Author's note: Thanks once more to everyone who reviewed. As I predicted, this chapter ended up longer than the last two (mostly because I had a hard time finding a place to cut it off). So, as always, enjoy.

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Chapter 3: Leaving Privet Drive

A bloodcurdling scream filled the room, and Harry's eyes shot open as he leapt to his feet. Hermione was up the same instant as him and lit the tip of her wand to illuminate the room. Harry's eyes adjusted and he recoiled at the sight before him.

Malfoy was curled into a tight ball on the bed, tearing at the bandage on his arm. His face contorted with pain and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

"Hold him down!" Hermione said, flipping the light switch and putting out her wand.

Harry nodded and grabbed at Malfoy's uninjured arm, but getting him to lie still was easier said than done.

"Malfoy," Hermione said, crouching down by the bed, her voice almost steady, "listen to me. I need you to lie back. I can't knock you out for this one, not until I know what's wrong."

Malfoy's hand clasped tightly around his arm and he opened his eyes to stare at Hermione for a moment. Then, he slowly flipped onto his back, still shaking slightly.

Hermione set to work, peeling back to layers of bandages. Malfoy winced and squeezed his eyes shut again, trying to pull away. Harry knelt on the bed, locked his hands around Malfoy's upper arms, and put all his strength into keeping him still.

When Harry looked down and his eyes locked with Malfoy's for a brief moment. What he saw wasn't anger or hate, but pain and fear. Only once before had he seen that look from Malfoy, but he would never forget it.

Sectumsempra.

"Harry, look!"

Harry tore his eyes away from Malfoy's face and glanced over. Hermione held the bloody bandages in one hand and pointed at Malfoy's wound, which still oozed blood slightly. It looked relatively normal on first glance, but when Harry looked closer he saw a spot where a black line was forming along the flesh, as though an invisible quill were being drawn across his skin.

Harry didn't have to ask, he knew what it was. "The Dark Mark."

"Desiit," Hermione said, pointing her wand at the spot. The line stopped growing and Malfoy went limp, breathing harshly. Harry let go of Malfoy's arms and sat back.

"I put it in stasis," she explained. "The spell should hold for at least a few days, which gives us plenty of time to..."

"It won't help," Malfoy said, his voice quiet and monotone. "He'll still find me."

Hermione looked at him questioningly. Then, her eyes lit up with horror. "Harry, hold him down again."

"What?" Harry said.

"Do it!"

Harry gripped Malfoy's arms again, watching Hermione's every move. She pointed the wand at the wound again. To Harry's horror, a thin strand of light shot from her wand, slicing through the flesh. Malfoy let out another cry of pain and struggled so violently he nearly escaped Harry's grasp.

"Hermione!" Harry said when he found his voice.

"Just a minute," Hermione said. She used the wad of bandages in her hand to pick up the slice she had cut and hurried over to the window. She waved her wand a couple of times over the bandages and threw them out the window. Harry squinted past her to try to see where it was going, but it soared high into the air, disappearing into the night. Hermione quickly shut the window and waved her wand at it, too.

"I haven't had much practice with that spell," Hermione said. "It'll probably turn up somewhere in Wales, if we're lucky." Harry continued to gape at her as she moved back to the bedside, examining the wound again. Then, she reached for fresh bandages off the bedside table and started to bind it. "The stasis spell seems to be holding. Unfortunately, I can't do anything for the pain without removing the stasis, so you'll just have to work through it."

Malfoy let out a hissing breath in response.

"What was that about?!" Harry asked as he got up from the bed.

"Voldemort must have a spell on the Mark to make it regenerate after a certain amount of time," Hermione said.

"But, why did you...?"

"He can use the Mark to track down his followers. He can hone in on even the smallest fragment of one. Even if it's not attached anymore." She glanced at Malfoy for confirmation and received a mute nod. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "No wonder no Death Eater has ever escaped."

Harry felt a chill creep up his spine as he stared at Malfoy's still trembling form. He imagined what that'd be like, having to skin his own arm, to endure such pain, only to have the Mark burn through again.

