A/N Words of wisdom for you guys: if you want to take up architecture in college, be prepared to never sleep. These projects! Anyway, here we go with the next chapter! Thank you to those who reviewed! You guys never fail to make my day.

I've got another random contest here, just for the heck of it. I'm curious as to why you guys ship Dramione. Review and tell me! Best answer gets a sneak peek at my next fanfic project, which I've already started writing. Please? :D

Chapter time!

xxxxx

"I thought we told you not to come!"

"Do you think I could stay away?"

Draco sat on the floor at the foot of Ron's cot and watched the Ginny and Harry's argument grow more heated by the minute. They'd retreated here after Ron had gone down, choosing practicality over bravado. Both Draco and Ginny had tried their best with healing spells, and Ginny had brought bandages, but Ron still looked pretty bad. His breathing was shallow at best, and it had taken both Ginny's and Draco's combined efforts to stop the bleeding. Draco was utterly exhausted by the extensive use of magic, but it seemed Ginny had enough fire left in her to yell at Harry for the past hour. The argument had been going in circles; Draco was on the verge of casting a Silencing charm on them both.

"You're underage! You can't even Apparate-"

"But I can save your sorry arses! Draco wouldn't even be here if I hadn't hexed that Death Eater!"

"One lucky shot doesn't mean we need you!"

"Oh will the two of you shut it!" Draco erupted, his frustration getting the better of him.

"…inny…"

The three of them quieted and whirled around at the sound of Ron's voice. He twitched on the bed slightly and spoke no more. Ginny and Harry looked sheepish, and Draco just rolled his eyes and resumed his post on the floor.

"Well now that the Weasel girl is here, I don't suppose we could send her away," he drawled, adjusting his legs so he was comfortable. "And she is of some use –in spell-casting, at least."

"The Weasel girl has a name, Malfoy," Ginny replied, sharply, but smiling. "But thank you."

Draco couldn't believe himself, but he grinned back up at her. She had saved his ass, after all. He may be a Slytherin and a Malfoy, but he knew how to be grateful, even to weasel redheads. Harry looked from Draco to Ginny and back, and shrugged, as if to say will wonders never cease.He left the cave, and Ginny retreated to a corner to rest, leaving Draco to his own thoughts at the foot of Ron's cot. And his thoughts, as always, turned to Hermione.

North Wiltshire. He remembered that house. The family had been there often enough, when Uncle Rodolphus' mother had been alive –she'd taken a liking to Draco, and had wanted him over to liven the dark and dreary household. It was an old house, with a labyrinthine set of tunnels underneath, built during the old wars. Now that Draco thought about it, it was the perfect place to hold Hermione prisoner. It had been unoccupied for years now, and it was very out of the way. And those tunnels would come in handy. Draco had tried exploring them as a child, but had never managed to work his way through them completely.

He couldn't believe that all these months, Hermione had been so close. The Lestrange house was only a short drive away from Malfoy Manor. All those months spent in prison, and she had been right there, in the same town. If only he'd known sooner-

"-mmph." A noise behind him startled him out of his thoughts. Draco looked behind him to find Ron stirring. Ginny stood up from the corner she'd been huddled in and came over. As she and Draco stood over Ron, Ron blinked.

"I'll go tell Potter," Draco stated abruptly, wheeling around and stalking off before Ron could come to. He didn't really feel like sticking around and filling the Weasel in on everything that had happened, nor did he feel up to treating wounds again. Once outside, he found Harry sitting moodily on a stump, staring at the cloudy afternoon sky. Draco paused a few steps away. "Weasel's up," he said shortly.

The silence between them was so thick Draco could almost touch it. He stood there awkwardly, unsure if he should leave it at that and go (but where to?) or repeat what he said –or something. At length, Harry looked away from the sky, at the forest, and spoke. "Do you think we're doing the right thing, Malfoy?"

