As Draco began to wake he absentmindedly wondered why he was so warm, it took him a few minutes to register that the heat was coming from another body pressed close to his. Opening his eyes he was greeted by a mass of curly brunette hair and memories of the previous night came flooding back.
Draco still wasn't sure why he wanted Hermione to stay with him the previous night but he had to admit it was a pleasant feeling to wake up wrapped around the witch. When they had finally gotten to sleep the two of them were on opposite sides of the bed but over the course of the night they had both gravitated towards the centre of the bed and each other. Hermione still had her back to Draco but she was now snuggled against his chest while he had his arm wrapped firmly around her waist.
Fully awake Draco watched the sleeping witch beside him. He was still surprised that she had managed to get him to open up and talk about his dreams. A few weeks ago he was determined to keep quiet about the images that plagued his nights but there was something about Hermione that made him let his guard down. Draco was well aware that over the last few weeks he had told her more about his life than he had ever told anyone, most of the time he didn't even realise he was doing it.
After a few minutes of just watching Hermione sleep Draco brushed her long hair to one side, revealing her neck and shoulder. From the angle he was lying Draco could also make out Hermione's impressive cleavage, instead of staring at her chest however he turned his attention to her face. Slowly Draco raised his hand to her face and ran a finger down her cheek.
At his touch Hermione began to stir slightly. Draco continued to stroke Hermione's face until the brunette witch finally opened her eyes.
"Hey." Draco said softly, pulling his hand back slightly.
Hermione stretched before she flipped over so she was facing the blond Slytherin. "Hi." She whispered, wondering what sort of reaction she would get from Draco.
"Thanks for last night." Draco said. "I appreciated you staying."
"Did it help?" Hermione asked. She hadn't heard any more noise from the blond but wanted to be sure her presence had helped.
"Definitely." Draco said, reaching out and brushing a few stray curls out of Hermione's face.
"I'm glad." Hermione said with a small smile.
Draco smiled back as the two stared at each other for several moments. Slowly they both moved forward until their lips were pressed together. Unlike the passion of the previous night the kiss was gentle and languid. Slowly they explored each other's mouths as their lips moved perfectly in sync with each other. After what seemed like an eternity to the couple they slowly parted.
"I suppose we should get up. It's a big day today." Hermione sighed. She would much rather stay in bed with Draco but Bellatrix was due for her weekly visit and it was time to start making the final preparations for their escape.
"I suppose so." Draco reluctantly agreed. "Although I would much rather stay here."
"So would I." Hermione admitted shyly.
"Do you think there's anything I could do to persuade you to stay for a bit longer?" Draco asked with a wicked grin.
"I'm not sure." Hermione responded. "How persuasive can you be?"
"Very." Draco declared, before capturing Hermione's lips with his.
As the intensity of the kiss grew Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pressed her body close to his, moaning when she felt his arousal pressed against her stomach.
For the next half hour the couple stayed in bed, indulging in a passionate make out session. Eventually though they had to get up so they could eat before Bellatrix's arrival some time that afternoon.
Hermione stood tensely in the doorway to the front room, trying not to look intimidated while Bellatrix stared at her. Even though she had been imprisoned for a while now Hermione was still unsure why Bellatrix insisted on seeing her every week just to stare at her.
"You're doing good, Draco." Bellatrix said, suddenly turning away from Hermione to face her nephew. "The Dark Lord is very happy with your work."
"Thank you aunt Bella." Draco replied. He wasn't the slightest bit bothered by the fact Voldemort was happy with him, he just wanted to escape the dark wizard's clutches as soon as possible.
"See you next week." Bellatrix said as she turned on the spot and dissapparated.
"Thank Merlin, that's over." Draco declared, sinking down onto the sofa. "I hate her visits."
"Me too." Hermione said, joining Draco on the sofa. "I hate the way she just stares at me for no reason."
"There'll be a reason, we just don't know it." Draco said.
"That's not important now." Hermione said. "Do you know how much time we've got between her arriving and re-erecting the wards."
