Hermione leaned slightly into Draco as they stood before the door leading into the main cabin. "Don't worry," Draco reassured her as he tightened his arm around her waist. "We're going to get to the bottom of this." He lifted his other hand to the door and rapped firmly against the wood.
After a few moments the door opened and Marja appeared in the doorway. Her usually warm smile faded as she looked at Hermione's troubled face.
"Is everything all right?" she asked dubiously, glancing questioningly between Hermione and Draco.
"Actually," Draco replied uneasily, "we were hoping we could come in and discuss something with you and your father."
"Why, of course," Marja obliged, stepping aside to allow Hermione and Draco to enter the cabin.
The cabin, although much larger than the sauna house, was still small. A little sitting area with a wrap around sofa and a small coffee table greeted them on the right as they entered. Beyond that against the back wall was a dining table large enough for six surrounded by various benches. To the left of the cabin lay two undersized bedrooms and a miniature walk-in kitchen. Marja ushered them to the dining table where her father was immersed in a solitary card game.
"Ah, sit," Marja's father said, gesturing them towards an empty bench.
As Hermione and Draco took the proffered seats, Marja rounded the table and sat on the bench opposite them. "What's wrong?" she asked as soon as they were all seated.
Draco looked cautiously at Hermione and then back to Marja. "Well," Draco began calmly, not wanting to alarm Marja, "we just encountered an...incident...down at the lake, and we believe that something very dangerous is going on around here.
"Dangerous?" Marja asked concernedly. "What happened?"
Draco paused for a moment, struggling over how much to divulge. "Someone...or something...tried to drown Herm...Hannah," he corrected, hoping he hadn't slipped up too noticeably.
"You're kidding," Marja said hopefully, but turned immediately to her father when she saw the confirmation in Hermione's eyes. Marja began speaking quickly in Finnish, glancing occasionally at Draco and Hermione. Her father's eyes flashed to Draco as he spoke something that was inflected as a question.
"My father asked if you saw anyone," she directed to Hermione.
"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted quietly. "I saw something shiny glinting in the trees across the lake. Like metal. And I thought I saw something blond. But it could have just been the sun reflecting off of something like a bush or an animal."
"Or it could have been a person," Marja supplied, turning back to her father to interpret.
At the end of Marja's interpretation her father stood and mumbled something. He indicated for the others to remain seated, and then disappeared into one of the bedrooms. Hermione, Draco, and Marja all looked at each other as scraping and scuffling sounds emanated from the occupied bedroom. After several minutes, Marja's father returned clutching some sort of small paper in his hand. He again spoke in Finnish and Marja interpreted.
"Can you describe the color of whatever you saw that was blond?" she asked. "Was it yellow blond? White blond? Something else?"
Hermione furrowed her brow in thought as she struggled to recollect what she had seen in that split second. Finally, she turned and looked at Draco. "Well," she stared hesitantly, "it was kind of like," she then touched her fingers lightly to Draco's hair and finished, "this."
Marja's father nodded slightly as he chewed the inside of his cheek, again glancing at Draco.
"Oh, but it wasn't him," Hermione defended quickly, putting her hand on Draco's arm. "He was in the sauna with me, and he pulled me up as whatever it was pulled me under the water."
Again Marja's father spoke in Finnish and Marja translated into English. "Can you describe the metal object?"
"I'm not sure," Hermione answered truthfully, once again searching her memory for a brighter recollection of the incident she desperately wanted to forget. "It was about this far away from the blond thing," she said, indicating the approximate distance from head to waist. "I suppose if it was a person," she deduced, "he could have been holding the metal object."
Marja whispered something cautiously to her father, and Hermione and Draco watched as he closed his eyes for a few moments and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes and said, "Was it...this? Was it...him?" He held the paper out to Hermione.
As she took the paper from him she realized it was actually a photograph. The subject of the photo was wearing a dark graduation robe and held a thin, metre long sheath topped with a metal serpent's head. There was no way she could tell if this was what she saw in that brief second before she hit the water, so she turned her eyes to the person in the graduation robe. He was a young man with prominent features and what appeared to be white blond hair in the black and white photo. He looked vaguely familiar. She squinted her eyes to look more closely at the young man when very suddenly Draco whisked the photo from her hand.
"Where did you get this?" he asked shortly, his breathing quickening.
Marja's father responded in Finnish, and Marja said in English, "My father's friend took it at a graduation."
"But why do you have this?" Draco demanded, his volume rising slightly. "Who is this man to you?"
