DISCLAIMER: I'm not J.K. Rowling, you guys.

Chapter 1

(Portions of the dialogue and the scene below in the first part belong to the works of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.)

Upon a snowy, windy hilltop, a figure paced frantically. The man was breathless, walking a few feet just to whip around again, wand gripped in his hand. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Suddenly, there was a sharp, harsh line of white light that cut across the air. The man dropped to his knees, wand no longer in his grasp. He threw his hands out in front of him, as if he didn't know whether to shield himself or surrender.

"Don't kill me!"

"That was not my intention."

The wind had robbed the apparition of Albus Dumbledore of any sound. He stood before the frantic man, a harsh look on his face seen by the light of his wand.

"Well? What does Lord Voldemort want you to convey to me this time?"

"No - not him- I'm here because of me! On my own!"

He looked up into the callous blue eyes looking a little mad. He was wringing his hands franticly and he took no notice of his hair flying around his face, whipping him in the eyes.

"I come with- with a warning- no, a request!"

Dumbledore silenced the wind around them with a slight flick of his wand.

"What could a Death Eater want from me?"

"The Dark Lord- he- he is going to kill him!"

"Ah, yes," said Dumbledore. "I have heard of the plan. I assume he wishes to use him to carry out the task?"

"Yes! And he will die! If he fails, and he will, then he will die! I have stalled, but I cannot do it much longer."

"Surely your merciful Dark Lord will spare him? Could you not ask for mercy for him, in exchange for you getting Miss Granger to him another way?"

"I have- I have tried asking him-"

"You're repulsive," Dumbledore spat with contempt. The man seemed to shrink back. "As long as you get what you want, you do not care about other families getting torn apart?"

"Fine! Hide them all! Hide everyone! I don't care! Just- just keep him- them- safe. Please. He's my son."

"And what will you give me in return, Lucius?"

"In- in return?" Lucius Malfoy looked up into Dumbledore's eyes for barely a second before he said, "Anything."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. Miss Granger, might I have a word with you in my office?"

"Of course, Headmaster! I'll see you two later in Potions," Hermione said to Harry and Ron as she got up from her seat in the Great Hall to follow Dumbledore. Harry and Ron waved absentmindedly and continued discussing the latest Chuddly Cannons game.

"How are your lessons going?"

"Oh! Wonderful, Headmaster!"

"And your seventh year project? How are those extra lessons coming? Are Professor's Flitwick and Snape treating you fairly?"

"Fantastic, Headmaster! When Professor Snape actually has a student that wants to learn, he seems to enjoy teaching much more. I'm learning so much from him that I believe I will be able to tie into my final outcome. And Professor Flitwick is just simply brilliant."

"Your focus is in charms, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

Hermione walked alongside Dumbledore to his office, answering his random questions about her lessons, all the while wondering what he could need to see her for. If it was a Head Student matter, she would assume Terry Boot would be there as well since he was Head Boy.

"Please, have a seat. Tea? Lemon drop?"

"No sir, thank you."

Dumbledore fixed himself a cup and appeared to be thinking hard. When he finally looked up, his eyes were void of any laughter or twinkle that normally existed.

"Miss Granger, I'm afraid I have some important matters to discuss with you. First, let me start by telling you that the Death Eaters Rowle, Macnair, and Dolohov were all captured over the last few nights. Dolohov and Rowle died in the struggle, and Macnair is now is Azkaban awaiting trial."

Hermione pinched her lips together, brooding for a second. "Which basically means he could easily escape, then?"

Dumbledore inclined his head slightly. "Unfortunately, yes."

Hermione took a deep, steadying breath. "Well, two out of three isn't bad. They killed my parents, and now two are dead. I guess that is an eye for an eye."

Dumbledore gazed sadly at the Head Girl from across his desk. "Miss Granger, if everyone took an eye for an eye, the world would be blind."

"I know, Headmaster. It's still just really hard to deal with. Especially this close to graduation. They should be there when I graduate. Instead, I have a life insurance policy to remember them by. It's not right."

"It's understandable, my child. Now, to the next subject: there is no easy way to say this, but you're in danger," Dumbledore held up his hand to forestall her from interrupting, "more so than you were before. We have reason to believe that Voldemort would like to secure you. So far we can't figure out any specific nefarious reason other than to get at Harry."

"Why me? Ron is his best friend. They're basically brothers."

"Good question, Miss Granger. It is also a question we have all wondered as well. So much we can figure is that Voldemort is playing on Harry's tendency to, ah, "play the hero" one might say. The fact that you are pretty much everything the Death Eaters are against doesn't hurt either."