"Malfoy," Hermione spoke again, "I need you to listen to me. I'll have to renew the stasis spell every few days to keep it continuous. If the arm starts bleeding or burning again, you need to tell me right away."

Malfoy nodded again, apparently too pained to respond. Then, he winced again and turning his face away from them.

"Can I see you for a moment?" Harry said.

Hermione glanced back at him in surprise and got up, crossing the room with him.

"You've looked through Aunt Petunia's medicine," Harry whispered. "Is there anything we can give him to help him sleep?"

Hermione's eyes widened at what probably seemed an odd request. "Well, no," she said, looking reluctant. "But...well, I might have something." She went to her trunk and started rummaging around inside until she drew out a box about the size of a large book. She opened it to reveal three small vials.

"What is that?" Harry asked.

"Diluted belladonna," Hermione said, "a very powerful sedative."

"Why do you have it?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "I was having some trouble sleeping, so I picked up during my trip to France."

"France? Hermione that was years ago!"

"Well, I had some extra left over, and..." she hesitated and lowered her voice further, "...well, it's not exactly legal to sell it in Britain."

"Wait," Harry said, "we use Belladonna in Potions class."

"The plant, yes," Hermione said. "It's illegal to sell it as a sedative. See, if the measurements are off even by a bit, it could be fatal."

"And you bought it," Harry said.

"I did my research. The shopkeepers came very well recommended."

Harry just stared at her, hardly believing his ears.

"You know," a slightly strained voice behind them said, "I'm not deaf."

Hermione turned in surprise, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well...I have this...I mean, if you're having trouble sleeping..."

"I said I'm not deaf, Granger," Malfoy said, pulling himself up into a sitting position, "but apparently you are. I'll take it."

Hermione blinked at him for a second, but finally stepped forward holding out the vial. "It tastes terrible."

Malfoy snatched it out of her hand and downed it in one gulp. For a moment, he looked very much like he was going to be sick, but then he shuddered and reached over toward the table to set the vial down. He missed, dropping it on the floor, and just sat, staring at it for a moment.

"Is he all right?" Harry asked in an undertone.

Hermione nodded. "Just a little disoriented. It'll kick in pretty soon."

Sure enough, Malfoy laid back down on the bed and, not three seconds later, started snoring.

"I'll go ahead and start my watch," Hermione said as she carefully tucked the box back into her trunk. "Get some sleep."

"Do we even need a watch?" Harry asked. "I mean, is there any chance he'll wake up anytime soon?"

"Very little," she said, "but...well, there's a bit of a side-effect they neglect to tell the customers about."

Harry was almost afraid to ask. "What?"

"Sleepwalking."

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "Brilliant," he muttered under his breath, "just brilliant."

"What was that?"

"I'm going to sleep." Harry went to his spot on the floor and lay down, shutting his eyes. Honestly, he had expected to not be able to sleep, but the moment his head hit the makeshift pillow, a wave of exhaustion overcame him and he slipped into darkness.

-

Harry woke to a brilliantly bright light. He squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust and saw that it was just the sunlight shining in the window. He groaned and sat up, hearing a loud pop from his back. He missed his bed.

Harry glanced over and saw Malfoy still fast asleep, though he was lying flat on his stomach, his arms and legs stretched out in a way that looked extremely uncomfortable. Hermione was sitting on the desk chair, staring at a spot on the wall.

"Did he sleepwalk?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, but not much. I won't relate what he did, just that it involved the waste bin and I already used a cleaning spell."

Harry made a solemn vow never to think too carefully about the meaning behind that answer. He spotted a bit of parchment clutched in Hermione's hand. "What's that?"

She glanced down at her hand, as though needing to confirm that there actually was something there. "A letter from Ron," she said, looking back up at Harry reluctantly.

"Oh no," Harry said with a sinking realization. "The wedding."

Hermione nodded. "I was just about to wake you up." She took a deep breath. "It's today."

"Shit," Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, but we'd better decide fast. If we're not there in the next hour, they're probably going to send out a search party."

Harry sighed. "Well, we have to go. Ron would kill us."

"We'll just have to bring him with us."

