Chapter one

It was a cold winter night. Snowflakes fell slowly from a cold black sky. Icy stars gazed indifferently down on the frozen earth; their pale eyes fell upon a dark and abandoned side road without street lighting and onto a man who, with some difficulty, was trying to negotiate his way down it. He was limping and convulsing as terrible coughing fits shook his thin and emaciated frame repeatedly. The stars don't interfere with humans and their pitiful, short lives and that's why they didn't intervene as the man fell to his knees. They turned their backs to him without hesitation. He was only another short life that soon would be gone from mother earth's surface. The fate of the man on the dark road seemed helplessly bleak and he would probably have died if Fate herself hadn't intervened.

The Daily Prophet

YET ANOTHER FAILURE FOR AZKABAN'S NEW DIRECTOR. Dangerous criminals have recently escaped from the most heavily guarded prison for wizards in Great Brittan. Sam Hawkins, who recently took up the duty as director of Azkaban, has no comment as to who the prisoners are. However, a source within Azkaban's walls has informed the Daily Prophet that the prisoners escaped from the death-row cell section, or were set free.

Ever since the ministry re-introduced the death penalty there have been many protests all over Britain against the ministry's cruelty and it is possible, according to the Daily Prophet's crime-experts, that someone who sympathizes with the prisoners has set them free. The death penalty was re-introduced as a way to definitively put an end to the war and give the death-eaters "what they deserve for their crimes."

Read more on pages 4-5

Ronald Weasley snorted and folded the newspaper he had been reading. He was a man of great importance, currently working at the ministry of magic; he was also one of the men behind the re-introduction of the death penalty.

"Have you read this Hermione?" He asked the woman across the table.

"No, I haven't dearest, but it seems as though it upsets you." Hermione retorted calmly, she was lazily browsing through a book on old wizard laws.

"It's that damned prison and that damned director, Sam Hawkins. I told Ian that he had death-eater contacts in his youth but he wouldn't listen to me. 'It's a smarty guy Ron,' he said. Bull shit." Ron muttered and gave the table a good kick, "and it's not just any bloody death eaters that have escaped either, it's that murderer Augustus Rookwood and that bloody Lucius Malfoy, they should have been put to death years ago."

"Calm down Ron." Hermione told her husband with a dangerously low voice, "You're going to wake Rose and Hugo."

"How can I calm down?" Shouted Ron as he rose from his chair, "the people who had a part in my brother's death are now walking on our streets again and who knows, they might kill again!"

"There is no need to get angry with me." Hermione told him irritably. "And besides, re-introducing that awful law makes you no better than them."

"What?!" Bellowed Ron, his ears within seconds changing to a bright red colour, "Are you accusing me of being a murderer?"

"Quiet down for Merlin's sake, the children-"

"Mom?"

Young Rose Weasley and her little brother Hugo appeared in the kitchen door. Rose held her brother's hand, both of them dressed in their pajamas.

"It's nothing my dears, mom and dad are just having an argument," said Hermione sending Ron a glare: "He will calm down now, won't you dearest?"

"Not until you've explained to me what you mean by calling me a murderer." Ron answered returning Hermione's glare.

"Dad is being unreasonable now my darlings, come, I'll sing you to sleep." Hermione told her children, she took Rose's hand and lifted Hugo so that he rested on her hip.

"Don't turn your back on me Hermione; we aren't through talking to each other!" Ron shouted after Hermione as she started to climb the stairs.

"We'll talk later Ronald," answered Hermione without turning around, her voice frosty.

Hermione couldn't sleep, the clock struck twelve and she still couldn't find peace enough to go lie down and rest. Ron snored beside her, his deep breaths and faint mumbling usually calmed her but not tonight. She felt betrayed by him. True, they used to fight and had done so ever since their schooldays but arguments like this one had become more common in their everyday life. It wasn't that she didn't love him, it was just that he'd become so bloody hard to live with.

