'And now I wish I had a million galleons,' said Ron, and glanced around hopefully.
Hermione looked at him.
'Just checking,' he said.
She turned her attention back to Draco, who was walking rapidly across the room towards them. Ginny was not with him. He was carrying his sword, unsheathed, in his hands, and his expression was so extraordinarily bleak that it nearly stopped her heart. Before she could formulate much of a thought, quick as lightning, Ron had gotten to his feet and stepped sideways to put himself between Draco and Harry.
Draco stopped dead, and stared at him. 'What are you doing, Weasley?'
Ron crossed his arms over his chest. He didn?t need to raise his chin
— he already towered over Draco — but he did anyway. 'Don?t come any closer,' he said.
'Move out of the way,' said Draco.
Ron shook his head.
'Do you want to move,' Draco said, with narrowed eyes, 'or do you want to find out what fine Italian footwear tastes like?'
Ron blinked at him. 'What?'
'I think he means he?ll kick you in the face,' said Hermione helpfully.
Draco rolled his eyes. 'I?m having a bad day,' he said. 'My threats are not what they could be. Lets start this over. Move out of the way, Weasley.'
'No,' said Ron.
'Move out of the way, or I?ll slice off your leg and beat you to death with the boot end,' said Draco.
'Oooh, that was much better,' said Hermione supportively. 'Really good imagery.'
'I?m still not moving,' said Ron.
Hermione looked from Ron to Draco. Harry was behind her, she couldn?t see his expression. Draco seemed caught between surprise and bitter amusement.
'Stand aside,' he said. 'I mean it.'
'Put that sword down first.'
'Weasley, we haven?t got much time. Get out of the way.'
Ron didn?t move. Draco glanced over at Hermione, who raised her eyes to his. For a moment, their gazes caught and interlocked, and she remembered that these eyes belonged to a boy her own age, and one she loved and had trusted. She had looked into them so many times and seen his own love for her, reflected back, only now it was overlaid with something else, and somehow changed.
It was Harry who spoke next, and for the first time since Draco had come into the room. 'Ron. Its all right. Let him by.'
Reluctance tempered by confusion, Ron stepped aside, and Draco moved to stand where he had been standing. Hermione saw the bright gleam of blue light on the blade of the sword as he raised it over his head. And Harry — Harry had gotten to his knees, and held his cuffed hands out, so that the chain pulled taut between them. He was looking up at Draco, and his green eyes were steady.
'Do it,' he said.
Draco brought the sword down, so fast and so hard that it seemed to whistle as it cut the air. It sliced down, striking the coils of adamantine chain binding Harrys hands together, and shearing them neatly in half. They fell to the ground, not with the clanging sound of metal, but with a hissing sort of noise as of a snake shedding its skin.
Hermione caught her breath and started forward, but a hand gripping her arm prevented her. She knew without looking that it was Ron, but not why he was holding onto her.
Harry got very slowly to his feet, reaching out for the wall to steady himself. She saw Draco reach out as if to help him, then take his hand back quickly. Harry, who was looking down, didn?t notice.
Ron let go of her arm. She ran forward to Harry, and put her arms around him, helping him stand up. She felt him grip her shoulder, as if standing up after so long being chained hurt him. It probably did. He stood still for a moment, as if gauging the steadiness of his legs. Then he took a quick step forward, grabbed a very surprised Draco by the front of his shirt, and shoved him hard against the wall. 'All right, Malfoy. Where the hell is Ginny?' he said.
'Look, a strip search really isn?t necessary.'
'Oh, but I think it is,' said Raven, who was standing with her hands on her hips, looking at Sirius as if she really craved chocolate and he was the last Creme Brulee truffle in the box. 'Now remove your clothes.'
'Not without dinner and flowers first.'
Raven looked sideways at him, and smiled. 'Prisoners must be divested of their wands and other weapons, thats the rules. You could have hidden your wand somewhere on your body. All I have to do is call out, and this room will be filled with dementors willing and eager to assist me. Therefore, you must remove your clothes, or I will bind you and remove them.'
'No, come on, I?ll just give my wand to you. Look, here it is.' He held it out, and Raven took it and pocketed it, a small smile playing about her red lips. There was a certain dark hunger in her eyes that made her banshee heritage suddenly seem very apparent. Sirius felt very sorry that he had ever thought she was attractive. Perhaps this was karma. He sent out a silent apology to Narcissa, who he suddenly missed very much.
'How do I know you don?t have two wands?' Raven demanded.
'How do I know you don?t have a Lockpick Charm?'