"Bring h...Hermione, have you lost your mind? The place is going to be swarming with Order members!" Harry briefly wondered why he was so concerned over Malfoy's safety, but the matter at hand was too pressing to think about that.

"Well, we can't leave him here either," Hermione said. "That spell's not going to last forever and we can't trust him to stay in the room. Short of tying him up again, we've got no choice."

Harry let out a short, angry burst of air. "And how do you propose we do this?"

"What about the Invis..."

"I don't have it, remember? I left it on the Astronomy Tower."

"Oh, right." She paused for a moment. "Actually, I may have another idea." She moved over to her trunk, contemplating it for a moment. Then, she threw the lid open and started unloading everything.

"Hermione! What are you doing? We have to be there in an hour!"

Hermione paused. "You're right. I should speed this up." She pulled out her wand and waved it at her trunk. The contents rose out and were deposited in a pile next to her. She went over to over to Harry's trunk and did the same to it next.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked again.

"Remember that spell Mr. Weasley used to make the inside of his car bigger?" she said. "Well, I thought it might be useful, so I looked it up. We can use it on your trunk to put my things in with yours and then use it on mine to—"

"You're going to put Malfoy in a trunk?" Harry interrupted.

"Let's see you come up with a better idea." After a short silence, she continued. "Besides, the belladonna shouldn't wear off for a few more hours. That'll give us plenty of time to get him in the house and find somewhere to put him."

"Put him? Hermione, he's a captive, not a house plant."

"You know what I mean."

"What if he does wake up? He won't know what's going on. What if he starts yelling or banging on the walls of the trunk?"

"We'll put a full body bind on him. He'll still be scared, but at least he won't alert anyone."

Harry shook his head. He supposed none of this should surprise him. "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

Hermione glanced at Malfoy. "No, I don't," she said quietly. "That's what I'm afraid of. Why don't you go take care of any final business with your aunt and uncle? I'll finish up with the spells."

The last thing Harry wanted to do was to see his aunt or uncle, but he could see that Hermione didn't need his help. So, with no excuse to stay, he left the room, started down the stairs...

..and ran right into Uncle Vernon.

"Watch where you're going, boy," Uncle Vernon growled, pushing past him.

"I just thought you'd be wanting to know," Harry said stiffly, "that I'm leaving."

Uncle Vernon stopped in his tracks, turning back. "Going to that...friend of yours' house?"

"Yes." Harry paused for a moment. "I'm not coming back."

To his credit, Uncle Vernon made some attempt to keep his expression neutral, but he still had a look in his eye that clearly said he was overjoyed.

A loud thud coming from Harry's room followed by a muffled swear made both of them jump. Uncle Vernon looked around for a second before focusing on Harry again, his eyes flashing and his face turning an angry shade of red.

"Bye, Uncle Vernon," Harry said quickly, slipping under Uncle Vernon's outstretched arm and hurrying back to his room, shutting the door. "What happened?"

Hermione was pacing a small bit of the floor, shaking her hand. Before she could answer, however, the door burst open and Uncle Vernon stood in the doorway, looking every bit like an enraged bull.

"What the hell was that!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Dursley," Hermione said, "I dropped my trunk lid on my hand." She held up her hand to show the spot, which was already starting to bruise.

"Out!" Uncle Vernon shouted. "I want you both out of my house!"

"You can Apparate, right?" Hermione said to Harry. When he nodded, she put a hand on her trunk and vanished with a loud crack.

Uncle Vernon stumbled backwards several steps. Harry took the opportunity and lunged for his trunk, already reviewing the procedure for Apparation in his mind. He had one last sight of his uncle charging toward him before he felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a tube. A moment later, his feet hit floor again, and he lost his balance, falling alongside his trunk.

"Nice landing, Harry." A hand closed around Harry's arm and yanked him to his feet. "Almost landed in the fireplace."

"Hi George," Harry muttered, straightening his robes. He glanced around and saw Hermione step out of the kitchen, dragging her trunk behind her.

Fred followed close behind. "Hey, you found one too," he said to his brother.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked.

