After months of reading so many beautiful Dramione fics I have decided to write one of my own. I really shouldn't be writing fanfiction when I have a ten page research paper due on Monday I haven't started but here I am...Anyways, please enjoy!

much love

BBS


"Wild things leave skins behind them

Clean skin, teeth and white bones

These are things passed one to another

So the fugitive kind can follow their kind"

The Fugitive Kind by The Trigger Code


It was like being trapped in the night sky.

Curses exploded around her like Muggle fireworks, splintering trees and only just missing as she ran through the woods. Trees ripped at her skin and hair as she let the flashes of bright green light her way. Her lungs burned as she pushed herself further into the night, weighed down by the bag full of supplies she stole from what they had thought to be an empty Muggle vacation home.

It turned out that empty Muggle home wasn't actually empty as it was actually housing five Death Eaters. A creak from the second floor her had her shoving food in her bag before stupefying the one on the couch and tearing out the door.

She bit back a scream when a curse grazed over her skull and broke her disillusionment charm.

The mission was supposed to be an easy one. It was why she was alone. Raid an empty home, grab some food and medicine, and don't die so it could be brought back to headquarters.

The "don't die" part was proving to be a challenged

She felt a painful sting at her side and cried out, falling to the ground.

The curses stopped and the darkness closed in. She pulled herself behind a tree, covering her mouth with one hand to quiet her labored breathing as she thought of her next move. With the other hand, she held her wand steadily. The Portkey would expire soon and she had no time to sit around hiding.

Also she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor for nothing

Sticks and dry leaves snapped under heavy boots

"Stealing? Surely, you know what happens to naughty little witches?"

She wracked her brain trying to recognize the owner of the voice, but found it unfamiliar

The Death Eaters laughed and she saw the light from three wands move across the forest floor and closer to her spot behind the tree.

"They get –"

"Stupefy!"

The Death Eater to her left flew back and smacked into a tree, the sound of his spine breaking whipping the air. Only a moment passed before the screaming came and hell broke loose once again. The other two men attacked ruthlessly, deadly green and yellow flashed around her as she blocked one after the other. She heard the large branch above her snap and she ran from crushing weight, blocking another spell aimed for her chest

"Expelliarmus!"

She couldn't help the smug smile on her face when she heard the cry of frustration as a wand landed somewhere in the dark forest. She stunned the wandless man and searched the darkness for the remaining Death Eater. Two down, one more to go.

Her victory was short lived as a tree exploded and tossed her backwards. Debris flew in her face as her head hit the ground and stars exploded in her vision. She scrambled away from a Crucio, blinking away the dizziness. A feeling of dread almost knocked her back down. Her hands searched the ground

Wand. Wand. Wand. Where was her damn wand?

"Avad-"

Finally her hand closed around her wand

"Stupefy!"

The Death Eater flew from her and landed roughly on the ground. Once again, Hermione was surrounded only by quiet darkness and the sound of her own breathing. She pulled herself off the ground, petrifying each of the men and snapping each of their wands before running to the portkey's hiding place.

The world twisted and turned, threatening to pull her into unconsciousness as she forced herself forward

Finally, she found the old hiking boot under the pine tree and grabbed it, instantly feeling the unpleasant pull just behind her navel.


Her head met the ground for a second time that night as she arrived in an empty field. When her hand found her full bag of supplies, she let out a sob of relief as she laid among the gently swaying tall grass. She grimaced as she pulled herself up and tossed her bag over her shoulder. A wave of nausea hit her and doubled over to throw up.

She heard a pop and a figure appeared ahead of her. She lifted her arms in surrender, flinching away from the bright source of light at the end of a wand. For a moment, she saw the figure falter at the sight of her, cursing under his breath. He spoke, wand pointed towards her

"What did I give Harry the first time we met?"

"A piece of chocolate."

Remus Lupin lowered his wand and rushed towards her. He gripped her shoulders, catching her as she stumbled forward.

"What happened?"

"Wasn't empty."