Marja looked alarmedly at her father who was staring intently at Draco. After a few moments he said in a thickly Finnish accent, "This man is my nephew. Who is he to you?"
Draco paled but continued to stare back. After a heavily weighted silence Draco answered, "This man is my father."
The air bristled with silent tension as Draco and Marja's father stared at each other. Hermione looked between the two men, both stone faced and still. They were so different. One young, pale haired and fair complected, with features not as sharp as they once had been, but still prominent and defined. The other much older, whitened hair splashed with flecks of dark brown, face withered and tanned, yet fraught with the wisdom of age. So different, yet they seemed to have at least one thing in common.
After a long drought of silence Marja's father's face softened. He looked at Draco wistfully, as though memories long since dead had reawakened in him. Very slowly, in his heavy accent and broken English, he said, "I knew you…reminded me of him."
At the older man's nostalgia Draco's stare became less forceful. Seeing the Finn's eyes water slightly he asked less harshly, "How can you be my father's uncle?"
Marja's father chuckled quietly and returned, "How can you be my nephew's son, Dean Thomas?" His eyes twinkled as Draco finally broke eye contact with him and turned to Hermione.
Hermione was speechless, still in awe over the revelations that were transpiring. At a loss for anything else to do, she took his hand in hers and squeezed in gentle reassurance.
"Forgive us for our deception," Draco began, turning to face the two Finns, "but we felt it was necessary for everyone's safety. I am Draco Malfoy. And this is Hermione Granger, my work associate."
"My father told me after our first meeting that you were a spot on copy of a Malfoy," Marja said quietly, still rather ashen faced.
"Your father is very astute," Draco said by way of compliment. "Now," he said, turning back to his father's alleged uncle, "please tell us your story."
The old Finn took a deep breath and sighed before breaking into Finnish, while Marja interpreted.
"While at a showing of my merchandise outside of London I met the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was an angel. Her beauty was incomparable to any other. My English was poor, but I discovered her name—Lucretia Malfoy. We fell in love. She told me her family would not approve because they did not like those who were different. I thought she meant because I was not English. I soon found out she meant because I was not magical. But that didn't stop us. We were married shortly thereafter. Somehow we managed to hide the fact that I was non-magical for quite some time. But eventually the Malfoys found out, and Lucretia was disowned. We left England immediately and came to Finland where we raised Marja."
Hermione tilted her head to the side and looked questioningly at Marja. "So, if your mother was a pure-blooded Malfoy," she asked hesitantly, "are you a witch, too?"
"Humph," Marja snorted in mild self derision. "Only in the loosest sense of the word." After seeing Hermione's wide eyed look Marja softened and said, "I went to Durmstrang. But after I graduated I put away my wand and decided to join the Muggle world with my father."
"Why?" Hermione asked.
Marja looked diffidently at her father, who nodded slightly at her. She then looked back to Hermione and Draco, took a calming breath, and began her narrative.
"After England we moved to Vantaa, not far from downtown Helsinki. We lived there during fall, winter, and spring, but came here for the summer. We used to own another cabin across the lake before this one. I started Durmstrang when I was eleven. I knew my mother was proud of me, but she never pushed me into magic. She let me make my own decision. I loved magic. But, then, at the end of my sixth year, my father came to get me from the train station. My mother hadn't come because she was fixing the cabin for a welcome home celebration. When we got back all of the other lake residents were scrambling around, terrified and confused. And they should have been, for hanging directly over our cabin was a large green skull with a snake twisting through it."
Hermione gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth in horrified shock. Marja looked sadly at her and continued.
"My mother had fallen victim to the killing curse that night. After my father confirmed the worst we left, not even stopping to gather our things. We went back to Vantaa. I was in shock that my world, my mother's world of magic, had turned on her. Father convinced me to return to Durmstrang for my last year, but from then on I never could love the world that had taken my mother from me."
The four sat soundlessly around the table, no one daring to shatter the stunned silence that had descended over the cabin. Hermione stared down at the table, the enormity of Marja's tale weighing heavily on her. Finally she whispered softly, "I'm so sorry, Marja."
"Me too," Marja replied simply.
After another few moments of silence Draco asked calmly, "Do you know who did it?"
With a few misty tears in his eyes Marja's father spoke, "I saw Lucius there that night."
At that Draco's eyes turned cold. His jaw clenched and Hermione could see his fists balling under the table. "He killed his own aunt?" Draco asked through gritted teeth.