Hermione sighed and reached up to rub her eyes with the base of her palms. Ever since her parents were killed eight months prior, Hermione had tired of the constant warfare that followed her around like a shadow. She was tired of being frightened, tired of being angry, and just plain tired. If it was this bad for her, she couldn't imagine how Harry must feel.

The guilt was the worst. Her parents weren't murdered because they stood up to Voldemort or defied the Death Eaters. They didn't start a Parents of Muggleborns Society club. No, her parents were killed because they had the audacity to give birth to a witch named Hermione Granger. Hermione had tried to shield them from the worst of the news of what was happening in her world, so her parents really had no idea that she was in danger. They weren't aware of how the prejudices surrounding muggleborns that Hermione had first cried to her parents about on summer holidays during her first and second year had grown. She hadn't explained that a crazed megalomaniac hell bent on enslaving all those he deemed unworthy had returned and was targeting her best friend. She thought she was protecting them when all she did was make them more vulnerable. They died without knowing why.

"Miss Granger?" Dumbledore's voice shook Hermione out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry, Professor. Please continue."

"Tell me, have you decided what to do after Hogwarts?"

"I had planned on going onto University. I wish to pursue a study in Charms," she answered.

"Very good, very good. Have you any schools in mind?"

"A few, although I'm beginning to think that what I had in mind may not matter."

Dumbledore chuckled quietly and smiled. "Ah, child, what you think always matters. I am just curious on your future and am trying to incorporate your wishes into a plan to keep you safe as painlessly as possible."

"What do you suggest, sir?"

"I suggest picking a University that has a wonderful program for the area of study you choose. I also suggest choosing one that is far, Miss Granger."

Hermione sat thinking for a moment. "How far are we talking, sir?"

Taking a sip of tea, Dumbledore seemed to think over his words before answering. "To be honest, my dear, there is no distance on this Earth that will successfully get you far enough from Lord Voldemort. However, I do believe that a significant distance may buy you time. If you choose a school in London, for example, then it is nothing for the Death Eaters to pop over. The same goes for surrounding countries I'm afraid. Bulgaria has some charming universities I hear."

"No, I didn't like any of the programs I researched there. I had it narrowed down to a few, but knocking out London takes the list down significantly," Hermione explained.

"What institutions were you looking at? I would be happy to write you a reference letter when you choose one. I normally write them for almost any student that comes and asks, but hopefully my name still carries some weight," Dumbledore laughed.

"Well, when London was still a choice, I was thinking of the Cambridge Magical extension of the University of Cambridge. Their reputation is phenomenal in both muggle and magical worlds."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, Cambridge is a fine school, a fine school indeed. Professor Sprout is an alumnus of there in fact."

Hermione fidgeted with the strap of her book bag for a few moments while she thought. Eventually she sighed and looked back at the Headmaster.

"It's really not a good idea for me to choose Cambridge, is it, sir?"

He slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my dear. I cannot stop you from going there, but protecting you will be hard. Our forces are stretched thin as it is at the time being. This is why we decided to use your university plans to our advantage. The farther you are, the less we believe Voldemort will choose to send his men off. If you are relatively close, it will be much easier. Surely if young Mr. Weasley were caught alone and unawares, Voldemort would have no issue using him as he would use you to bait Harry. However, as far as I know, Mr. Weasley will be living with Harry at Grimmauld Place when they graduate and then they will both enter the ministry to train as aurors. Is that still the case?"

"Yes. They already got their acceptance letters. I didn't really doubt that they would turn down a chance to employ Harry, even without knowing his NEWT scores," Hermione said.

"Then their protection will be easier to maintain because of their training and our allies we have in the ministry."

Hermione nodded. "That makes sense. So all we need to do now is figure out where to send me."

"Send both of you, actually." Dumbledore sighed and looked very somber when she shot him a quizzical look. "Unfortunately, Miss Granger, you are not the only student I have in danger at the moment. I was also asked to protect another person who just also happens to be in danger from Voldemort, is graduating, and looking to go to university."

"And," Hermione said, continuing his thought process, "if we both happen to go to the same school then we would be able to keep our eyes on one another so we wouldn't be completely alone."

Dumbledore was already nodding. "Exactly, Miss Granger. You both don't have to be friends to keep the other safe." He stared at her expectantly, waiting.

Hermione barely felt any different when she finally caught on. She only felt resignation. After all, when Albus Dumbledore decides on something, then there really is no stopping him. "It's Draco Malfoy, isn't it, sir?"

"Yes, Miss Granger."

