A/N So! Having finished up a particularly big project for my course, I can finally write again! Sorry for the delay. Thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story. Thanks again to everyone who participated in the contest. I'm planning another one soon, hehe.

Also, can I just say –there are more polite ways of asking for the next chapter or telling me you can't wait. Much as I love that you enjoy my story, I don't appreciate being called names or being demanded to upload more. You people are capable of telling me nicely how much you like it, so please do, please and thank you.

Chapter time!

xxxxx

The wind whipped about their cloaks as the unlikely trio appeared in the outskirts of Wiltshire. While Harry and Ron checked their belongings and scouted their surroundings, Draco looked around at the familiar scenery and felt, for the first time in his life, a pang of homesickness. Had his father really died in combat? What had become of the manor, of Trilly the house-elf, of his mother? And what, Draco thought as he gazed in the direction of Malfoy Manor, is to become of me?

"Malfoy." Harry's voice broke through Draco's thoughts, and he turned toward the other two sluggishly, as if in a dream. "Come on, we've got to set up camp."

"Camp?" Draco almost wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Camp" did not sound pleasant.

"Where did you think we were going to stay, ferret? Malfoy Manor? The Death Eaters will give us a warm welcome, I'm sure," Ron said loudly, sarcastically. Draco's hand automatically went to his wand, but Harry glared at him and Draco had to settle for cursing Ron many times over in his head. In French.

"Come on, Malfoy. You can help set up protective enchantments. Ron, you get the tent up."

"Why do I get tent duty-?"

"Ron!" Harry cut across him with a glare. Draco couldn't hold back a snicker. Ron glared at Draco for a few seconds, then rummaged in the bags, all the while muttering under his breath. Draco suspected the Weasel was cursing him as well, though possibly not as creatively as he himself had done. He took out his wand and began circling their little camp, muttering what spells he knew. Soon, between him and Harry, they had the camp reasonably protected. And then Draco turned around and saw the tent.

"We're sleeping in that?" he exclaimed before he could stop himself. But really, who could blame him? The tent was filthy and badly pitched. It looked like it had been shat on by a Hungarian Horntail then run over by a mob of angry hippogriffs. Thrice.

"Got anything better?" Ron spat at him, unmindfully waving his wand around. A few spurts of yellow flame came out of the tip, landing near the tent. Draco raised his wand, fully intending to put out the fire, but Ron misinterpreted his gesture as an attack. He raised his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!"

Draco put up a Shield Charm in response, and shot back an Impediment Jinx, the flames quite forgotten. Ron was knocked off his feet, winded. But before Draco could retreat or take shelter, Ron countered, shouting "EXPELLIARMUS!" Draco's wand flew out of his hand, and Ron deftly caught it. Draco raised his fists, fully prepared to take Ron down physically. Before either of them could react, however, Harry decided it was time to intervene.

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed, freezing them both in Full Body-binds. Draco was caught mid-stride, fists in the air; Ron was about to hex Draco, the other wand held behind his back. "Now," Harry went on, panting slightly, "you both called truce. We're none of us going to get anywhere if we keep bickering like kids. This isn't about some stupid school boy grudge. This is about getting Hermione back. And if you two want to do that, I suggest you buck up and stop fighting." Draco fell forward as the body-bind loosened; the spell Ron had cast flew over his head. Draco, landing near the tent, backed up quickly, almost knocking Harry over. "What?" Harry snapped.

"Oh, nothing, Potter," Draco drawled, rubbing at the sore spot where his head had connected with Harry's hip. "I just thought you'd like to know the tent's on fire."

"Merlin's pants," Harry swore under his breath, and hopped over to put out the blaze, which Draco watched quite cheerfully. Perhaps they wouldn't have to "camp" after all.

xxxxx

"Merlin's pants," Draco swore, wrapping his sweater more tightly around his shoulders as he shivered in the cold night. When the tent had caught fire, he'd thought that would be the end of "camp," but Harry and Ron had managed to save it in time, and with a few Reparos, had made it something resembling shelter. It had become clear, though, when they'd stepped inside, why Harry and Ron needed Hermione so much. Their patch job was pathetic. The rain was leaking into the tent, and the air smelled of burned linen. Draco had managed to fix up his side of the tent so it was passable, but still. To be in a tent at all felt… degrading.

I don't have a right to feel that way anymore, popped up a small voice at the back of his mind, and he blinked. Where had that come from? Shaking his head, he tried (as he had for the past three, four hours) to sleep, but his mind kept wandering back to Hermione and to something Ron had said. Finally admitting defeat, he quietly stood and left the tent.

Outside, the rain poured down steadily, but Draco let it come down on him, soaking through his clothes and flattening his hair. It soothed him a little. He sat down on a nearby rock, thought back to that one afternoon he'd spent with Hermione, when it had been raining in the window of the Room of Requirement. She'd explained to him the Muggle perceptions of thunder and lightning, and how eager she was to understand the relations of time and space. She really was one of a kind –knowledgeable and curious about magical and Muggle matters alike.

You really just expect us to believe you? The argument with Ron from the night before surfaced. What was his reason for doing this? To get back Hermione, yes, but because he wanted to or because it was the right thing to do? And what would he do after the rescue? Merlin, he hadn't even thought that far. What if Hermione was dead? Or what if she was alive, but now hated him for landing her in such a horrible situation? What if she'd realized, after being trapped for months, that she didn't love him, that she loved–?

