Chapter Eleven

I was taken aback by all the reviews furiously condemning the Order! Obviously they're horrible awful terrible people right now, but I was expecting more reactions to the kiss – haha! Guess I was wrong. People were just still too angry to celebrate. I enjoy your anger though, strangely. Let's see what you say this time… as always, JKR is the owner, I am the borrower.

As she flew frantically about her bedroom, Hermione tried uselessly to take a few deep, calming breaths and get her thoughts into some kind of coherent order. Her mind was a chaotic jumble of ideas; plans to fix this awful mess she had gotten herself into. Scooping up her beaded bag, she rummaged around inside it to check if anything was missing besides the tent.

Why in Merlin's dame did I give Harry and Ron the bloody tent? She groaned to herself. Her hand scrambled inside the bag, checking that everything was in place and even running her fingers over the spines of her books, counting how many were there. After a nervous pause, she then traced the shape of Harry's Firebolt leaning up on one side of the large, invisible space inside. Hermione collapsed back to sit on the edge of the bed, gnawing on her bottom lip and wondering what on earth she was supposed to do now.

Harry and Ron were gone. Tracking them down would be futile, especially with Draco in tow. It would be a pointless exercise, simply causing more heartache to everyone and circling right back to where they started.

They couldn't just go on the run. Not without serious protection spells and wards, like the ones that had been infused into that damn tent. The tent currently in the possession of her wayward friends. And Draco was too vulnerable with that mark branded on his arm. There was no doubt if they just wandered the countryside and tried to hide themselves that he would be hunted down eventually. They needed somewhere safe and secure that was defended by more than just temporary charms.

And after her conversation with Draco earlier she knew that staying was no longer an option. If Draco was moved and she was forced to remain here at the Order headquarters then she knew he wouldn't be able to cope. As she had predicted, he had gone slightly mental when she had broken the news to him. The desperation in his eyes and in his words had been palpable. Hermione had actually felt her soul fracturing into little pieces at the desolation in his gaze. And then…

He kissed me.

Hermione trembled at the recollection. She twisted her fingers together and licked her lips as she considered the way things had escalated earlier. She had been fumbling to undo the clasp of her locket. She had wanted to give him a memento to treasure, like before. To help him survive the coming isolation and remind him of their bond. But he had vehemently refused the token, grabbing her hands to stop her.

I want you, he had murmured. And then he was kissing her so fiercely that she had felt the strength in her knees give out. It was a good thing she had been pressed between him and the wall of the room. She might have sunk boneless to the ground otherwise. Hermione licked her lips again unconsciously. She could almost taste him still, and her spine tingled from the force of the sensory memory.

But where did that leave her now?

She knew that she could no longer bear to abandon him or follow the Order's ridiculous commands to part them. Ever since that night in the hospital wing so many months ago, Hermione had been hurtling down a path she'd never expected or even dreamed of. And although the destination seemed hazy and indistinct, she knew that Draco was waiting there, his fate inexorably tied to hers. That kiss had made all her tumultuous thoughts crystallise at last into a sense of single-minded determination. She had never felt anything like it. All her previous crushes and relationships seemed so trivial in comparison. Maybe it was the way he looked at her like no one else ever had. As though she was the most precious thing in the world.

Hermione shook her head in indecision, chewing on the corner of a nail and staring glumly at the opposite wall. Aside from her devotion to staying with Draco, she was at a bit of a loss. Fortunately a gentle tapping at the door interrupted her bleak thoughts. Hermione glanced over at the clock on the bedside table, surprised that someone was seeking her out this late at night. Flicking her wand, she lit a few candles nearby to cast a warmer glow on the room before making her way over to the door. When she creaked it open, she was a bit stunned to see Andromeda on the other side, looking furtively around the hallway.

"Andromeda!" she noted in a quiet voice, stepping outside to face the older woman and drawing her jacket closer around her to ward off the increasing chill of the night, "Is something wrong?"