"No," Marja's father replied uncertainly. "I don't think so. Not directly. He saw me, and he looked…afraid. He was with the group that did it, I am certain, but I don't think he knew his aunt was the victim. Until he saw me." Marja's father looked winded, as though speaking in English had drained him somehow, so he returned to speaking in Finnish.
"My father says he doesn't think Lucius could have consciously killed his own aunt," Marja translated.
"Maybe not then, but he could now," Draco said contemptuously. "If he weren't already thankfully dead, that is," he added.
Marja's and her father's heads shot up instantly. "Lucius is…dead?" Marja's father asked.
Draco nodded.
"Are you…sure?"
"The Ministry of Magic identified his body through magical means a few months ago," Draco answered.
"But Ministries aren't infallible," Marja supplied.
Draco and Hermione both looked searchingly between Marja and her father. "Is there something you're not telling us?" Draco asked suspiciously.
Marja looked at her father and then back to Draco. "I saw him. Just after the last Dark Mark."
Draco raised his hand to his face and ran his palm roughly against his closed eyes. "Tell me you're kidding," he said quietly, a heavy sigh escaping him.
"I'm not," Marja said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Draco. I can see that you are not like your father, and that means you are in danger. You and Hermione," she finished, glancing sorrowfully at Hermione. "If we had realized your connection sooner we would never have invited you into danger's path."
"We know, Marja," Hermione said managing a small smile. "You have been nothing short of gracious hosts, and for that we thank you."
Marja returned a weak smile and then glanced longingly around the small cabin. After her short perusal of her surroundings she sighed and said, "Well, I suppose the safest thing to do is to go back to Helsinki."
"No," her father grumbled as Hermione was about to nod in agreement with Marja. "I will not allow Lucius or anyone to drive me from my own home again." Then his eyes softened as he looked at Draco and Hermione. "But maybe you should go."
"No." Draco's voice was soft, yet bristled with unmasked danger as his eyes lifted from the table to his father's uncle. "I have let my father decide my actions for me my whole life. I will not allow him to continue to do so now."
"But, Draco," Hermione said, gently touching his arm, "what will happen if he finds you?"
Draco turned his determined eyes towards her in a look of defiance. "He won't have a chance to find out, because I'm going to find him first."
Hermione looked at him with slight disapproval, Marja stared wide eyed, and Marja's father smiled.
"I wish Lucius had turned out like you," he said. "He was a good boy who was lured away by power. But you…you are a good man." The two men, so different and yet so alike, looked at each other, an unspoken understanding and respect between them. "How can we help you?"
Draco looked at his newly discovered great-uncle and shook his head. "It's too dangerous for you. Marja's right. You should all go back to Helsinki."
"Don't be foolish," his great-uncle said. "Marja knows some good charms that will help."
"But," Hermione asked looking at Marja, "didn't you say you put your wand away after you graduated?"
Marja looked at Hermione a bit contritely and confessed, "Well, I do use it occasionally." After Hermione's questioning stare Marja said, "Well, you don't think I empty the outhouse by hand, now, do you?"
A few moments later Hermione said to Draco, "I think I should find Harry. After all, he may have some information that will help us."
"Harry?" Marja questioned.
"He's a friend of mine from school and the Ministry. He's been doing some investigating here since the Dark Mark appeared," Hermione explained.
"You trust him?" the Finn stated more than asked.
Hermione looked at her with a genuine smile. "With my life."
"So," Draco began reluctantly, "when do we meet with him?"
"We?" Hermione turned to Draco surprisedly.
"Well, you don't think I'm going to let you go alone with my deranged father wandering around, do you?" Draco's eyes were filled with true concern and determination. "When?" he repeated.
"Just before dinner," Hermione replied, her heart filling with gratitude for Draco's protectiveness.
"Well, then," Draco said diplomatically, his eyes turning to face his new family, "we don't have much time to plan. So let's get to it."
o-o-o-o-o
Hermione and Draco trudged up the embankment from the cabin to the small main road in relative silence, the scuffing of rocks and dried leaves under their shoes the only sound emanating from the pair. The birds sang jovially, darting in and out of the wind ruffled trees, but the only thing Hermione heard was a low hum of warning echoing in her head. She folded her arms and tramped her heavy footfalls reluctantly next to Draco, not unlike a petulant child being made to come home after a fun day at play.
"Make a little more noise and maybe we can alert all of the Death Eaters to our whereabouts." Draco's sarcasm dripping tone made Hermione stop abruptly and glare at him.
"Why not?" she asked with flippant defiance. "It will just speed up the inevitable."
"Stop being a child, Granger," Draco huffed out testily.