She heard her words slur and the world started to tug away from her as she was lifted from the ground. Her head bounced against his chest and she willed herself not to vomit all over her old professor as they apparated.


"Someone help!"

The door jerked open and Hermione heard Mrs. Weasley gasp as Lupin pushed past her. Even with her eyes closed the lights in the house were far too bright. Somewhere in the distance, Hermione heard the matriarch being to cry. She felt the rumble of Lupin's voice,

"She's alive, Molly."

Hermione felt the urge to comfort the crying woman and tried talking again.

"S'not as bad s'it looks."

Thunderous footsteps came down the stairs as Lupin laid her carefully on the couch. She heard Harry call out to her as her hand tentatively reached for her forehead. She felt a distant pain as Lupin stared down at her, so much worry in his gentle eyes as he handed her a potion which she took without question. Her lips felt as heavy as her head

"'anks."

The cool liquid reminded her of the mouthwash her parents would get for her. She closed her eyes as she shoved away the thought of her parents and locked it away.

The effects of the potion worked quickly and she no longer felt like her brain was going to burst through her skull. A wave of exhaustion threatened to pull her under

"Stay awake, Hermione"

A hand cupped her cheek and her eyes flickered open to see Harry staring down at her as he gently brushed his thumb over her skin. She set a hand over his,

"M'fine, Harry."

Her words did nothing to alleviate the concern in his eyes, but he helped her sit up. She groaned, her bruised limbs protesting. Lupin frowned

"We're out of the bruise paste or else I'd give you some."

Hermione's eyes lit up, feeling the excitement stir in her at the prospect of creating something.

"Oh! I'll make some more! I'm sure you just used the last of the dizziness draught on me too. Although we'll have to ask Professor Snape to bring more moondew…Or maybe we… "

Harry cut her off by grabbing her hand,

"Don't worry about that right now. What happened?"

She felt the couch dip beside her and Ron joined her. She tried not to notice the redness around his eyes.

She must look like hell

"The house wasn't as empty as we thought."

Tonks' eyes widened

"But it's been empty for weeks. It's the only reason we sent you alone."

Ron's face twisted in confusion

"Muggles did this to you?"

Hermione shook her head

"Death Eaters"

The room erupted into chaos and questions until Lupin quieted them enough so she could speak. She told the story watching as horror spread across their features. Mrs. Weasley looked as if she was trying to decide whether to cry or yell and Hermione was almost grateful she decided on the latter.

"She could have died! All for a couple cans of soup!"

The room quieted as the others looked ashamed. Lupin gave her a painful look of regret while Tonks' eyes glittered with shame. Hating the guilt her friends were feeling, Hermione spoke again

"To be fair, I grabbed more than a couple cans of soup."

Fred and George let out a bark of laughter and she even noticed some tension fall from Lupin's shoulders. Mrs. Weasley looked unamused but she softened at Hermione's small reassuring smile

"Honestly Mrs. Weasley, I'm fine."

The matriarch's eyes filled with tears before nodding once and heading to the kitchen, mumbling something about heart attacks and tea

Suddenly she was pulled into Harry's embrace and despite her bruised body, she held him right back.

"When Lupin carried you in, I thought…"

"Oh Harry, I was hardly on my death bed."

He released her from his embrace and looked her over as she rolled her eyes. To her relief, the group finally relaxed into the various couches and chairs in the room. Ron pulled her in with one arm, pressing a kiss to her temple

"Don't make a habit of it."

Ginny grinned at her as she pulled a chair closer to the trio

"Didn't want to say this with mum in the room but you're a total badass, Hermione."

Across the room, Tonks raised her mug and winked at her

"Agreed."

Ron leaned back on the cushions

"The most exciting part of my trip was when a muggle asked me for some spare change."

Hermione gripped his arm, struggling to keep a straight face

"Well you can't possibly leave us hanging like that!"

"Well then…oh piss off!"