"No I just wanted to have a quick chat…"

"Okay," she replied slowly, not sure what to expect. The black haired lady beckoned her closer so that they couldn't possibly be overheard. Her eyes flickered down the hallway to Draco's door.

"How did he take the news?"

Hermione grimaced and leaned against the wall slightly.

"Not well. Actually, he went a bit mad."

"And you?"

Hermione contemplated the question, her thoughts flitting back to a few minutes ago when she had been weighing up her options. Or even earlier when her lips had been locked passionately with Draco's.

"I don't know," she admitted with a sigh, "I'm so confused."

"I don't think they'll let you visit him, Hermione. They seemed pretty adamant about keeping you both separated."

She nodded in agreement and rubbed her nose unconsciously.

"I know. I don't…" she let out a deep breath and cocked her head to the side, considering the woman before her, "Can I speak frankly, Andromeda?"

"Of course."

"I don't want to just sit around headquarters waiting for something to happen, divided from my friends and from Draco too. I couldn't bear it! And he certainly doesn't want to go anywhere without me. But I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Andromeda peered suspiciously down the hallway and grasped her shoulder, tugging Hermione gently, further away from the staircase. Her eyes darted around for a few more seconds cautiously before she spoke.

"Ted and I were discussing your little problem…" She muttered, and Hermione's heart fluttered at the determined expression on the older woman's face. She tilted her head to the side and listened closely. "We wondered whether either of you had come up with a plan at all."

"Not exactly. We just know that we want to stay together," she answered unflinchingly, knowing herself now for sure that this was true. Andromeda nodded and lowered her voice again secretively.

"I think maybe we can help you, Hermione."

"How?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, we have this house…" her ears perked up and she shuffled keenly forwards, gesturing for Andromeda to continue, "It's sitting empty right now. You could take him there."

Hermione blinked at the dark haired woman in front of her in disbelief.

"The Order wouldn't allow it… "

"I'd say it's better if we don't ask their permission at all, actually."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"They'd stop us! They'd bring him back here…"

"Not if they don't know where he is."

Hermione was shocked at the older woman's suggestion. She considered her carefully, weighing up how much she could trust her, and feeling instinctively that she could.

"You're suggesting that we run away? That I sneak him out?"

"Exactly."

Andromeda had a strangely rebellious glint in her eye and her lips were almost curled up into a smirk. It was an expression that actually reminded Hermione painfully of Draco. She could suddenly see the family resemblance.

"Where is this house? Whose is it?"

Andromeda shrugged, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh it's just an old property Ted and I have been holding onto for sentimental reasons."

"Is it safe?" she asked, her excitement building as the idea took form in her mind.

"Fidelius Charm," the woman told her briskly, in a slightly proud voice, "I'm the secret keeper. No one could get near it without my explicit instructions. Or yours, if I include you as a second secret-keeper. Is that enough?"

Hermione nodded enthusiastically, knowing that it was even better than she could have hoped for. She watched the woman before her with a feeling of overwhelming awe.

"Andromeda… this is a huge risk," she whispered, "The Order will be furious."

The woman cocked one eyebrow up in a faintly amused expression.

"They don't scare me. I don't mind ruffling a few feathers."

"But your daughter… she's married to Remus-"

Andromeda placed her hands gently on Hermione's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze.

"I know. But Draco's family too," Andromeda stated with quiet surety. Hermione felt the start of a tear prickle at her eyes and she blinked it away as the older woman continued, "And I expect you to take care of him, Hermione. He saved Ted's life, but it's not just about repaying a debt. He has no one else right now."

"I know. I will."

The two women stared at each other silently for a few heavy moments before they both let out a soft chuckle, almost inaudible in the dusty hallway. Hermione shook her head in wonderment.

"I can't believe we're actually going to do this," she whispered and they shared a look of understanding.

"We're going to do this," Andromeda answered more steadily.

"What about supplies?" Hermione asked in a rush, "I can't keep leaving the wards all the time, it might draw unwanted attention."

The other woman gave her shoulder a pat.

"Don't worry, I'll bring you what you need. I can probably slip away every couple of days or at least."