"A child?" she repeated in a dangerously low pitch. "If I may remind you, I am not the one with the foolhardy, half-baked plan to just waltz right into Death Eater Central and announce, 'Here I am, Daddy. I'm on your side again.'"
Draco turned to face her with a withering look. "Grow, up, Granger. Don't trivialize this with your silly pouting. You know how bad my father can be, and who knows how bad the rest of his motley crew can be. If anyone is to go charging into the fray it had better be me."
"But why?" Hermione pleaded. "Having you go is worse than having any of the rest of us go. You are a blood traitor to him now. Your betrayal is a thousand times worse than anyone else's. We should all attack at once."
"Hermione," Draco said tiredly, "we've been through this. He knows the Aurors are here. He knows we are here. He's expecting a mass attack."
"Then send someone else." Hermione's eyes shone brightly with hope.
Draco shook his head sadly. "My father wouldn't think twice about killing any of you the instant you stepped into his territory."
Hermione clung tightly onto Draco's arm. "And what about you? His own son betrayed him and his master. He won't consider that more than a personal affront?"
"Of course he will," Draco said quickly. "But he won't kill me right away. He'll want to know why I did what I did."
"You mean he'll want to torture you endlessly first," Hermione sighed defeatedly.
Draco cupped his hand under her chin and gently tilted her head up so he could look directly into her eyes. "At least I know what my father is capable of. I've even learned how to defend myself against most of his curses. I stand a better chance than anyone. You have to trust that I know my father better than you."
"I do trust you," she said quietly, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "But I've only just found the real you. I'm not ready to lose you yet."
"Yet?" he asked softly, his thumb brushing away an escaped tear.
"Ever," she corrected herself as she opened the floodgates to her heart. "Draco, I'm so scared."
Draco reached out and pulled her shaking body to his. "Shh," he murmured softly against her hair. "Where's that famous Gryffindor courage? I need you to be brave, Hermione. I need to know that you are going to be okay." His hand ran soothingly up and down her back.
Hermione knew she needed to pull herself together. She knew that Draco needed her to be strong for him. She didn't want him walking into the lion's den unfocused because of her. Slowly her crying subsided and she sniffled against his chest. She wiped the tears from her eyes the best she could and looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry," she apologized.
"For what?" he asked sincerely. "For being worried about me? Don't apologize for that. It's kind of nice to have someone worry about me for a change." He smiled at her and lightly swept a strand of hair out of her eyes.
She smiled weakly back at him. "Please be careful. You have to come back to me."
"I do?" he questioned lightly. "And why is that?"
His eyes penetrated hers as she pondered her response. What did he want her to say? What did she want to say? That she valued his friendship? That she was beginning to love him? She wasn't entirely sure how she really felt about him, but she did know that she didn't want to let him go.
"Because the Leaky Cauldron has a batch of strawberry canapés with your name on it," she said, gently tapping her finger against his chest.
"Oh, really?" he asked, clearly unconvinced. "Is that the only reason?"
She looked into his clear grey eyes and saw the need for something deeper there. "No," she said slightly breathless. "I need you to come back to me because…because I need you in my life."
"You do?" He looked at her as though wanting to confirm that she wasn't kidding.
Hermione simply nodded.
Draco smiled and drew her closer to him, his arms wrapped securely around her. "I will do everything in my power to come back to you, Hermione," he promised. She snuggled her head against his shoulder and held him tightly, sighing contentedly.
After a few moments of their mutual embrace Draco admitted, "You know, no one has ever needed me before. Well, for anything that wasn't directly related to the Dark Lord, that is."
One more final squeeze and Hermione pulled away slightly to smile up at him. She then stood up on tiptoe and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "For good luck," she explained.
"Thanks," he said, returning her smile. "Well, I do believe I have an appointment with an arch nemesis to keep."
"With a friend," Hermione corrected. "Any friend of mine is a friend of Harry's."
"Well, we'll see about that," he replied skeptically while beginning to walk, Hermione by his side.
After several minutes of walking they finally approached the well. Hermione then led Draco past the well and to the place where she had met Harry last. As they reached the clearing that was to be their meeting place she looked around for Harry.
The aged trees stood stoically firm against all of the elements except for the gentle breeze, which breathed a ripple through the delicate leaves. Hermione lifted a stray curl from her face as she heard a twig snap. Instinctively she grabbed for her wand while turning quickly towards the source of the noise. She whirled around to face Draco, who also held his wand at the ready. Hermione's questioning glance met Draco's determined one as a low voice sounded from behind a tree.