"Mum's upstairs helping out with the Fleur and the bridesmaids' robes," Fred said. "Everyone else is outside admiring the scenery. Well, except Great Aunt Muriel. I don't think she's woken up since she got here three days ago."

"We're the official welcoming committee," George said, giving a full bow.

"Welcoming committee?" Fred said, jerking his thumb back toward the kitchen, "I was sampling the food. Gotta make sure it's safe, you know?"

"We should probably bring our trunks upstairs," Hermione said quickly.

"Now, no need for that," George said, waving his hand. "Let us manly men take care of that for you." Before she could object, the twins each grabbed a side of the trunk and lifted.

"Bloody hell," Fred groaned. "What do you have in here? A dead body?"

Harry shot a glance at Hermione, but she stayed calm. "Just a lot of books," she said.

Fred gave her a mock look of horror and shifted the trunk handle into one hand. He drew out his wand and tapped the trunk. The strained look on his face disappeared, and, when George let go, the trunk didn't fall. George turned to Harry's trunk next and performed the same spell, lifting it effortlessly.

"We'll store these in our room for now," George said. "Not much room anywhere else." He saluted Harry and the twins started off up the stairs.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked in a furious whisper when the twins were out of earshot.

Hermione glanced at the staircase anxiously. "I'll wait an hour or so and try to sneak upstairs. If he's awake, I'll tell him what's going on."

Harry met her gaze for a moment, not sure what to say to that.

"What're you two whispering about?"

Harry glanced around and stifled a laugh. Ginny stood at the top of the staircase, wearing a set of expensive-looking pink dress robes that clashed horribly with her hair, which was styled with more curl than Hermione's.

"Not a word," she warned pointing a finger at Harry as she stepped clumsily down the stairs. Harry saw that she was wearing a rather tall high-heeled shoes. "Not one word."

"I take it you're a bridesmaid," Hermione said. She seemed to also be fighting to keep her face straight.

Ginny almost lost her balance and grabbed for the banister. "Don't remind me," she muttered.

Without a second thought, Harry rushed up to meet her halfway down the stairs, slipping an arm around her shoulders to steady her.

She glanced up at him, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then, she smiled. "Thanks."

Harry helped her the rest of the way downstairs, trying to ignore the look Hermione was shooting at him.

"I swear," Ginny said then the reached the bottom, "if I ever meet the person who invented heels..." She made a rude gesture.

"We'd better go find Ron," Hermione said.

"Go," Ginny said, patting Harry's arm, "George said you were down here so I just wanted to say hello and snatch some food before I head back...up there." She glanced at the staircase again with apprehension. "See you two at the wedding."

Harry and Hermione said their goodbyes and headed outside. The front yard had been transformed. An arch had been set up several yards away, with rows and rows of chairs set out for the guests. The aisle between the chairs was set so that it lined up with the door. A large white table was sitting off to the left of the seating area, empty except for some flowers in the middle. A few dozen people were milling around the yard. Even though he didn't recognize most of them, the red and blond hair was enough to tell Harry which ones were Fleur's guests and which were Bill's.

Hermione immediately rounded on Harry. "What was that?"

"What?" he asked.

"What you just did."

Harry wondered if this was a trick. "I...helped Ginny down the stairs."

Hermione shook her head. "Never mind. Just...be careful. You don't want her to get the wrong idea."

Harry gave her a questioning look, but before he could say anything, Ron appeared beside them.

"About time you showed up," Ron said. "What took so long?"

"Had to pack up our trunks," Hermione said, giving Harry a look that clearly told him to keep his mouth shut.

"Well, at least you're here," Ron said. "Mum was ready to go marching into your aunt and uncle's house herself."

In spite of his worry, Harry chuckled a little at the mental image of Mrs. Weasley Apparating right in the middle of the Dursleys' kitchen.

Hermione bit her lip and glanced back at the house with wide eyes, wringing her hands. "Oh no...I think I might have left one of my books at the Dursleys. I need to check my trunk." She rushed back inside before anyone could stop her.

Ron shook his head sadly. "She's hopeless."

Harry forced a laugh and glanced back at the house, too. Inwardly, he admired Hermione for coming up with such a good excuse to check up on Malfoy.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked. "You look a little off."