"Wait!" Hermione said with a small gasp of disappointment, realising suddenly that there was something she hadn't considered, "We won't be able to communicate with the Order if we leave. What if Draco thinks of more information? Or something happens that he can help solve? Or what if Harry and Ron turn up here again needing help? I may be furious with the Order, but I can't just cut all ties with them."

"You can still pass on things through me…"

"No I can't," she argued, "then they'd know you were helping us. I imagine they'd make life very difficult for you."

Andromeda contemplated the problem briefly with a frown thinning her lips. The thoughtful look made her face appear so serious, drawing out some of the similarities to her sister Bellatrix.

"Can't you just send them messages by patronus? I can easily pass information to you, but if you need to communicate with us for any reason, that should be enough to get the job done. An owl would be too obvious returning to the same place. But they can't trace your patronus."

"I don't have an owl anyway," Hermione told her with a soft shake of the head, feeling a pang of sadness that poor Hedwig had died, "So the patronus will have to do."

Andromeda nodded firmly and smirked.

"Sounds like we've got a plan then."

Hermione chuckled quietly, feeling a bit giddy at the thought that she might slip him right out from under their noses.

"When do you think they'll move him?" she murmured, her stomach fluttering. Andromeda glanced furtively down the hall again and shook her head more solemnly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they do it as soon as they possibly can. Don't underestimate the Order's ability to be irrationally terrified of anything even slightly connected to Lucius Malfoy."

Hermione snorted.

"Yeh, I noticed," she commented, before letting out a sigh and allowing her eyes to slide over to the door to Draco's room. Andromeda followed her gaze thoughtfully. "So we should leave tonight?"

"I think that would be best. Once everyone's asleep."

A tickling feeling stirred in Hermione's chest at the thought of running away so soon, stealing Draco in the middle of the night and vanishing to an unknown house somewhere far away. She was pretty certain she'd never done something so impulsive in her entire life. But all her instincts were telling her to do it. She was useless here now that Harry and Ron had left. The Order didn't trust her and she had no real purpose. Only Draco. And he was being taken away.

"Now I just have to convince him to go," she muttered, nodding at the door and wondering what Draco's reaction would be. Andromeda scoffed a bit loudly in response.

"Oh please, Hermione. I may not know him much yet, but I do know that that boy would follow you to the ends of the earth."

Hermione blushed a bit, shooting the older woman a wary glare. But Andromeda's smirk just widened in amusement at the girl's embarrassment.

"Do you need to pack your things? Will you be able to organise yourself soon enough to leave?" she asked in concern, and this time it was Hermione's turn to smile.

"Oh don't worry about that," she replied smugly, thinking of her beaded bag sitting on the drawers just inside the room behind them, "I'm ready for anything."

Andromeda nodded and was about to ask something else when Hermione suddenly thought of something she actually didn't have that they might need once they leave.

"Oh blast! I don't have a wand for Draco. And I don't know where they put his wand when they brought him here."

Andromeda frowned.

"No, I don't know where it is either."

She pursed her lips and tapped her foot briskly on the ground.

"What if something happens and he can't defend himself? He needs his wand back."

"We could try and look for it, but I highly doubt it will just be lying around."

"Argh! I don't have any spares. What am I going to do?"

Hermione groaned and clenched her hands into fists as she considered her dilemma. But before she could formulate any ideas at all, a new voice joined in, speaking through the darkness and making both women jump in the air in fright.

"I believe I can help you there."

Hermione spun round with wide eyes to witness the intruder, her heart pounding in fear. The former head of Gryffindor House stepped into a sliver of moonlight becoming more visible with each step. She was holding up a familiar dark hawthorn wand, twirling it in her fingers. And then, as her pulse settled once again from when it had spiked in terror, Hermione noticed her professor's expression and her heart lifted.

Because there was no mistaking the conspiratorial grin painted on Minerva McGonagall's face.

….

….

….

