into the centre of the room, dead ahead of Pansy and Hermione.

"Draco!" Shouted Hermione, her voice sounding broken from crying. My heart ached to see her like that - red eyes, puffy face, unkempt hair and that bruise above her lip. I dragged my attention back to Pansy, who had given her a sharp kick with the heel of her boots.

"Don't say a word to him, mudblood," snapped Pansy. She turned her attention back to me with a slick smile on her face, both wands pointed at the floor.

"Let her go, Pansy," I said firmly. Pansy laughed.

"She's not a hostage, Draco," she purred delicately, taking hold of Hermione's shirt and pushing her forwards roughly. "Take her. I'll just take your friends, instead."

She waved her wand and the chairs and tables Ginny and Blaise were stood behind, wands poised, fell away, leaving them exposed. Hermione's expression softened when she saw them, and Ginny flashed her a small smile.

"Listen, Pansy, this is over," I said, gesturing to the room. "The Vanishing Cabinet, the death eaters...I'm not a part of this anymore. I don't want to be a part of this anymore."

Pansy gave an irritating laugh again. "Draco, it's really not your choice," she replied silkily. "And anyway, I never needed your help. It's finished. It's done. I've done it all without you."

She tossed away Hermione's wand and waved her own with a swift, stabbing motion. With a loud, creaking noise, the door of the Vanishing Cabinet, which had been hidden behind the debris not a moment ago, swung open.

Out stepped masked and robed death eaters, all with their wands. Hermione's hand went to mine and I squeezed it tight, unable to take my eyes away from them. There was seven in total. One was taller, broad-shouldered, and had a familiar build to him.

He waved his wand, and his mask was gone in a flash of silver. I clapped a hand to my mouth when I realised my heart had stopped beating. It was my father.

"Dad?" I asked defiantly, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. "What are you doing - why are you here? I thought...I thought you were finished."

"Draco, this really isn't about me," sighed my father. His eyes followed mine to Hermione. His nose wrinkled a little with disdain.

"And this is Miss Granger, the war hero?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm and disapproval. "Dear, dear, Draco. Your tastes are...distinct. Not that I can say the same for your dear friend Miss Parkinson here." He nodded to Pansy, who smirked.

"She's not my friend," I snarled. "Why are you doing this? Don't you think we went through enough, when you blew up the school the first time?"

"Nothing personal, Draco, I assure you," he smirked. "I have everything arranged with Miss Parkinson. You and your - ah - friends - will stay here, while we sort out some arrangements with your headmistress. That way you will remain safe."

"I don't think so," I said firmly, my pace quickening. "I don't care who you are, or who they are," I gestured to the other death eaters, "but we're not going to stop until you're either back in that cabinet, or dead."

"So be it," sighed my father. He flicked his wand idly and Hermione and I went skidding across the floor and into a tottering tower of chairs. "I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way."

He and the death eaters marched out, with Pansy on their tail. I looked up. Ginny and Blaise had gone. Gone for help, I thought. Gone to get every single student to fight them until they're dead. I smiled. 

This time, I'd be on the right side of the fight.