They laughed as he hit her with a pillow and Hermione couldn't believe that only an hour ago, she was running for her life. The fire crackled in the furnace, wrapping her in warmth as she watched her friends laugh and the tension roll from their shoulders. Before she sunk deeper in the cushions and fell asleep, Hermione pulled herself to her feet,

"Where are you going?"

The group turned towards her at Ron's question.

"To go pull an entire forest out of my hair and wash up."

She pulled a leaf from the mass of curls on her head and held it up for him. Ron rolled his eyes and waved her away while Harry smiled warmly at her,

"We'll be up later to check on you."

Just like that, the group returned to normal and Hermione was immensely grateful for it as she dragged herself up the stairs.

She flicked on the light in the bathroom and grimaced at the sight of her reflection. Dirt and blood were smeared across her forehead and she saw the fresh scar above her eyebrow. Lupin must've healed it for her. Smaller cuts were scattered across her face from the explosion, a shadow of a bruise blossoming on her cheekbone. She removed her shirt and pressed at the large darkening bruise on the side of her ribs. They had hit her with a nasty curse but at least she wasn't dead.

With the adrenaline gone, she heard herself whimper in pain as she climbed into the shower. Bits of earth and blood swirled down the drain as the hot water ran over her skin. She closed her eyes as the night washed away from her.

It had been two years since the trio began searching for Horocruxes while also helping the Order take down Voldemort's forces. She swore it felt more like ten. The Death Eaters had become much more vicious, torturing and slaughtering muggle-borns in ways that plagued her worst nightmares.

Her fingers brushed over the scarred flesh on her arm

M…U…D…B…L…O…O…D

One year since Bellatrix carved the ugly word into her arm and tortured her on the ornate marble floor of Malfoy Manor. If she thought too much about that night, she could almost remember exactly the way her throat felt as her screams tore through it. She could almost remember how unfamiliar her own voice sounded as she…

No

That memory was packed right up in a box and shoved far, far away.

She shut off the water and grabbed a towel, carefully wrapping it around herself before heading down the hallway to the room she shared with Ginny. Digging through one of the drawers, she found a shirt that she was sure belonged to Harry or Ron at some point and slid it on.

She carefully got into bed, biting back any sounds of pain. Downstairs, she heard the static of the radio then Lee Jordan deliver words of encouragement before listing the names of the dead. She tried to cling onto each name and she was pulled into sleep.

I'm sorry you had to die.

I'm sorry this isn't over yet.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.


"Malfoy…Draco, please…make it stop"

He sat up with a gasp, cursing as he ran his hands over his face and into his hair. His clothes clung to his fevered skin as he trembled in the cold November air. The ghost of his name sent a shiver down his spine

It was always the same dream.

"Fuck!"

Draco laid back on the hard floor digging the heel of his palms into his eyes and forcing away the image of her looking up at him with her brown eyes. He swore he could still hear her screaming over the sound of the howling wind outside.

The night she was tortured on the floor of his family home was carved into him like the dark mark on his arm.

"Lumos"

Light poured across the rotting floor and rats disappeared into its cracks. He pulled back his blanket and use the light from his wand to examine the gash in his leg, immediately regretting the decision.

He knew an infection when he saw one.

Careful not to move his mangled leg, he pulled the cloak tighter around him and pointed his wand across the room. The light flooded over an old crumbling fireplace and a broken rocking chair and Draco was entirely disappointed that this was where he was going to die.

It was his own fault that this was where his mind wandered after catching Dolohov's curse. Some random cabin he had walked by during a mission almost a year and a half ago. It was almost like he tried to think of the shittiest place to die. He wondered what cruel deity kept him from fatally splinching himself and figured that it was probably the same one that had watched him become a Death Eater

But he wasn't that. Not anymore.

Not since his parents were murdered and his childhood home was turned into a glorified torture chamber.

He closed his eyes, sleep beginning to claim once again

Now he was just Draco Malfoy

Ex-Death Eater, future dead person, and completely and utterly alone

"…please…kill me…"