His voice was so quiet had Draco not been expecting something to break the tension, he would not have heard it. As it was, the question only made the atmosphere more uncomfortable. The past few days, in truth, had made Draco feel more discomfited that he had ever felt in his entire life. He'd lived in a house that made him feel more welcome than in his own, had learned things about his godfather he'd never imagined, and had teamed up with the two people he'd hated almost as much as his father in order to save the girl he never thought he'd love. Who would have known,he thought, and almost smiled.

"Malfoy?" Draco looked up to see Harry eyeing him curiously, and realized he hadn't replied yet. And realized he didn't know what to reply. He looked from Harry, to the trees, to the sky. A bird flew across the gray expanse.

"I'd like to think we are," he eventually said, and tried not to comprehend this new feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. If he didn't think about it enough, he wouldn't realize how it was oddly close to something quite like friendship.

xxxxx

"So Hermione's up north?" Ron asked for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, as Ginny redressed his wounds. They were still a little raw around the edges, but were otherwise healing. Ron had offered Draco a rough, muttered "thanks" after Ginny had told him how much Draco had done for his injuries. Draco guessed (correctly) that that would be the most civility Ron would extend toward him for a while, but at least Ron wasn't ragging on him all the time anymore. Even pathetic Weasels knew to be grateful.

"Yes, and Draco knows where the house is," Harry replied, exasperated, even his patience being worn thin. Draco's had snapped long ago, and he was now lying on his bed, idly casting spells at the ceiling.

"Then why aren't we headed there now?" Ron demanded, wincing as Ginny tugged the bandages tight.

"Because, you numbskull, you're injured and we don't have a solid plan," she said, tucking the ends in place. "We don't want to repeat what just happened now, do we?" Ron grumbled in reply and shrugged his shirt on.

"What do you think, Malfoy?" Harry casually asked over his shoulder.

"I think we should get some food in here," Ron announced loudly, overriding Draco's chance to respond. He lay back on his cot with a loud thump. "Ginny, did you bring anything?"

"I've got some food in my pack," Ginny replied, getting up from her perch next to Ron. "I'll go get it."

"Malfoy?" Harry leveled his gaze at Draco, obviously not to be deterred by his friend's rude interruption. Draco contemplated the ceiling, choosing his answer wisely.

"I think that as soon as the Weasel's up to it, we should head north," he finally responded.

"I was thinking the same-"

"Who said this Weasel isn't up to it now, huh?" Ron interrupted, sitting up.

"Ron-" Harry sighed.

"And what gives, anyway, asking him first before me?" Ron rounded on Harry, his cheeks started to turn the same color as his hair. "Don't you want to know what I think?"

"Ron, that's not what I meant-"

"Because I think we shouldn't trust the filthy ferret," Ron cut in, seething. "I think we should just go there right now and get Hermione back."

"Hey-" Ginny started to say, looking up from the food.

"You think three barely trained wizards and an underage witch are enough to take down the potentially dozens of Death Eaters guarding the Lestrange house?" Malfoy asked incredulously, his disbelief making him forget his manners. He knew Ron wasn't all that intelligent, but right now he was acting downright stupid. "We could barely handle the Death Eaters a while ago, and most of them seemed like rookies, judging from how they acted. Your scars should remind you of that."

"Oh will you shut it, Malfoy!" Ron shouted, drawing his wand from his pocket. "What are you even doing here, anyway? You claim to love Hermione, but why are you hesitating when it comes to rescue her? If you love her so much, why aren't you heading over to that bloody Lestrange house to get her back?"

"Because, you stupid little Weasel, I know better than to just Apparate over there and take my chances!"

"Oh are you saying you know better than me now?" Ron yelled, struggling against Harry, who was trying to hold him back. A few steps away, Ginny stood, wand at ready.

"So what if I am?" Draco shot back, drawing his own wand.

"You think you're so high and mighty, don't you? Draco Malfoy, teacher's pet, Daddy's little boy, probably even You-Know-Who's favorite new Death Eater. Oh, look at me, I'm Draco Malfoy, I'm ridiculously rich and awfully good-looking and if I run my hand through my hair and look like I'm brooding, girls will love me!" Ron spat, his tone mocking. "As if Hermione would stoop to caring for something like you."

