"Nice party you're all having here." Draco drawled, casually raising his wand.
Hermione could feel the smirk through his icy cold voice.
"Well, well. Look who it is. The young Mr. Malfoy decided to join us." McKinley said mockingly.
"I would have been here earlier if you'd had the grace to send me an invitation. Isn't that right, father?" Draco said icily, emphasizing on the last word.
He walked around the group, slowly entering Hermione's view range. He glanced at her and for an instant their eyes met.
Before Hermione could silently communicate with him, he looked away. She saw him positioning himself between his father and the group of masked men.
Draco was glaring at Lucius, but apart from his stormy eyes nothing betrayed what he was feeling. In all appearances his features looked perfectly composed and his body was like a bowstring, relaxed but tensed at the same time.
A silent exchange occurred between the two and Hermione noticed Lucius shift slightly in his spot, his back tensing up even more than before.
"Draco, I suggest you leave and let me handle this." Lucius said calmly, a tinge of iciness in his voice as well.
"I don't think so, father. As I am already here, I might as well enjoy myself." Draco replied with a cold smile.
"Draco, you don't…" Lucius started, his voice slightly nervous.
"As much as I enjoy this little reunion, the pleasantries must wait. We have a job to do." McKinley said. "Grab the girl and let's go!" he barked at the three men, who were standing behind him.
Draco swirled around and pointed his wand at them.
"I don't think so." he said in a low, dangerous voice. "One step closer and you'll meet Voldemort in the afterlife."
"Draco…" his father hissed under his breath.
"How very brave of you, young Malfoy, to speak the Dark Lord's name like that." McKinley taunted him. "You're lucky he is not here to punish you. But then again, I am, and therefore, I will serve the punishment in his place." McKinley said menacingly.
"I'm not afraid of him, or of you." Draco bit out, tightening his grasp on his wand. "I don't belong to your lot anymore."
"That's where you're wrong, young Draco Malfoy." McKinley said, a cruel smile plastered on his face. "You can never escape the Dark Lord. He is always with you. And to prove it, what do you think of this?"
McKinley raised his left arm and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark branded on his skin.
"As long as you have this, you will always be one of us, a Death Eater."
Draco looked as if hypnotized, his eyes fixed on the black snake swirling around the skull. He felt sick to his stomach, sensing his own mark tingling under the sleeve. A firm touch on his shoulder made him flinch. Lucius had quietly closed in on him.
"I think this requires a bigger audience." McKinley said eagerly, his words snapping Draco back to reality.
With a sudden jolt he felt his forearm heating, his own Dark Mark burning like hot iron had been placed on it. He grasped his arm in pain and staggered backwards slightly. Looking up he saw McKinley holding his wand on top of his forearm, his Dark Mark glowing with a black light.
Draco mustered all his power and swished his wand into the air, a silvery creature slowly appearing into view. It was a big feline creature, resembling a mountain lion.
'It's beautiful.' Hermione thought, forgetting for a moment where she was. 'I never knew he was able to cast one. But then again, he was an exceptionally good wizard even back in school.'
Draco's Patronus disappeared gracefully, carrying a message to Harry and the other Aurors.
"Just what we wanted, Harry Potter and the rest of them. Now we'll have a real party." McKinley said with a maniacal laugh, touching the Dark Mark with his wand.
The gesture sent electric shivers to Draco's body. He stumbled forward and almost fell to his knees, grabbing onto his arm tightly. It felt like it did in the past, when Voldemort called his followers.
'How in Salazar's name can he do that? Wasn't Voldemort the only one who could do it?' Draco thought as pain surged through his arm. He heard his father let out a small wince and when he turned, he saw Lucius holding his arm in the same manner.
Moments later, dark figures appeared all around them, surrounding them from all sides.
'Fuck.' Draco cursed inwardly. 'This is not good, not good at all. Potter I hope you're ready for this.'
Draco's internal ramble got interrupted when the Death Eaters started to close in on them. McKinley let out another laugh, raising his own wand, prepared to strike Draco. He raised his own, just as ready.
It all happened in a second.
Flashes of white light appeared from all around them. Harry and two dozen Aurors were pouring in from everywhere. Curses started flying in all directions, some bouncing off of protective shields, others hitting their targets and knocking down wizards.
Draco missed McKinley, the Death Eater managing to deflect his curse, but instead stunned another Death Eater right behind McKinley.
"Took you long enough." Draco heard Harry's voice from his left.
"Yeah, I had a situation here." he replied, gesturing towards his father.
Harry's eyes narrowed and he nodded at Draco's unspoken words.
At the arrival of the Aurors, Lucius placed a spell around him and Hermione and was now being attacked by McKinley's men.
Either they were acting on their own or their boss declared Lucius a traitor, Draco didn't know. And if he were honest with himself, he didn't care much. All he cared about was taking Hermione out of there. As soon as he arrived there and saw her, he figured out she was under a binding spell and he was now worried that she'll get hit by a curse, unable to protect herself.
From her spot, Hermione could only see Lucius's back and flashes of light as both Aurors and Death Eaters were shooting curses at each other. She couldn't see Harry's and Draco's desperate attempts to reach her, as they took down enemy after enemy.
The sounds reached Hermione's ears muffled by the shield charm she suspected Draco's father had placed around her. Unable to move or speak, she was just a witness of a battle that was nearing its end.
Suddenly, Hermione felt her body twitch and realized with a jolt of excitement that feeling was coming back to her muscles. As soon as her body was under her control again, she raised her wand and turned to look around. The cries and shouts of men battling hit her ears like a hammer.
Trembling all over, Hermione walked between Aurors and Death Eaters engaged in deadly fights, shooting curses as she went along, trying to reach the central point of the battlefield.
That's where she saw Draco, as he crumbled to the ground. A dark figure stood in front of him and Hermione suddenly realized why the binding spell had been lifted.