"Fine," Harry said. "So, when does the wedding start?"

"Nightfall. Apparently Fleur insisted."

"Why?" Harry had never been to a wedding before, but he was almost certain that the few the Dursleys had gone to were during the day.

Ron shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she didn't want people to see those hideous bridesmaids' robes."

Harry snorted.

"I take it you've seen them then?"

Harry nodded. "Ginny came down to say hello."

Ron let out a sputtering laugh. "I told Mum they were ugly. I had to duck a frying pan." He shot a glance at the people in the yard. "Do you want to go play some chess? I've been helping set up all morning. I don't want to get pulled into doing something else."

"Sure," Harry said, following him into the house.

"Oh, Harry dear." Mrs. Weasley, who had just walked into the room, carrying some pins and measuring tape. "I'm so glad you're here. Did your family give you any trouble?"

"My uncle looked like Christmas came early when I told him I wasn't coming back," Harry said.

He thought he saw pity in Mrs. Weasley's eyes, but it was gone a second later when she turned to Ron. "Is the set-up finished?"

"Yeah. All that's left is to bring out the food."

"Why don't you two go grab a bite to eat and head upstairs then? I need to get the guests rounded up and track down Bill." She set the pins and measuring tape on the table and walked out the door.

Harry and Ron made it to the second floor before they ran into someone again. No sooner had they stepped onto the landing, however, than Hermione stepped out of the twin's room, nearly running into them.

"Oh, hi," she said.

"Did you find your book?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said, "Do you mind if I talk to Harry alone for a second?"

Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I'll go set up the chess board," he said, his voice rigid, and he went up the stairs.

"He hasn't woken up," Hermione whispered. "I'll keep checking in on him every once in a while."

"What are you going to do with him when he does wake up?" Harry asked.

"We'll have to leave the body bind on him until after the wedding," Hermione said. "We can't be keeping watch over him or someone will know we're up to something. As long as we keep him in the trunk, no one should find him either."

"Hermione, if he wakes up in a full body bind, he's going to be scared to death."

"I know. That's why I'm going to keep checking up on him. When he does wake up, I'll tell him what's happening. As soon as the guests have gone home and we've figured out what we're going to do, we can lift the spell." She glanced up the stairs. "You'd better go. Ron's probably suspicious enough as it is."

Harry nodded, though the whole situation still made him uneasy. He didn't know about Malfoy, but if he woke up and found that he couldn't move, he would have a full scale panic attack. Even if Hermione only took five minutes to get to him, that was still five minutes of hell.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked when Harry arrived. He was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed and his back to the headboard, setting up a chessboard in front of him. Two cots had been moved into the room, leaving very little floor space. Harry guessed that Ron must have had relatives staying in his room.

"Nothing important," Harry said, looking around the room for something to change the subject. "Whose are those?" He pointed at two pairs of dress robes, one green and one blue.

"Oh, Fleur got those for us," Ron said. His eyes glazed over a bit when he said her name. "She insisted on knowing what everyone was going to wear, and, if she didn't approve, she got us new ones. She took one look at my dress robes and gave me these the next day. I told her you probably needed new ones, too, so she got you the green."

"Thanks," Harry said. He knew his old dress robes were probably several inches too short, so it was nice to have new ones. "Did you tell her to get blue ones for you?"

"No, but I'm glad she has better color sense than Mum."

"Then how did Ginny end up in pink?"

"Because Gabrielle looks good in pink," Ron said. When Harry looked at him questioningly, he continued. "She's the Maid of Honor."

"Oh." Now it made sense. Gabrielle was Fleur's sister, after all, and, as Harry considered it, she probably would look good in pink.

"How about a game?" Ron asked, waving his hand at the chessboard. "You can use Bill's old set for right now. Dad got him a new one, so he gave me these."

"All right," Harry sat at the foot of Ron's bed and the game began.

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Author's Note: Please read and review. Once again, I'm still working on where the next chapter is going to cut off, but I can give a tentative teaser. So, next chapter: a loan, a wedding, a drunken Weasley, and the psychological ramifications of a decision made in haste.