A snap of a twig caught his attention. He tensed, his hand going to his wand. There was no sound of movement from the tent, so the other two were probably still asleep. A rustling noise echoed in the surrounding trees. Draco got up slowly, wand at ready, and crept toward the source of the noise, being careful to stay within the protective enchantments. A noise that sounded almost like a whispered swear word came from his left. Against his better judgment, he risked leaving the protective enchantments and approached the wood. Something rustled again, and a nearby bush shifted, and Draco caught a flash of color and his eyes widened in recognition-

"Ginny?"

The response was a jet of red light, which Draco dodged and returned in kind. He caught the shimmer of a Shield Charm. As soon as it was gone, he sent a non-verbal Body-bind jinx through the trees. Something thudded to the ground. Warily, Draco made his way through the trees. His foot nudged something, and he saw, parting the bush next to him, the frozen form of Ginny Weasley, glaring up at him.

"Ah," was his eloquent remark.

xxxxx

"How the hell did you even get here?" Draco demanded of Ginny after he'd loosed her from the Body-bind. They were standing in the woods, a short distance away from the tent. Ginny looked utterly disheveled. There were twigs in her hair and a rip in her jeans. Though that could have been from her fall after he'd frozen her.

"I flew." She flushed, nodding at a broom lying at the foot of a nearby tree. Draco blinked, impressed. The distance between the Weasley home and his was no easy feat. But he recollected himself.

"You shouldn't be here," he stated. "I'll go wake up your brother and Potter and-"

"You wouldn't dare, Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, wouldn't I?" For the nth time since the argument had begun, Draco had to repress a grin. This girl was as different from her pathetic brother as you could get. He took a step toward the tent. "It'd be pretty easy."

"You can't tell them I'm here. They don't want me around, you know that."

"Why did you even come, then?"

"I had to." She bit her lip and for a moment Draco felt the full force of sympathy for this girl. But only for a moment. "Hermione's my friend too."

"But you can't-"

"Just because I'm underage doesn't mean I can't help!" Ginny flushed in anger. "I could scout or cook or-"

"That's not just it, Weasley," Draco cut in, rubbing at his forehead in frustration. "I'm pretty sure Potter and Weasel have their own reasons."

"I don't care-"

"Well you should." Draco was unremorseful. "Now go. I won't tell them you tried to follow us if you go home now."

Ginny opened and closed her mouth several times, the hurt and disappointment written all over her face. Draco was almost sorry to send her off. She'd definitely be more useful than her monkey brother, and she'd alleviate the awkwardness of the current companionship, but Potter and Weasel had been determined not to include her. And Draco desperately wanted Hermione back, and if cooperating with Potter and Weasel would help, then he'd damn well swallow his pride and cooperate. Which meant not letting Ginny stay.

Sensing her defeat, Draco turned toward the tent. He'd barely pulled open the flap, however, when her voice came from behind him, small but determined.

"You really want her back, don't you, Mal- Draco?"

He paused, one hand on the tent entrance. He stared at the cloth clenched in his fist, trying to find the words to answer Ginny. "Yeah," he replied at length, unable to express himself more eloquently. "Yeah, I do."

"Why?"

The question made something in his chest clench. He thought back to the days of the Room of Requirement, of the sound of her laughter, of the sketch and the notebook he carried with him, safely tucked in his pocket. "You may not believe me," he said slowly, weighing each word in his mouth, "but I love her. She –she changed me so completely." He abruptly cut off, not knowing what else to say. The silence hung between them, heavy and tangible.

From behind him, he heard a rustle, a snap, and then a whisper: "I believe you, Draco." Then a soft thud, and a rush of air. Draco entered the tent and finally fell asleep.

xxxxx

He had to be dreaming. He had to. However else could he be with her right now, with her hands caressing his cheek, running through his hair, pressing against his bare chest? How else could he be holding her slender body to his, breathing in the lemon scent of her hair, pressing his lips to her forehead, her cheek, her lips? They kissed, long and hard, and when she pulled back he held her close and whispered against her skin, I love you.

But before she could reply, everything began tumbling all over and melting away and she began disintegrating in his arms. Pain seared through his left arm once more and a voice was calling his name and he tried to reach out for her but his fingers only touched air-

and he woke up to the morning, panting, her name on his lips. Something cold was on his cheek, and he raised a hand to it and found that he was crying. He buried his face into his thin, ratty pillow, grateful neither Harry nor Ron had awoken yet, that he might cry a little in peace.

xxxxx

A/N So… was that worth waiting? Are things getting repetitive? I promise the action starts in the next chapter, when the boys finally get around to doing something about getting Hermione back. Constructive criticism will be very welcome, please and thank you! Hope you're all still reading!

Word of warning, though. I've got another big project coming up (think actual floor plans and things, all hand-drawn) so I won't be able to update very soon. I hope you'll all be patient with me! I'm also planning out a brand new fanfic that's completely AU (and I might just offer a sneak peek as a reward sometime soon, winkwink).

On a random note, since nothing happened in the prequel, do you guys want them to have sex here? Just curious.