Disclaimer: However much I may wish I was, I am not J.K Rowling and so I must warn you that ALL characters and settings used in this story belong to her... not me.

In The Forest

The ice cold air felt like a vice constricting her lungs; preventing her from catching her breath. Yet she still kept running. She had to escape, if only for a few minutes. Hermione's feet thundered across the forest floor as she got deeper and deeper into the heart of it. There was an eerie silence that permeated throughout the trees, only her heavy panting and the frost crunching underfoot, broke through.
Her legs were becoming heavy and her pace was slowing; Hermione came to a stop, bent over and held onto her knees as she tried to catch her breath and regain composure. When her heartbeat had slowed to a normal rate, Hermione slumped against a tree. The muscles in her legs began to shake beneath her before giving way completely, causing her to slide down against the rough tree bark and fall with a thump to the mossy ground. She neither thought about nor cared that the ground was cold and muddy, she just needed to be alone with her thoughts.
"Urgh," she screamed with frustration, her voice echoing throughout the dense trees.
Hermione's fingers dug into the moss that covered the base of the old oak tree and ripped it from the trunk. It felt soggy, almost slimy. With all of her might, Hermione threw at a tree which she imagined to be Rons' face.
Hermione lay down on the wet, hard floor as the tears began to fall. Did he not realise he humiliated her? Hurt her?... No, he's far too self-involved to care about anyone else's feelings. Within minutes her tears had developed into full blown sobs.
She lay there until she could not cry anymore. Hermione had no idea how long she had been out here and thought she would have to go back soon, she would be in enough trouble as it was, being in the forbidden forest alone after hours. She tried to stop the dry sobs from coming and wiped away her tears, as she sat up against the tree. She had never been this deep in the forest, she thought, as she took in her surroundings.
It was beautiful here, the silver moonlight shone down between the trees, illuminating their naked branches. The smell of mud, rotting leaves, dampness and nature engulfed her nostrils. She felt calmed here.
Hermione's eyes darted to the left as she heard a rustling noise. Of course, she knew that there were creatures living in the forest but she was not completely sure what and this set her on edge. She scanned the forest around her whilst her right hand tightly gripped her wand. There was nothing in sight. Easing her grip on her wand, Hermione got to her feet and quickly brushed down her robes. She glanced around trying to get her bearings and set off towards the castle.
She had only taken a few steps when she heard the rustling noise again, but it sounded much closer than before.
Hermione felt as if all of the blood had been drained from her body. And now it sounded as if footsteps were moving at an alarming speed towards her. She froze and held her wand aloft.
Her mouth was open to cast a spell but before her voice could escape a figure burst out of the darkness and crashed into her, causing them both to fall to the ground with a loud thud and a scream.
"What the-" she cried.
Whoever had forced her over was now pulling her to her feet.
"Urgh, Malfoy," she groaned, as the tall blonde boy helped her up.
"What! No thank you?" He smirked. "What the hell are you doing out here Granger?"
"What the hell am I doing? You're the one whose just attacked me!" She yelled indignantly.
Draco sniggered, "I didn't attack you, I just didn't see you."
Her hand was still in his, they both looked down, noticed and pulled away.
"Did you take a wrong turn to the library? Or are you just trying to escape Golden Boy and his weasel sidekick?" Draco sneered.
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she smirked at him but Draco saw the fleeting look of pain that crossed her face as he mentioned "the dream team."
"Well, what are you doing out here, Malfoy? Is this the new meeting place for the Death Eaters and their cronies?" She spat.
Draco's left arm flinched at the mention of the name as his faced filled with utter anguish. Hermione started open-mouthed, looking at him as if it were the first time she had truly seen him. In the light of the moon, his hair shone silver but it was not slicked back in his usual style, it was messy and unkempt in a more Harry-like way. Draco's face was drawn and his skin the colour of dirty dishwater apart from the large black shadows beneath his eyes. She had never seen a face that looked so broken.
"What's wrong, Draco?" she asked in a much softer tone.
"Nothing that I wish to share with you," Draco said as he turned to walk away.
"Please," she begged.
He had no idea why he did but Draco turned back to look at her. The fresh tears rolling down her cheeks glistened in the moonlight.
"They're coming for me, I really have to go."
Unable to handle the combined weight of both hers and Draco's emotion, Hermione broke down.
"Who's...coming?" she managed to choke out between sobs.
Draco took a few steps towards her and did not know what had come over him, whether it was seeing her in pain or his impending death. He grasped her face in his strong, forceful hands and kissed her passionately. They both lingered for several seconds not wanting it to end.
"I'm glad I finally got to do that," he whispered as he pulled away from her. "I'll probably be dead in the next few hours, so have a good life, Granger," he said as he turned away and broke into a run.
Hermione stood in shock for a while before her brain engaged and her tears returned. What did he mean, he would be dead in few hours? And who was after him? She wanted to follow him but she could not summon the energy so instead fell to the floor and let the emotion take over. She stayed in that spot for a few hours before deciding it really was time to get back to the castle. Dawn was just beginning to break, none of her housemates would be awake yet so she hoped her absence had gone unnoticed.
Hermione didn't know she could run so far, it took her over an hour to walk back. As the trees began to thin out, Hermione heard voices just ahead. She grabbed her wand from her robes and held it out. Professor McGonagall appeared from behind a tree, her wand pointing at Hermione's chest and her face full of malice.
"Miss Granger," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"
More teachers gathered around, Professor Dumbledore smiled but did not express any surprise at seeing her.
Hermione looked around the faculty before looking directly at her head of house. Without answering the question, she asked,"What's going on, Professor?"
"We had a group of Death Eaters break the school's boundaries last night and they were last seen running towards this forest." As if just registering where she had seen Hermione appeared from, McGonagall gasped, "You didn't go after them did you?"
"No, Professor," Hermione stressed. "I just needed some alone time."
"And you didn't see anything?" McGonagall asked. Hermione shook her head.
"Okay then, Miss Granger, I suggest you get yourself up to the castle forthwith and get yourself some clean robes, and maybe put a brush through your hair," the teacher smiled.