"And you think you deserve her love instead of me?" Draco's hands shook as he fought to keep a level head. "You have got to be kidding me. You're pathetic, insensitive, moronic and you didn't even give a rat's ass about how dating Lavender made her feel! You understand next to nothing about her!"

"Like you understand her any better!" Ron shoved Harry aside and marched right up to Draco, who stood his ground. He poked Draco hard in the chest with his wand. "You've spent all these years making her life a living hell! And now you expect us to believe you've gone right round and love her now? Don't joke with me, ferret boy."

"I love her more than you ever will, Weasel," Draco hissed menacingly.

Ron's response was a punch in the nose. Draco could feel the blood spurting out, but ignored it, choosing instead to hit Ron with a hex in the gut. Ron doubled over immediately, but shot a Stunning Spell that Draco deflected.

"ENOUGH!" Ginny bellowed, and a Shield Charm erupted between the two boys. Draco fell back, but Ron was forced over to the mouth of the cave by the spell.

"I don't want him here, Harry," Ron shouted, stabbing a finger at Draco.

"Ron, we need him-"

"No we don't!" There was something other than anger in Ron's voice now. "We already know where Hermione is. And with Ginny with us, we could get her! It shouldn't be that hard to come up with a plan."

"It's not that simple-"

"Yes it is, Harry." Ron was looking at Harry now, with a bewildered Draco between them; Ginny just stood open-mouthed at the side, her eyes flicking back and forth among the three boys. "Either Draco goes, or I do."

"Ron!"

"I'm serious, Harry." Ron's mouth was set in a grim line. "I can't stand having him there. I- we're going to rescue Hermione, not him. So choose."

Harry hesitated, glancing over at Draco as he did so. That hesitation was all Ron needed. Without another word, he turned on his heel and strode out of the cave. By the time Ginny lowered the Shield Charm and the three of them rushed out, the echoes of his Disapparition were fading.

"He…left?" Ginny broke the silence first, the disbelief evident in her voice.

"He'll be back." Harry said firmly, though there was some sadness and hurt in his green eyes. Draco simply stood quietly at the mouth of the cave, feeling a little… guilty. But, like Harry said, he knew Ron would come back. The git wouldn't be able to live knowing he'd left Draco to go save Hermione.

At length, Harry and Ginny came back. Harry looked Draco square in the eye, and for a moment Draco thought Harry was going to blame him for the loss of his friend. But Harry just sighed and said, "get some rest. We'll head north tomorrow morning."

Without bothering to set up shifts for the night, the three fell into restless sleep, the mood in the cave as heavy as the weight in Draco's heart.

xxxxx

The dawn the next morning was gray, and the remaining three rescuers packed up camp and left the cave. Ginny grasped Harry's arm, and they Apparated north, following Draco's instructions. They came out in a wood a few miles from the Lestrange house. Silently, they began to set up camp. Draco finished casting defensive spells and went to the edge of the wood. The Lestrange house stood on top of the hill in the distance, cold and dark and daunting. But Hermione was there.

"Just a little longer," Draco whispered. Inside his bag, his fingers touched a small scrap of paper. Two names and a promise. Well, he'd make a promise to her now. Whatever it took, he was getting her back.

xxxxx

A/N Phew, this chapter was longer than usual! But I managed to write it, and I hope you people like it! Do you hate me for making Ron abandon them? Are things moving too slow? R&R, people! Let me know how to make this better!

Also, as I said, I'm starting another little contest. Tell me why you ship Dramione, and you just might get a sneak preview at my next fanfic project! *wink wink*

'Til the next chapter, then!

Edit: Hi guys. To those who've read the chapter, my apologies for the words in italics that were stuck together. Seems FFnet decided to cock up my formatting. -_-" Thanks, sarahtree, for pointing it out!