Ever since the night of the Cedric's death, Hermione had many dreams, especially about that terrifying maze. She never admitted it to anyone, but she would never go into them as a child. There was something terribly frightening about them..
Hermione and Draco got up and looked around. They had both been here before, she looked behind her, the stands were still there, now empty. She tried to walk out of the stadium like area, but an imaginary force field was keeping her from doing so.
Draco watched as she couldn't get through. His head turned towards the maze opening and started towards it.
Hermione looked at Malfoy, he was now setting off into the entrance to the maze. Running towards him, she grabbed his arm.
"What do you think you're doing Malfoy?"
"No Granger, I think that argument is better left for you to answer wouldn't you say so?"
She dropped his arm and looked at him in a confused manner.
"You should know that this little illusion, scenario, whatever you like to call it, wants us to go through this thing."
Hermione looked at the entrance again. "Yes, and the last time one of my friends went in there he hardly came out."
Draco was taken aback by this little statement. "Yeah? The last time I checked you were calling me a rapist. Now we're friends?"
Granger bit her lip and looked down at the ground, toeing it. "Malfoy, I just had a bad dream, it was accidental and I'm sorry."
He glared at her, wanting to tell her to take her apology and to shove it up her arse.
"Listen Granger, we are not friends, the little kiss in the courtyard, it was a mistake. Let's just get the hell out of this situation."
The words crashed against Hermione leaving her hurt and confused. She had apologized? What more did he want from her?
He turned and started off into the maze again, disappearing around the corner. Hermione watched him walk away, sighing, she decided to follow him through. What more could she do?
Draco felt like it was similar to every other maze? The only difference was that they weren't competing for some stupid trophy at the end of it. He knew Granger was beside him, he decided to just shrug it off and continue on. Soon the 24 hours would be up, and they both could go their separate ways.
About half way through, Hermione got a very weird feeling in the pit of her stomach, it felt like they were being watched. She stopped, moving her wand out of her pocket and held it in her hand.
"Malfoy. Do you hear that?"
He stopped walking, turning to the girl.
An animal like snarl caught his attention, but he didn't have time to look down before he was grabbed around the right ankle and flung to the ground. Hermione shrieked and ran over to him, mindful of the roots that now wrapped around him.
Devils snare.
Hermione had encountered this her first year. She moved her wand to his foot, "Lumos Solem!"
Draco felt the snares unwind around his foot and let him go. He scrambled to his feet, moving his ankle in circles, making sure he hadn't broken anything. Looking up at her he mumbled a small, "Thanks."
Nodding, she put her wand away. They continued on, no words were muttered. Hermione looked down at her watch, 2:19. Great, just enough time for things to get even more awkward between them.
A few more minutes flew by and Hermione was straining her one good ear for any more threatening sounds. A rustling behind her made her turn her back. A roar caught her by surprise when suddenly Victor Krum knocked her off her feet, charging after Draco.
Malfoy side-stepped him, reaching down he grabbed Granger's hand and yanked her back up. He started to dash back to the beginning of the maze, dragging the girl behind him.
"Stop Malfoy, we have to help him!"
"Granger, this is all a scenario! It's not really happening, remember that!"
Hermione shook herself free and bounded back to her friend.
'Fucking woman! Why couldn't she just listen to him just once!?'
She went back to the spot they had seen him, and she found him crouched on the ground, holding his head. Running over to him, she took his hand and held it against her cheek. "What's wrong Victor?"
He was rocking back and forth, whimpering as if in pain.
Draco turned the corner to see the two huddled together, the man's fingers stroking Granger's cheek. A feeling of jealousy ran through Draco but he pushed the absurd feeling down.
Hermione helped Krum off the ground. Malfoy noticed that his eyes looked very..odd.
"Granger! Get away from him!"
She turned to look at him questionably when a hand whipped out and grabbed her by the throat, slamming her into one of the maze walls. She gasped for air, clawing at his stubby fingers that wrapped themselves around her wind pipe.
"Incarcerous!" Draco screamed.
Victor was flung back from her, his body now wrapped in a thick rope.
Malfoy ran to Granger, his companion now gasping for air to return to her lungs. She clutched her throat, her pale skin now showing slight finger prints. Draco pulled her hands back and accessed the damage, dammit, she would definitely be sporting those bruises for a while.
Victor suddenly got free of the bindings, ripping through them like they were nothing, Hermione screamed and leapt to her feet. They bolted down the remaining maze together, wands drawn.
"Where are we going Malfoy?! There's nothing at the end of the maze!"
"Just keep running Granger!"
She heard the yelling of Krum behind her, one of his hexes narrowly missing her legs. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched as he raised his wand again, aiming towards Malfoy this time. She gasped and grabbed his wrist, steering him out of the way in time to duck the cruciatus. This slowed them down as the wacky momentum knocked them both off of their feet.
Hermione fell atop Draco, rolling off to climb to her feet again. Malfoy saw Krum stop and raise his wand at Granger, he pushed her down beneath him, shielding her. He ran at Krum, knocking him into one of the walls, his wand flying from his hands. A sharp elbow to his shoulder made his senses ring and he fell back. He felt a hand clutch his own and he was dashing off again.
She was tired of running, her chest burning with being pushed too hard.
Draco could tell Granger was slowing down, he grabbed her elbow and shoved her forward. Krum was a considerable distance behind them, the little altercation slowing him down.
They both saw the end and they burst through. At the end there was a small trophy looking object, Hermione was confused but she went over to it. Before she could think, the crashing caught her attention again. "Malfoy, grab it!"