The rain pattered rather desolately against the windowpane. Each drop was highlighted by the sporadic flashing of an old street lamp outside. Draco traced a single drop indolently down the glass with his fingertip.

I won't be sleeping tonight…

He leaned his cheek against the icy surface and let out a sigh that sent a puff of fog onto the glass. Sleep was definitely out of the question. Only a couple of hours ago – had it really been three already? – he'd been locked in a toe-curling kiss with Hermione. The feel of her lips was still imprinted onto his mind, as was the sound of the little whines she made that kept playing on a loop in his head.

And now he was alone again, and the uncertainty and doubt was eating him alive. A small, devious part of his brain imagined him holding her close with no Order of the Phoenix and no Death Eaters. No bullshit. Just the two of them. When they kissed in the hospital wing, it had felt like a small isolated world all of their own. But here in this stupid dingy house there was too much opposition that seemed to always be banging at the door and threatening to tear them apart. He wondered morosely what she was planning to do now. Would she follow their wishes? Would she meekly allow them to take him away, ripping them away from each other and at the same time ripping out his heart? Or would she fight?

But his questions were halted instantly by the almost inaudible creaking of the door behind him. He spun around and, upon seeing that it was Hermione, leapt to his feet and approached her at a rapid stride.

"Hermione-" he muttered in awe, seeing the shaky grin on her lips. She looked so pretty, wrapped in a heavy cloak but still shivering fretfully in the cold night air. Her cheeks were pink and flushed and she was chewing nervously on her bottom lip. He was surprised to see her. It must have been almost two in the morning.

"Hey," she whispered, acting a bit secretively as she glanced around the room and drew closer to him, "I need to talk to you."

"Okay," he said with a slow smile, "Let's talk."

Draco stared into her big brown eyes for a few seconds, before dropping his gaze lower to her lips. He wanted to kiss her again. It was all he wanted. But he waited patiently for her to speak, forcing away his distraction.

"I have a plan. It's totally mad and would be just about the most spontaneous thing I've ever done… but it's something."

Draco's stomach lifted strangely in anticipation, seeing the hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked quickly.

Instead of answering at first, Hermione reached up and touched the back of her fingers to his cheek.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course," he replied without hesitation, knowing that he would do anything that she asked. Hermione took a deep breath and nodded to herself. When she spoke again she sounded a bit breathless as though she was giving herself courage.

"I'm going to break you out of this place and we're going to stay together at a house owned by your aunt Andromeda, who is absolutely magnificent by the way, and I don't care what the Order think, they can go to hell. We're going to get far away from this bloody mess and have the freedom to do whatever we want. Andromeda's going to help protect us – the house has got a Fidelius charm actually which is perfect, and Minerva is also going to help keep us in contact with the Order just in case we're needed."

Hermione took a deep breath when she was finished and Draco blinked at her a bit stunned, trying to absorb that sudden rush of information.

"Wait… Andromeda?"

"Yes," she said with a wide smile, her eyes sparkling almost mischievously, "She knew we didn't want to be separated. She actually came to see me and offered to help."

"And the Order don't know about this?"

"Nope," she said, her lips popping a bit on the p a bit as she seemed to actually bounce up and down on the balls of her feet. Draco felt a grin stretch his lips at her confession.

"So you're a real renegade now, huh Granger?"

Hermione held her chin up high, her nose crinkling slightly in that stubborn expression he had come to know and love.

"Only when other people are being high-handed, interfering wankers!"

His grin grew wider if that was possible.

"I'm in."

"Really?"

"Obviously," he drawled with a roll of his eyes. Surely she knew by now that he was going to try and stay as close to her as possible for as long as she would allow it, "So when are you going to kidnap me?"

"Right now," she declared, jingling something in one hand. He looked down and saw that she was holding a tiny bag with some beading stitched onto it in a winding pattern. As she waved it, a tiny thud could be heard from inside.

"Oops, I think that was a book."

"Very impressive, Granger."

She blushed but smiled proudly, an expression that was unexpectedly pretty on her soft features, illuminated by the moonlight. His excitement grew.

