Title - Before The Dawn
Song used - Before The Dawn - Evanescence
Author - OblivionsGarden
Genre - Romance/Sorrow
Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter in anyway shape or form. I only own the plot for this oneshot.

Hermione sank down low, her back resting against the cold trunk of the oak tree behind her. She left the boundaries she'd put up, left Ron and Harry asleep in the tent. She wasn't sure what the feeling in the pit of her stomach was but she knew exactly who caused it. The snatcher. The one that wore her scarf and had one red streak that ran through his tangle of brown hair. The first time she'd seen him she got this feeling, like her stomach had turned upside down and inside out. He couldn't see her then but he smelt her perfume. The vanilla she adored so much.
Ever since that night she'd both longed for and feared another sighting of him. Then, he saw her for the first time. She knew, that he knew who she was. Just from the way he absent mindedly sniffed at the scarf around his neck.

" 'Ello beautiful." Two simple words could change her perspective on the world she thought she knew so well. He meant to be menacing, keeping face in front of the others. But there was a softness that only Hermione caught. A softness that silently screamed, 'don't be afraid.' She faltered, but she knew she had to run with Harry and Ron. Even if he meant no harm the other snatchers most certainly did. She couldn't be sure that he could keep her safe. And she still had to help Harry end this. That much of her stayed that same. She was still the loyal friend she always had been.

Her heart lurched when Bellatrix attacked him in Malfoy Mannor. The gasp that escaped him and the way he staggered to get to his feet made Hermione want to run forward and make sure he was OK. But she knew she couldn't and so she stayed beside Ron.
She thought of this mysterious man whose name she didn't know as she screamed from the pain the crazed witch was causing her. Wondered if he meant to lure her into false security so he could do the same thing. Or could he hear her voice now? Did he want to save her?

Meet me after dark again and I'll hold you. I am nothing more then to see you there.

She hoped, with all her heart that he would use that strong sense of smell he had to find her. She knew they still had horcruxes to find but she didn't know how long she could carry on without knowing of his welfare. She waited that night until the sun started to rise. She waited for the same length of time, every night, stealing snippets of sleep in the safe boundaries and using rejuvenating spells to stay alert. This went on for two weeks before one night, she heard the crunch of leaves beneath a heavy boot.
She drew her wand, in case it wasn't who she was hoping for. Her hand shook and that was the moment she realized she wasn't Hermione anymore. She still looked and acted the same but inside was a void space that wouldn't be filled until she saw him again.

The footsteps drew nearer, the familiar light of a lumos spell hung in the air. A tall figure approached and Hermione squinted against the light. The figure stopped, lowered the wand and she heard a faint chuckle.
" 'Ello beautiful." Hermione was striding forward, all precautions forgotten until she was toe to toe with him, staring up into his rugged face, the blue eyes searching her brown. "Well, this is a turn up, isn't it?" His accent reverberated in her ear drums and sent shivers through her body.
"I..." She stalled. She what? She didn't know. She wanted to run. To grab his hand and hold it tight and run. Leave. Leave the world until Voldemort was gone. Find somewhere safe to stay.

And maybe tonight. We'll fly so far away. We'll be lost before the dawn

She glanced back at what appeared to be an empty forest behind her. Only she knew that a tent and two of the most wanted Wizards alive lay behind the invisible barriers.
"You what?" He asked. She noticed the way he bent his head forward, smelling her hair.
"I...I don't know." She raised a hand and pulled on her scarf that he now wore.
"Smells like vanilla." He commented.
"My perfume...Birthday present." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly upward. Strange, how a snatcher and a friend of 'undesirable number one' could be having such a mundane conversation. Not even a full conversation...Snippets of sentences linking them together.
Hermione glanced over her shoulder again. How easy it would be to leave with this man. Just a note to her closest friends. It would never fully explain her absence, never could, but it would be something.
"What are they for?" The snatcher lifted a hand and swiped his thumb across her cheek. It was only then she noticed she was crying.
"I don't know." She said again. "I don't know what to do any more." She slumped to sit on the cold floor and no sooner had she landed, had the mans arms enveloped her small, sobbing form.

If only night could hold you, where I can see you, my love. Then let me never ever wake again.

When her tears had dried, leaving tracks on her cheek, they stayed in their embrace, stealing each others warmth.
"It took you so long." Hermione whispered. "I dreamt about you."
"I've been close a few times. Every time I got near to you, you disappeared behind your enchantments."
"You didn't break through them..." Hermione frowned.
"I knew if I did Potter and that ginger one would have you out of here before I could say apparate."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you." She paused, glancing up at his face. "I didn't want to wake up...When you were in my dreams."
He smiled now. "I know that feelin'." He paused, meeting her gaze. "Your name isn't really Penelope is it? Granger or something is what I 'eard."
"Hermione Granger."
"Ah. Pretty." Hermione smiled. "Scabior."
"Scabior." Hermione repeated. She liked it. "Pretty." She teased. They both laughed. It felt so foreign to her. It felt like a lifetime since she'd laughed.

And maybe tonight. We'll fly so far away. We'll be lost before the dawn.

"I want to leave." Hermione was staring at where she knew the tent was. "They can deal without me."
"You want to leave? With me?"
"Do you want me to?"
"I'd love for you to. We can get lost from the situation together."
"Get lost?" Once again, the now familiar smile graced Hermione's features. "Sounds wonderful."

She left a note in the doorway of the tent. It was short. Said nothing other than 'Sorry' and 'I've gone'. She left her bag by the note, so the boys had all the supplies they needed.
Scabior apparated them away, to the camp he'd been staying in. He lead Hermione to a bed and let her lie in his arms and cry for her friends until she fell into a sleep.

He felt a strange sensation overtake him as he lay with this girl. As if some invisible force were pulling him up, to sit up and face reality. Which is exactly what he did. He woke with a start, to an empty bed and a cold tent. The sun was rising outside and he remembered, he hadn't found Potter's friend. Had been searching for two weeks. He sighed, swiped a hand down his face and fell back onto the mattress, closing his eyes and picturing her face.

Meanwhile, outside a similar tent, waking with just as much shock as the snatcher, was Hermione. She glanced around, missing the bed and the man who'd been holding her in her sleep. She sighed, when she realized none of it was real. She heard Ron's snores from inside the tent and settled into the reality that surrounded her.

Somehow I know that we can't wake again from this dream. It's not real, but it's ours. Maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away. We'll be lost before the dawn