Some stars happen to shine brightly even in the darkest of times.
Draco let go of her face and hurried up the stairs, leaving her standing alone by the cold bars. She gathered herself before she turned back around to her friends, for she did not want to cry in front of them. She had told him to be strong and to be brave, so she needed to do the same.
"What was that all about?" Ron asked as she stepped into the shadows once more.
Both Ron and Harry was looking at her with furrowed eyebrows, but Hermione stepped back and let a laugh escape her lips. Luna was walking around, kicking something on the ground around with her shoe and the old man, which she recognized to be mr Ollivander from the wand shop in Diagon Alley, sat on the floor hunched over. The goblin didn't even look at them.
"Hermione what?" Ron asked confused as he turned to look at her "why on earth are you laughing?"
"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner" Hermione said, brushing her hair out of her face "I should've figured it out a long time ago"
"What are you on about?" Ron asked, still looking confused "Harry what is she talking about?"
Harry who stood behind the red haired boy looked just as puzzled.
"I have no idea Ron" Harry shrugged, still looking at Hermione.
"The sneaking off, the notes and Harry told us about the map... you and Malfoy"
"Her and Malfoy?" Ron asked, raising his voice "wait stop what do you mean her and Malfoy?"
Another laugh escaped Hermione's pink lips as she turned to Ellie.
"By the gods, you're in love him... aren't you?"
"Uhm I..." she trailed, taking a step back. Never before had she been confronted with her feelings for the broken boy, and she did not know what to say.
"No" Ron laughed unamused, taking a step forward "no way, no way... there's no way, bloody hell Hermione"
Hermione looked at her, raising her eyebrows as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Am I wrong?"
"Yes absolutely you're wrong Hermione" Ron said quickly, looking between Hermione and her "right Ellie, she's wrong? She's out of her mind, you can't possibly like Malfoy, not after all he's done to us"
"Uhm look I-I... it's complicated" she said quietly.
"Hell no, it's not complicated Ellie, the guy's a prick" Ron gasped, dragging Harry closer to him "he's belittled us for years, calling Hermione that awful word, picking fights and he has us locked in his god damn cellar"
"That's not his fault" she pointed out.
"Everything is his fault!" Ron yelled, clearly getting worked up.
"Calm yourself Ronald" Hermione said, stepping in between them.
Ron sighed as he turned away, holding onto Harry's arm. Harry looked baffled, and slightly worried as he took a step closer to her.
"Ellie he's a death eater, it's Malfoy... he's with them" Harry said.
"I know" she breathed, turning her head to look away "I know that, but you don't understand..."
"We don't understand? We don't understand Ellie?" Ron turned around and questioned loudly.
"Ronald" Hermione spat at him, urging the red haired boy to calm down "then tell us Ellie"
A moment of silence fell upon the dirty and dark room in the cellar where they all were being kept, and she wondered what ever she could say to her three friends who clearly still disliked the pale boy. No words came to her, instead she reached her hand down underneath her shirt and pulled out her necklace, holding the silver ring up with a shaky hand.
"Is that?" Hermione asked, stepping closer to look "it is, oh my god Ellie"
"Tell me that isn't what I think it is" Harry said, and Ron shook his head.
"Is that a wedding band?" Hermione asked wide eyed.
She nodded her head as she tucked her necklace in underneath her shirt once more. Her three friends looked beyond shocked in the faint light of the room.
"It is, and Draco is carrying one around his neck too, isn't he?" Hermione asked.
She nodded her head once more and Hermione slowly reached her hands up to cover her mouth. Harry stood perfectly still, his lips slightly parted as he looked at her. Ron on the other hand was walking around in circles, and it looked like he was about to pull his hair out.
"I love him" she whispered as she crossed her arms over her chest, barely audible.
"So you married him?" Harry asked, his voice sounding baffled.
"We eloped" she said, nodding her head as she looked away.
"So what you're Ellie Malfoy now?" Ron asked angrily.
"No" she said, looking back at the red haired boy "Ember, Draco didn't want me to take his last name, he said it wasn't something he was proud of"
"Of course it isn't something to be proud of, he's a bloody death eater" Ron muttered, glaring at her.
Luna stopped kicking the small rock with her worn out shoe and emerged beside Ron.
"Personally I think it's rather sweet, you should've seen the lesson where she was tortured, Draco refused to do it and then he helped her back up to the Gryffindor tower"
"You were tortured?" Harry asked shocked, holding his hands out.
"Thank you Luna" she smiled at the light blonde girl "and yes Harry, Hogwarts isn't the same as when you left but that's besides the point... I'm in love with him and he loves me too"
"No Ellie, Malfoy is incapable of love" Ron said, shaking his head.
"You don't understand" she sighed, taking a step closer to Ron "it's not that he can't love, it's that he's afraid"
"We're all afraid Ellie, but we don't go around making bad decisions like him" Ron argued.
"We all have our reasons Ron"
Ron sighed and walked off, sitting down against the stone wall.
"Fear changes people" Hermione mumbled, looking in between Ron and Ellie.
"Look, I know he's not perfect, but he's all I want" she confessed "he is torn between who he is on the inside and who everyone in his life wants him to be, he is torn between darkness and light, he wants to do the right thing believe me but it's not always easy... he isn't the real villain here, he's just a scared boy born into the wrong family"
"He's a coward" Ron muttered, looking away "and you're clearly blind Ellie"
"Yeah I'm sorry Ellie... Malfoy out of all people" Harry sighed, walking over to sit down next to Ron "I'm finding it hard to trust you right now"
She sighed as Luna walked over to her and hugged her side comfortingly. Hermione's eyes danced along the room for a moment before she too walked over to Ellie, grabbing a hold of her arm.