"Are you ready?" she asked quietly. Draco shrugged and held up his hands, palms open and empty.

"Well…I don't exactly have anything to pack."

She nodded to herself and withdrew something from an inner pocket of her coat. Draco felt something contract and tighten in his chest as he began to recognise the thing piece of wood she held loosely in her fingers.

"You have this."

Draco blinked a couple of times and swallowed. He reached out with tentative fingers and grasped his wand in his hand. It felt like coming home. A warmth spread up his arm and through his entire body, as if he had been reconnected with a missing limb and now he felt whole again. He clenched his slightly damp palm around the hilt of the wand and revelled in the touch of the smooth hawthorn under his skin.

"My wand…how…?"

Hermione was looking at him with an expression of understanding, as if she knew exactly how he was feeling right now. But then she had probably had a similar experience when she was eleven years old and everything just fell into place the first time she held a wand.

"You won't believe this. But McGonagall actually stole it and snuck it up to me. I think she knew what we were planning…"

Draco snorted softly.

"McGonagall's in on this?"

"She and Andromeda seem to be on our side here."

He felt a wave of gratitude swell up inside him for these women who he had never given anything to, never even really said a kind word to, but who were fighting for him and braving the Order's displeasure if they found out. It was extremely humbling.

"Sounds like I have a formidable team of kidnappers."

"You have no idea," she agreed with a wry little smirk.

At that moment, a creaking sound echoed up the staircase in the centre of the house, drifting into his room and making Hermione's head shoot around in alarm, her eyes wide and fearful.

"We have to go. If someone finds us…"

Draco nodded and swiftly pocketed his wand in his trousers. He stood waiting patiently for a moment as Hermione listened at the door for anyone coming, but there was only silence now. She gestured for him to follow her and he did, moving close behind her as they left the room behind. It had been his reluctant home for weeks now. Feeling emboldened by his new freedom, Draco reached down and grasped onto her hand. He locked their fingers together and held on tight as he let her lead the way. Hermione blinked and looked a bit surprised for a moment before she gave his hand a little squeeze in return and he could see a private smile tug at her lips even though her face was mostly turned away from him.

"The stairs are a bit loud," she muttered faintly to herself. With a swift motion she drew her wand and silently cast a charm on the cracked and mouldy staircase winding down below them. As they both took the first few steps down, it was silent, even though he still felt the groaning shift of the wood under his feet. They moved quickly around the landing and down again, and Draco could almost imagine that the air itself was becoming fresher and lighter as he passed further and further away from his room, which although mostly comfortable, had been a sort of prison for him. He couldn't bring himself to feel too bitter about the cosy space they left behind though. After all, that was where he had finally got his chance to spend time with Hermione and learn more about her.

She paused on the next landing and pointed her wand down the next flight that led into a sort of entry corridor. Her hand was trembling a bit in its grip on the wand.

"Homenum Revelio," she whispered.

There was a soft noise like a faint rush of wind, and then nothing. Hermione nodded and tugged on his hand to keep moving. She paid particular attention to a blackish door at the end of the entrance hall, creeping past it carefully. Despite the very late hour, or early hour depending on how you looked at it, he could hear voices murmuring behind that door. Finally they made it to the front entrance, and he heard Hermione let out a sigh of relief.

"We need to be standing just outside the door to apparate," she explained in a barely audible whisper.

"Alright," he replied, clenching his hand around hers tighter. It was a freezing night and her skin was clammy and shivering both from the cold and from fear.

"Okay, Draco-" she turned around, one hand entwined in his and the other one frozen on the door handle. He was met suddenly with her beautiful brown eyes, open and sincere as she stared at him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Draco nodded. A muscle twitched in his jaw at the thought of being moved anywhere where he would be divided from her. He was too far gone for that. He had sacrificed and risked everything to surrender to the Order, to come here to this distinctly unfriendly place in a vain attempt to try and find her again. And he wasn't about to let her go now.

"More sure than I've ever been about anything," he told her with a serious expression and her lips pulled up slightly in the briefest of smiles.

