A/N: Chapter 3 Yay! Sorry, I really thought I've already posted this a long time ago. but then, of course, I was wrong. I had a problem with my chapters. I posted the fifth chapter before the fourth one in my other blog. I'm so stupid.

Disclaimer: Not mine. Queen Rowling owns HP.

Hermione was only beginning to drift away to sleep when Mr. Weasley woke them up. There was a slight panic in his voice. "Wake up! Wake up! We need to get out of here. Now!" As the two girls started grabbing their things, Mr. Weasley said, "You don't have to bring all those. Just put on a coat."

The girls scrambled outside the tent. They saw masked and hooded figures shooting spells at people, levitating them and making them twirl in the air. This made them all furious and at the same time, terrified. Hermione felt really bad and scared for all those people.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot — get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

George pulled Ginny and they started running toward the woods. Ron followed them. Harry was just about to go to Hermione when Fred grabbed Hermione by the hand and followed as well. Harry was taken aback by Fred's action. However, after deciding that Hermione would be okay in Fred's hands, he joined Ron.

They all sprinted to the woods. It was a difficult task though. People were all over the place, screaming and running. After a while though, they lost Ron and Harry somewhere. Hermione was worried for the two. Merlin knows what unintelligent stuff they might do. Despite her concern over her two best friends, Hermione didn't stop running beside Fred. George and Ginny were in the lead.

Hermione saw one of the hooded people dangling a kid in the air. He was laughing while making the child spin in the air. Hermione became furious. She stopped walking. She grabbed a stone on the ground (still abiding by the no magic outside Hogwarts rule) and threw it at the hooded figure. To her surprise (and dread), it hit its target who immediately looked in their way. The man stopped playing with the child, who was unceremoniously dumped to the ground. Instead, he walked toward them. Hermione started to panic. The man raised his wand and aimed it at Hermione.

"Let's go!" Fred told her. Fred and Hermione, who were already near the dark forest, changed direction and scurried toward the panicking crowd. When Hermione looked back, her eyes widened as she saw that the hooded man was still pursuing them.

After a while, they managed to escape the man. They hid and crouched behind a big tree, hoping that nobody would see them.

"I'm so sorry. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be separated from the others and we wouldn't be in so much trouble. That's a very irresponsible and reckless thing to do." Hermione whispered, tears threatening to force its way out of her eyes. Her breathing was ragged, indicating that they have been running for quite some time.

"Ssshh. It's okay." Fred assured. He grabbed both of her hands and he looked straightly into her eyes. "It's fine. I know they are safe. We'll be okay. I promise. And about what you did with the git, I'm definitely fine with it." Fred grinned.

They heard people shrieked and screamed louder and louder. To their horror, the hooded men were already walking in their direction. The one who followed them a while ago was most probably one of them.

"Hey. We're going to run." Fred said.

"I already figured that one out." Hermione said in a panicked tone.

"Wait!" Hermione was about to stand up when Fred pulled her back. To Hermione's surprise, Fred cupped Hermione's face in his hands and kissed her full in the mouth. It was a long kiss which drained nearly all of Hermione's energy. It was as though she was the one being dangled in the air, spinning like a top. Her head was spinning and her heart was hammering. She forgot that there were people who were already walking in their direction and levitating people for fun. All she could ever think of at that particular moment was the kiss and the sensation it brought her and Fred.

After letting her go, Fred smiled at her weakly and said, "Might be the last thing I'll be able to do. Let's go."

They ran and hid amongst the crowd. Hermione didn't like the idea of using other people as a shield but she didn't have time to argue with Fred about it. First, he was dragging her with him. Second, she hit one of them using a stone. That person, whoever he was, would make sure to make her pay. Third, she's a muggle-born witch. The hooded wizards, whoever they were, seemed to be against muggles and muggle-borns. Hermione's heart thudded loudly in her chest. Whether it was because of the running, the hooded men or just Fred's kiss, Hermione didn't know. Maybe it was all because of those reasons.

After a few minutes of running and pushing and pulling, they reached the woods without encountering any of the hooded wizards. They just hid behind the trees, far from the open area, and stayed there until the hooded men left. Hermione was shaking. Although she felt scared about what she witnessed, it was not really because of her own safety. She was scared for the others. Especially the muggles and all those who've been hurt and of course, the Weasley's and Harry.

They jogged toward the direction of their tent. Dread spread all over Hermione's body when she saw the aftermath of the ruckus. Hermione's feet were already aching when they reached the tent. Then they went inside immediately and saw that George, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already there. The three eldest Weasley were injured.

Fred was still holding her hand. They all looked relieved that they were safe. Hermione stiffened when she noticed that Ron and Harry weren't there yet. Bill told them that Mr. Weasley looked for the two and he ordered for them to stay behind. While waiting, they just sat there quietly, the thick tension around them was overwhelming. Fred and Hermione were sitting side by side, holding hands. Next to Hermione was Ginny who was really shaken by what just happened.

After a half an hour, Mr. Weasley arrived with Ron and Harry. Hermione stood up, letting go of Fred's hand and flung herself at Harry, not noticing Fred's disappointed look. "Are you okay?" asked Hermione as he inspected her best friend.

"I'm fine. You?" answered Harry breathlessly.

"Good."

After sleeping for a few hours, they finally went back to the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley was worried about them. She was reading the Daily Prophet when they arrived. She fussed over the twins, remembering and feeling guilty about what happened before they left.

The nightmare was over.

That's what she thought.

Hello! so what do you think? :) Tell me. Hey, by the way, I started reading epub /ebooks and I'd like to know whether you can suggest good books. Probably on the romance side? He-he.