"Malfoy," came the voice in a mildly disgusted tone.
Draco loosened his grip on his wand slightly as he muttered resignedly, "Can this meeting get any worse?"
Hermione held her breath as a tall cloaked figure emerged from behind a tree, his build familiar and his shock of recognizable hair escaping from under his drawn hood. She lowered her wand and bounded towards the figure in a sprint, a large smile stealing across her features in pure happiness.
"Ron!" she proclaimed as she flung herself into her friend's waiting arms knocking the hood back from his face.
"Hey, Hermione," Ron spoke breathily, the wind somewhat knocked out of him by Hermione's tight grip. He returned her greeting with a little less fervor, but still enthusiastically.
After a moment they released each other and Hermione stepped back a pace to look at him. "What are you doing here?" she asked brightly.
"Well," he began, leading her to a fallen log and sitting next to her, "I had been stationed in Estonia initially, then I was made the Auror liaison between us and the Magical Law Enforcement Officers back in England. I was between Estonia and Dover a lot. In fact, your roommate, Susan, was my contact there. We, umm, liaised quite a bit." His ears reddened a little as he said this, and then continued, "They just sent me here today to assist. Apparently we're getting closer to figuring this out."
Hermione sat staring at him with a playful smirk on her face.
"What?" Ron asked, shifting slightly on the log.
"You liaised quite a bit?" Hermione asked teasingly.
Ron rolled his eyes to the sky then back to Hermione. "I knew you'd hone in on that one."
"So, tell," Hermione encouraged.
"Well," Ron began hesitantly, "there's not much to tell. We met everyday to give reports and coordinate our efforts. We usually met for lunch or dinner."
"You went out with her every night?" Hermione pressed excitedly.
"It wasn't every night," Ron defended. "And we rarely went out. We usually had dinner brought in to the field office." He looked closely at Hermione, who still graced him with her knowing smile. "Stop looking at me like that. It's not like we're looking at rings or anything."
"So you do like her!" Hermione exclaimed triumphantly.
A slow flush crept slyly across his cheeks. "Well, she is a nice girl," he confessed.
"And you are a nice guy. Scratch that. You are a fantastic guy," she said throwing her arms around him again. "Are you happy?"
"Yeah," he replied with a smile. "I am."
Hermione returned his smile and reached down to take his hand for a moment, giving it a friendly squeeze.
"As fascinating as Weasley's love life is, we have more important matters to discuss."
Hermione looked over to Draco apologetically, just remembering his presence there. "Right. Of course," she relented.
"Where's Potter?" Draco directed to Ron.
"On assignment," Ron said with a small scowl. "He told me he was supposed to meet Hermione here and asked me to come instead."
"Where is he? Is he okay?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"He's fine," Ron said reassuringly. "He's…" Ron looked at Draco then back to Hermione and paused. "You're really not cleared for this information, you know."
"Ron," Hermione placated, "Harry knows we're doing our own investigating. We have new information, and putting it together with the information you have will help us get to the bottom of this."
"Come on, Weasley," Draco drawled. "You're wasting time, so liaise already."
After a pointed glower at Draco, Ron turned to Hermione and relented. "Okay. Harry is on a stakeout with Kingsley Shacklebolt. They're watching one of the cabins for activity. They think some sort of big meeting is going to happen tonight, and they're waiting to see if we can take them by surprise."
"No!" Draco said firmly. Ron and Hermione turned to him at his outburst. "That's exactly what my father expects."
"Your father?" Ron asked looking at Draco. Then he heaved a sigh and said, "So you know. It figures."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked with a hint of offense in his voice.
"What do you think, Malfoy?" Ron returned.
"I'm not a spy for my father, if that's what you're insinuating, Weasley." Draco took a step towards Ron.
"Oh, really?" Ron shot back while rising to his full height. "Then how do you know what your father is planning?"
"Stop!" Hermione commanded stepping between the two young men, hoping to halt any ensuing altercation. "Ron, Draco is not in contact with his father, but he does know his father better than any of us. What we know we've been able to piece together from the information we got from the people we're staying with."
"Who are you staying with?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Marja and Aleksis Mattila," Hermione answered.
"Oh, Alex," Ron said.
"You know him?" Hermione looked at Ron curiously.
"I've talked with him a couple of times. I met with him when I would come here for weekly meetings. He's a good man. But what kind of information did he give you?"