He obeyed and they were both being flung from the maze. Hermione knew this sensation, her and her friends had done this to get to the Quidditch World Cup.
A Portkey. But why was there a Portkey?
Her and Draco got up and observed their surroundings. They were in a graveyard.
Hermione had her wand raised at the tomb they were now in front of. Tom Riddle, (1905-1943). She backed up, a feeling of unease settling in her bones. Harry had told her about this place, after the trophy had sent Cedric and him to a graveyard.
Oh no.
"Draco. We need to grab the Portkey again, we have to get out-"
Her words trailed away as a man walked out of a door below a tomb. Recognizing that disgusting face anywhere, she backed up in fear.
Peter Pettigrew.
Malfoy glared at the man, he knew he was, what he was. He was a vile creature of a man, and instantly he had his wand drawn directly at his heart.
"Mr. Malfoy, how delighted it is to see you again. I do have a question though?"
Hermione was hiding behind one of the tall tombstones, out of the way of Pettigrew.
"Why would you be here with a woman of dirty blood?"
Draco didn't respond to him, just kept his wand raised at the rat.
There was a voice that split through the air then. "Kill the boy, we need the mud-blood to reel the boy in."
A sadistic grin split the face of Peter Pettigrew and he had his wand raised, "Avada Kedavra!" Draco was faster though.
"Protego!" His shield bounced in front of his person, the killing curse hitting it and fading away.
"Expelliarmus!" The wand flew from the rats hands and landed a good distance away from him.
Hermione watched the whole thing, her eyes went to the hands of Peter Pettigrew who was holding a small person in his arms. It was Voldemort!
"Malfoy! We can not let him bring Voldemort back! We have to stop him!"
Pettigrew had gotten to his wand again, his gaze now on Hermione.
"Crucio!"
Granger leapt out of the way, the stone in front of her taking the full blow of the curse. "Incarcerous!"
Rope flew out of her wand and tangled itself around the neck of the fatter man, he was falling down, gasping for air. Granger was at Malfoys side in an instant. She looked down at her watch, 2:50, thank goodness, they could deflect him for another few minutes.
Suddenly, figures in black started to descend towards them.
Draco pulled the girl behind him, his eyes drifting from death eater to death eater, trying to find his father.
"Look what we have here." One of them said, his voice almost demonic behind the mask.
"Lucius, this is your son is it not?"
A tall man took his mask off, his long silver hair billowing in the breeze. His eyes landed on his son, confusion in their depths.
Hermione latched on to the back of his shirt, fear coursing through her.
"Draco. What are you doing here?"
"A bit of a mix up father, me and my acquaintance got turned around in the Room of Requirement."
"What acquaintance would that be Draco?"
Hermione whimpered as Draco pulled her out from behind him.
The death-eaters had their wands raised at her throat, she felt Malfoy stiffen beside her.
"What in the world are you doing with the mud-blood Draco?"
He didn't answer him, just continued to stare him down. "As I said before father, it was a mix-up, and I don't think it will do well for your plans to kill her right now."
The men lowered their wands slightly, contemplating his words.
"I see Draco, you brought her here for a bit of fun then." The other men smirked and Hermione felt dread fall in the pit of her belly.
Macnair pointed his wand at her, "Imperio."
Hermione felt a fog of euphoria wash over her as she started to walk over to the death-eaters. Draco tightened his grip on his wand, looking the men over once again. He felt his father watching him, still confused as to why she was here with him.
She was in front of Macnair now, he was running his dirty hands through her curly hair, "There's a good girl."
Draco knew what he had to do.
Hermione was still in her dream land when she felt a hand press against the back of her head. She heard laughter around her, slightly confused at what they could be giggling at.
Lucius Malfoy stood stalk still.
Draco raised his wand, just as Hermione was sinking to her knees.
"Stupefy!"
Macnair shot backward, his back hitting one of the tombstones. Draco ran over to her. He shook her shoulders, "Snap the fuck out of it Granger!"
Two other death-eaters were upon him now, raining curses on him. He heard Petrificus Totalus fly past him, another stunning hex not far behind it.
Hermione was mortified to realize what she was about to do.
"Reducto!" She screamed at one of the masked men that got too close. He shot back as well, far into the distance. A sinister laughing caught the teens attention, Peter Pettigrew was standing off to the side, his wand raised, he was walking in circle around the two, mumbling something. Hermione looked past him and realized that the Portkey had flown behind him. Something was wrong, looking down at her watch she realized it was 3:12, they were past time!
Suddenly, fire was spreading to them at an alarming rate. A large creature came out of the flames, an enormous dragon.
Hermione grabbed Draco and they bolted backwards, only to be met with another creature. A lion like animal that was pacing back and forth, it's fiery eyes watching their movements. Granger screamed and yelled, "Aguamenti!" The flames getting dowsed a little bit.
Taking a chance, she ran out through the tombstones, the fiery dragon not far behind.
Draco was behind her, yelling the water spell at the beast in the air.
"Accio Portkey!" Granger screamed. As the object flew at her hand, a burst of fire rained over them. Draco flung himself at Hermione just in time, shielding her and the trophy from the blast. They were being ripped through time again, screams rang out as the world spun them into another scenario.
Hermione tried to hang onto Draco, his now half-conscious form lulling over.
She awoke with a start, the smell of burning flesh hitting her nostrils. Draco was on his stomach, his back completely seared.
I hope you enjoyed it. :)