"Don't mind them Ellie, sometimes messy things can be hard to understand"
....
She had no clue how much time had passed when footsteps were heard from the stairs once more, however they sounded nothing like Draco. And it wasn't Draco... Peter Pettigrew's ratlike face appeared.
The goblin was brought up, and only seconds later Dobby appareted into the room.
"Ah" the small elf said, looking around him.
"Dobby?" Harry asked "what are you doing here?"
"Dobby's come to rescue Harry Potter of course" the small elf said, waving his hands around "Dobby will always be there for Harry Potter"
"Are you saying you can apparate in and out of this room?" Harry asked Dobby to which the elf nodded "could you take us with you?"
"Of course, I'm an elf"
She watched as Ron and Harry stood up, looking at each other.
"Works for me" Ron shrugged.
"Right Dobby I want you to take Luna, Ellie and mr Ollivander" Harry spoke.
"Shell cottage on the outskirts of Tinworth" Ron added "trust me"
"No no I can't go" she said standing up and walking in between Harry and Ron.
"Yes Ellie you need to go" Harry demanded.
"No" she said shaking her head "Dobby take Luna and mr Ollivander, I need to stay"
Luna stepped closer to them, a small smile upon her soft face.
"Whenever you're ready sir"
"Sir?" Dobby asked, gazing at Luna "I like her very much"
Luna smiled at the little elf. Dobby walked over to Luna and the old man, grabbing both of their hands. Dobby told the rest of them to meet him at the top of the stairs in ten seconds, and then he disappeared along with Luna and mr Ollivander.
"Alright" Harry mumbled, and the four of them sneaked up to the sides of the door as they heard footsteps coming back. Harry and Ron stood on one side and her and Hermione stood on the other side.
"I need the boy" Peter Pettigrew spat as he opened the door. They tried to fight him but it was no use since none of them had their wands. Pettigrew grabbed them and dragged them up the stairs, and they saw Dobby appear behind a stone statue.
"Oh look it's the Potter boy, all shiny and new" Bellatrix spoke smugly as she saw that the stingy charm had worn off on Harry's face "the dark lord will be pleased"
Suddenly Peter Pettigrew fell to his feet, and she realized that Dobby must've jinxed him from where he was stood hidden behind the statue. Ron was quick to grab Pettigrew's wand and point it towards Bellatrix.
"Expelliarmus!"
Lucius hurried forward, drawing his fingers over his cane only to realize that there was no wand there, the dark lord had broken it.
"Stupify!" Harry shouted as he grabbed a nearby wand and Lucius went flying backwards.
Draco and Narcissa rushed forwards, drawing their wands at Ron and Harry. A fight broke out as her and Hermione scrambled on the floor to find their wands. Suddenly she felt a sharp object pressed to her throat, and Hermione looked at her with fear in her eyes.
"Stop!" Hermione yelled as Bellatrix yanked Ellie up, pressing a sharp knife to her throat.
Everyone stopped and turned around, and she could see Draco's angry facial expression dropping into a frightened one. Bellatrix wore a nasty smile upon her lips as she twisted the knife slightly.
"Drop your wands" Bellatrix said, grinning at Harry and Ron "I said drop them!"
Ron and Harry looked defeated as they dropped their wands on the floor.
"Bellatrix please..." Draco pleaded, taking a step forward.
"Pick them up Draco" his aunt scoffed at him, ignoring his words "now!"
"Let her go first please" he said, taking another step towards Bellatrix "please"
"Don't be foolish boy, pick up their wands"
Draco sighed, looking around the room. His mother nudged him and he gave in, rushing to pick up the wands from the floor.
"Call the dark lord!" Bellatrix demanded.
Draco once more looked terrified, frozen still in his spot. His father pulled up his sleeve, and just as Lucius was about to summon his master, a chandelier came falling down from the high ceiling. Harry grabbed Ron and pulled him away, Lucius pushed his wife and son further into the room and Hermione jumped out of the way with a terrified scream. Bellatrix pulled Ellie away, accidentally cutting a small inch of her skin with the knife. She felt the sting as she fell to the floor.
The commotion roared around them. Draco hurried up to his feet and ran over to her, leaving the wands he had previously been holding in his hands behind. Harry was quick to rush over and grab the wands, stunning Lucius once more in the process as he tried to stop the boy.
"Ellie" Draco whispered, grabbing onto her face as he lifted her up onto his lap "I'm so sorry my love, I'm so sorry"
He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs before he laid his eyes on the small bleeding wound on her neck, carefully wiping off the blood with his sleeve.
"You're hurt"
"I'll be fine Draco" she assured him.
"You're hurt because of me" he whispered, feeling a tear roll down his cheek "I'm so sorry"
Bellatrix got onto her feet and brushed the hair out of her manic face.
"Stupid elf, you could've killed me!"
"Dobby never meant to kill" the small elf said "Dobby only meant to maim or seriously injure"
Hermione rushed over to where Draco was sitting, holding Ellie, and kneeled down besides them.
"Is she alright?" Hermione whispered to the pale boy.
Draco nodded his head slowly, lifting his bloody sleeve from her neck.
"Please take her with you" he pleaded to Hermione, tears running down his cheeks "she can't stay here, they will kill her... please take her with you"
"Of course" Hermione said, nodding her head towards the crying boy "Ellie come on we need to go"
Ron rushed over and helped Hermione lift her up, and she took one last glance at Draco's distraught face.
"Ellie I love you" he cried out "always"
"I love you too Draco" she whispered before Harry, Griphook and Dobby rushed over to them.
The next thing she knew they apparated out of the room, and she no longer saw the broken boy she loved so dearly... she saw soft sand and a blue lake.