Hermione took a deep breath and recounted everything they had learned from the Dark Mark sighting to Lucretia Malfoy to Marja's magical skills. Ron let out a low whistle through his teeth at the end of Hermione's monologue.
"That's a lot of information," Ron marveled. "You should have been an Auror, Hermione. So, you mentioned a plan?"
"Well, Draco is the only non-Death Eater on this planet Lucius wouldn't kill on sight, so we thought he should sneak into the cabin and distract the Death Eaters so the Aurors could ambush unexpectedly," Hermione explained.
"You're kidding, right?" Ron looked at her with a worried expression.
She met his look with suspicion. "What is it, Ron?"
"We just captured a Death Eater a few hours ago," Ron confided. "He told us that Lucius is waiting for Draco to break in. It's a trap."
"What?" Hermione's pulse began to race. "Maybe he was lying."
"He was under Veritaserum, Hermione," Ron said calmly. After a moment he added, "Lucius has a hostage." Hermione gasped, while Ron continued. "Her name is Mia Juvonen."
"The Minister's daughter," Hermione and Ron said together.
Ron nodded his head. "That's why the Ministry wasn't very helpful or cooperative. The Death Eaters threatened to torture Mia with Unforgivables if Minister Juvonen helped the Aurors in any way."
"That's awful," Hermione said softly.
"Yeah, but that's not all." Ron swallowed hard before going on. "The Death Eater who first captured Mia thought she was a muggleborn. Apparently, Lucius Malfoy is planning on making an immortality potion for himself. He wants to be the next Dark Lord, and ancient dark magic calls for the blood of a muggleborn witch."
"No," Hermione breathed out. "Then why doesn't he let her go?"
"She's part of the trap. Actually, she's the bait." Ron paused and his eyes traveled over Hermione's shocked face. He reached up and gently brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "Lucius is planning on Draco leading you to him."
Hermione blinked her eyes several times before responding. "Me?" she squeaked out. "He wants…my blood?"
"The stronger the magic in the muggleborn witch the stronger the immortality potion. He wasn't planning on using you until…he saw you and Draco in the lake today."
Hermione's face flushed and she asked meekly, "You know about that?"
"Um, yeah," Ron answered uncomfortably. "Apparently the Death Eater we caught was the one who tried to pull you down under the water. By Lucius Malfoy's orders, of course."
Hermione's mind was reeling. She had been nearly drowned, and now Lucius Malfoy wanted her blood for an immortality potion.
Cautiously Ron touched her shoulder. "Hermione?" She blinked and turned her head to him, but remained silent. "Don't worry. We won't let Lucius take you. But you need to rethink your plan."
Hermione slowly nodded her head. Then, finding her voice, she choked out, "Draco?" She turned her head to look at him when he made no response, but he wasn't there. Immediately she jumped up and spun around looking for him. "Draco?" she repeated desperately. She ran to the tree Ron had hidden behind earlier and then checked behind every other tree in the surrounding area, but Draco was no where to be found. "No, no, no," she said with increasing intensity. "He's gone! Ron, did you see when he left?"
"No," Ron said while also searching.
"Oh, no," Hermione intoned under her breath. "He's gone to put the plan in motion. He's walking right into their trap. I have to find him!"
"Hang on there," Ron ordered while holding her back. "That is exactly what Lucius wants. Remember, he's using Draco to get to you."
"But we have to stop him. If Draco goes there Lucius will kill him now, especially without me." She was ranting, but she couldn't stop herself.
"No," Ron said in what he hoped was a comforting way. "Lucius would kill him if he did have you with him. He wants you, not his son. But he probably will put him under the Imperious Curse and order him to come back to get you—"
"But Draco's a strong wizard," Hermione interjected. "I'm sure he can fight off Imperio just like Harry."
"Not if it's cast by ten Death Eaters at the same time," Ron reasoned.
Hot, angry tears of helplessness began to flow down Hermione's cheeks.
"It's okay," Ron pacified. "We'll keep you safe. I promise."
"But can you promise to keep Draco safe?" she asked through her tears.
Ron stiffened slightly at Hermione's extreme concern for his enemy, but softened at the look of sincerity in her eyes. "No, I can't," he replied sullenly.
"What do we do, Ron?" Hermione pleaded. "Draco and Mia are in terrible danger."
"As are you," he responded. Then he put his arms around her and pulled her to him. "Come on. Let's go find Harry. Don't worry. We'll figure this out together."
Hermione sniffled and nodded her head. Although she was terrified for Draco, she felt a measure of comfort as Ron tenderly led her away from the small clearing with his arm securely around her shoulders.