"Listen carefully," she murmured, shifting her grip to twist the door knob, "We're going to number 18 Lilyfield Road, Broughton Mills. Say it."

"18 Lilyfield Road Broughton Mills," he repeated dutifully. She nodded approvingly and squeezed his hand.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

Hermione finally drew the door open and they both slipped out onto the front steps. Even before the door had closed itself behind them, she was pulling out her wand spinning around to face him again. His breath hitched as she stepped very close in towards his body. Hermione wound her arms under his and around his waist. He swallowed and looked down into her eyes., registering every detail. This close he could feel her breath on his cheek, warm in comparison to the cold night air, and he could see the flecks of gold in her irises. At his back he could feel her hand clenched tightly around her wand. Then her lashes fluttered and she closed her eyes. That crinkle above her nose appeared once more as she concentrated. He could practically hear the words repeating themselves on a loop in her head.

Destination, Determination, Deliberation…

And then he felt the familiar pull of apparition and he was being sucked through a pinprick of blackness as his body became distorted and the air froze inside his lungs. A great pressure pushed down all around him, and then the next second it was released.

Draco blinked and looked around him. Although it was still dark, a blanket of stars and the glow of a half moon lighted up the landscape here. They were standing, still wrapped around each other, and out the front of a small house nestled in the side of a hill. There was a quaint little town stretching down about one hundred metres below them. Up here it was dark and quiet, the only sound being the haunted moaning of the wind as it battered the hillside. The house itself was tall but small and looked like it had seen better days. It had vines crawling all over it and there was a general air of neglect, from the couple of holes he could see in the haphazardly tiled roof to the cracks and cobwebs in the windows. Hermione hummed thoughtfully next to him, drawing his attention back to her. Her eyes were tracing over the house too, noticing every detail speculatively. It was possible she hadn't even noticed that they were still essentially embracing one another.

"Well I think it's lovely," she murmured, her soft smiled lit up by the white light of the moon above them, "Andromeda said that Ted bought this place as a fixer-upper project. But the war started before he cou-"

Draco cut her off mid sentence, no longer able to wait another second before he could kiss her again. He carefully held her cheeks in his hands and turned her back towards him, pressing his mouth to hers firmly, leaving no doubt about his feelings towards her. Now that they were alone, surrounded only by miles of green hills and fields of heather and bracken and wide-open skies, he felt daring. There was no one here to object, no one to disapprove of them. He caressed her lips thoroughly, tasting every inch of her and feeling bold enough to dart his tongue out to stroke questioningly against hers. Hermione let out another one of those little whimpers he adored, making his gut spasm with something much more heated. Draco tilted his head to the side and sought out more of her sweet taste, tugging her swollen bottom lip into his mouth and nibbling lightly on it. He swallowed her gasp and pulled her body closer so that they were pressed against each other, blocking out the cold wind. Hermione's fingers dug into the skin just below his shoulder blades as she held on tightly, and he felt his spine shudder at her grip.

The locket that sat against her ribcage was a reminder of everything he had held onto these past months. But now its value paled in comparison to the feeling of actually being here with her. Kissing her and feeling her respond. The memories of things he was forced to do for the Death Eaters, of his father's cruelty and his mother's sickness faded somewhere into the back of his mind, replaced by the all-consuming desire to be totally lost in Hermione Granger.

Eventually he pulled away and groaned as he pressed his forehead against hers. He licked his lips slowly and stared down at her, both their gazes a bit bleary and unfocused.

"It's perfect," he croaked in response to her words about the house, but not actually caring even if it had been some decrepit, half burned down shack. He was with her, which was what really mattered. She had come up with a solution; she had chosen to be with him over staying with the Order and his little lioness had been brave enough to defy all of them in the most audacious way possible. And right now, in his mind, that was about as perfect as it could get.

….

….

….

Sorry for the slight delay in getting this chapter up. Work is crazy right now. Let me know what you think. Many of you predicted this! What next? Please review!