Hermione sighed irritably untangled herself from the sweaty sheets and got up out of bed, Ron didn't even notice, he turned to the other side and snored even louder. She shook her head and tiptoed over to Rose and Hugo's room, her youngest had curled up in his older sister's bed, both of them were sound asleep. Hermione smiled softly, they were her treasure and perhaps the only reason why she chose to stay with Ron and fight for their relationship.

'Perhaps I should go out for a while to gather my thoughts and get some fresh air.' She thought and went downstairs.

She grabbed a pair of jeans and two green socks from the sofa and threw on a pair of shoes and her green, thick winter jacket. Hermione drew a deep breath and opened the door; the frosty winter night greeted her coolly. Hers and Ron's garden was in a deep winter slumber, the apple trees stood naked and dressed in frost. The lawn was equally white and when Hermione strode over it she could hear the faint rustling of frozen grass that broke under her feet. The stars that shone this night were particularly beautiful, they graced the earth with their appearance and together with the moon they gave the otherwise black earth a soft, white light.

Hermione was bewitched by the sheer beauty of it all, she had only planned for a quick breath of air but Fate had other plans. She exited the garden and found herself standing on the dark road outside. It was her idea to live on the countryside, far away from other people. She liked the stillness and the peace, the fact that they had no streetlight didn't bother her. She wasn't scared of the dark per say; she learned long ago that it wasn't the darkness itself that was dangerous but the things lurking inside it. And what dangers could possibly be out this beautiful night?

Hermione started walking; peace came with every step and Fate smiled brightly at her. She reached an open field and stopped only to watch the night sky. It was then that she heard a faint sound that resembled the breathing of a human. She felt a slight tingle of fear and reached into her inner jacket pocket and drew her wand; vine wood with a dragon heartstring core, almost a replica of the one that she'd lost to Greyback during the war.

"Lumos." She whispered and the tip of her wand enlightened the surroundings, the white light exposed stones, leafs and twigs on the road but she saw nothing that could have caused the sound she just heard.

"Hello?" She whispered and raised the wand so that she could see more of the world around her.

Shadows further down the road fled for her light and it was then she saw the body in the middle of the road. Her heart leapt in her chest, who was that? Was he hurt? Hermione hurried to the fallen mans side and kneeled beside him. She succeeded to turn him around and pressed her ear to his chest – he was still alive but in a very bad shape.

"Sir? Are you alright Sir? What's happened?"

The man mumbled something and Hermione brought her wand to his face so that she could get a better look at it, if he had any sort of head injuries. She was immediately struck by the sensation that she had seen this man before, an unpleasant feeling spread down her spine. His clothes were torn and a bit strange, they resembled a pair of pajamas. She was taken aback when the injured man took a steady hold of her hand in which she held her wand. Terror griped her heart when she noticed how strong the man was despite his current state of injury.

"Let go of me!" She shrieked. "What are you doing?"

The man didn't respond, instead he twisted her arm painfully and successfully got hold of her precious wand. Hermione watched how he opened his eyes; they were steel-grey and cloudy from pain and hunger. She recognized those eyes, she recognized this man.

"Lucius Malfoy." She whispered and watched how an unpleasant smile spread across his face, "What are you…?"

"Miss Granger…" The man whispered, his voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in a long time.

"You…!"

Hermione couldn't find words for what she was feeling. A cold fear griped her heart and held it in a painful grip. This man was one of those who had fled from the death-row; he was an ex-deatheater, a murderer and a desperate man. As panic slowly spread through her body like a poison only one thought made sense to her; she had to have her wand back. She couldn't allow him to have her wand.

"To think, Miss Granger… that you would save my life…"

"It's Mrs. Weasley to you!" She spat and took hold of the arm in which he held her wand.

She felt how he gripped her shoulder with his other hand. He tried to get her off him but she refused to let him go. She had to have her wand back. She couldn't allow him to wander free in the world with a wand. They rolled around on the ground. He was bigger than her despite his evident weight loss but he was hurt and in bad shape, she could easily tire him out. Eventually he realized this too and it was in desperation that he cried:

"Appareo!"

And then there was blackness as Hermione and Lucius Malfoy together disappeared from Yorkhill road. Fate felt content as she went to rest.