"And you've already put thought into where we should go, haven't you, sir?"

"Of course. But I still valued your input in case you came up with a route I had yet to think of." The Headmaster reached into his top drawer and pulled out a glossy brochure. Holding it up, Hermione caught a picture of beautiful autumn leaves in front of an old style building. "How do you feel about studying abroad, Miss Granger? I hear Massachusetts is lovely in the fall."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hermione, nose stuck in the pamphlet Dumbledore had given her, started her trek down to the dungeons for Potions when she left the Headmaster's office. Was she really considering going to Salem Academy?

From the pictures in the pamphlet, the school was beautiful, as was the surrounding area. Salem was on her list of Universities, of course, but it was farther down the list; written down almost as an afterthought, a whimsy. After all, there was a war on. How could she even think about leaving everyone she knew and loved to travel across an ocean onto a different continent?

As that thought crossed her mind, it pulled Hermione up short. She stood still in the middle of a hallway realizing what this meant. She could leave. She could leave to what was practically a new world to her. She could leave to a place untainted by ghosts of her past, memories of her mistakes.

The Gryffindor in her reared up and called her out as a coward, but she pushed it aside. It made no difference really. Dumbledore was set on her going, no matter how many times he said he couldn't force her. Plenty of students study abroad. And maybe she could make a real contribution to the war effort than leading her parents unknowingly into their deaths. She wasn't a fighter, she was a thinker.

Maybe this could work out after all.

XXXXXX

"Miss Granger, class does not start for another quarter hour. Surely making me suffer through your presence for class and private sessions is enough without you forcing your company upon me during my few minutes of peace?" Professor Snape drawled as Hermione walked into the classroom, nose still in the pamphlet. "What are you reading now?"

Hermione looked up and gave him a quick smile. "Good afternoon, Professor Snape. If you would me rather wait outside I can. I just came back from the Headmaster's and figured I would just head this way early."

Snape regarded her for a few seconds before lowering his face back to his grading. "By all means, Miss Granger, please make yourself comfortable," he sneered, injecting acid into each word.

A minute ticked by with just the scratching of his quill before he spoke again, still looking at the parchment.

"So I can assume that the Headmaster has talked to you about your plans when you leave this institution?"

Hermione looked up quizzically before remembering that Dumbledore had kept saying "we" during the conversation. It stood to reason that he would learn about Voldemort's plans by his spy. She looked back down at the glossy paper.

"Yes, sir, he did. He has taken to recommending some Universities for me, and also offered to write me a recommendation letter."

"Of course he did. He would write one for one of the ghosts if they asked him," Snape said snidely. "He doesn't make a student work for a recommendation. I believe the rarer the instructor hands them out, the more weight it carries."

"That makes sense, sir."

"What universities have you planned on looking into?"

"Well, obviously I immediately thought of Cambridge but…I recently changed my mind. The Headmaster recommended some in Bulgaria and also a few in the States." Here, she heard his quill stop, but she kept her eyes resolutely on the words of her pamphlet. "In the end, I decided to apply to Salem Academy."

"He's sending you to the States?" he hissed, and she looked up to see his eyes widen for a brief moment before composing himself again. "You seem to be straying quite far."

"I've decided that I'm tired of war and the constant ache here. Maybe what I need is to get away for awhile," she replied, starting to set up her work station.

Snape got up and started clearing away his desk. "Oh, I see. You're running. I guess it's good that you weren't sorted into a house that values bravery or anything," he sneered as he turned towards the black board to write the day's lesson.

Hermione froze for a few seconds, glaring daggers into the back of her professor's robes before closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down. After all, wasn't she just thinking the same snide remarks at herself on the way down here? And it was true. She was running because she was scared. She was running away because she was tired and fed up. Harry has a prophecy claiming he'll have to face Voldemort head on and has lost his parents and godfather but he never ran away. Snape faced Voldemort on a regular basis and lied to his face, but he never ran away. She was a coward. That's all. She was a coward. She was-

No. She was leaving, yes, but she was going to do something worthwhile. She knew that Snape knew she had no choice but to leave. She should have known he would taunt her about it anyway. But she wasn't a coward.

She was going to find a way to contribute. She was going to find a way to help.

She just knew it.

XXXXXXX

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, I'm back! This one might seem a bit rough right now...knowing me I'll come back and tweak it. But I wanted the readers to know I was back. I will be working on this story as often and I can.

BTW...this WILL be another story in which Draco and Harry get together. If that bothers you, then clear out now. In fact...I have a feeling that if I ever write more stories, they will ALWAYS be SSHG/DMHP lol