"Just under a minute." Draco replied. "It's the first thing she does, but she takes a few seconds to adjust to arriving."
"So we have to be quick in stunning her." Hermione said.
After much deliberation Draco and Hermione had decided the best way to escape would be to stun Bellatrix upon her arrival and try escaping while the wards were still down.
"You have to be quick in stunning her." Draco said.
"How am I going to stun her?" Hermione questioned. They were still finalising the plans but Hermione had assumed that Draco would be the one dealing with his aunt. "I have no wand."
"You can use mine." Draco said with a shrug. Normally he wouldn't give his wand to anyone but he trusted Hermione and knew the plan would work better if she was the one to stun his aunt. "You're always upstairs when she arrives so she never checks to see if you're in the room. All you have to do is hide somewhere and the second she appears, you stun her."
"That's easier said than done." Hermione sighed, nervous that she was the one the whole plan was relying on. "What if I'm not quick enough?"
"We'll practice this week." Draco said. "We know it's possible to apparate around the house so I can apparate into the front room and you can stun me. By next week you'll be perfect."
"You must really trust me if you're willing to let me use your wand and let me stun you." Hermione was actually quite surprised by the high level of trust Draco was putting in her.
"I do." Was Draco's simple response. "What happens after? What happens if we stun Bella and then we can't apparate?" He asked, bringing the conversation back to their escape plan.
"We run." Hermione responded. "If we can't apparate from the house or outside we'll just have to run and keep trying. Eventually we'll either find somewhere where Voldemort hasn't prevented apparition or he'll let down the anti-apparition wards as he searches for us."
"What makes you think he'll let down his wards?" Draco questioned. "We already know both him and Bella can apparate straight into the house, he doesn't need to release the wards."
"That only applies if he's searching for us by himself." Hermione explained. Over the last week she had been thinking a lot about the wards and she had several theories on how they were designed. "Chances are he'll bring a few of his Death Eaters, the more people there is searching the better chance he has of finding us."
"How will that help? Knowing him he'll have some extra ward only allowing Death Eaters to apparate into the area." Draco said. He was actually impressed with Hermione's reasoning but he wanted to be sure they had thought of every outcome and possibility.
"That's where you come in." Hermione said. "If he does that then hopefully your mark will enable us to apparate out of the area."
"What if he bars me specifically from apparating?" Draco questioned, once again trying to make sure they had everything covered. "It's tricky but you can manipulate wards to include certain people."
"I know." Hermione said with a nod of her head. This part of the plan was the only bit where she was taking a slight gamble in what security measures Voldemort had already put in place, it was possible that a ward barring Draco from apparating was already active. "But as you said, it's tricky. It also takes a while to perform the right spells. Hopefully he won't have time to alter the wards before we realise they're down and escape."
"That's still a risk." Draco pointed out.
"I know, but it's one we have to take." Hermione said.
"I guess so." Draco sighed. He didn't like that they had failed to find a way around every possible outcome but he knew they were pretty well prepared in the circumstances.
"Now we need to discuss where we apparate to." Hermione said. "Obviously we can't go straight to the Order or they'll follow our trail, not to mention if you have to do the apparating you won't know where to go."
"So before we can get to safety we have to make sure they lose our trail." Draco said. "The best way is to apparate to several destinations in quick succession, the more crowded the better."
"I was thinking muggle London as a starting point." Hermione said, pleased that Draco was immediately on her wave length. "I don't know my way around London great, but I'm betting my knowledge is better than any Death Eaters."
"It will be, leading them into the muggle world will be highly confusing to most of them." Draco said.
"Good, then once we've lost them we can them go to the Order." Hermione said, pleased their plan was taking shape nicely.
"I need to go and see Severus first." Draco announced. He'd been waiting for the right time to bring up his desire to go and visit his mentor. "I know you're going to argue, but I can't leave without at least trying to make sure my mother is safe."
"I understand that, but it's not a good idea." Hermione said cautiously. She knew that Draco thought a lot of Snape but after everything that had happened the previous year she didn't trust her Potions Professor. "I know he cares about you but we can't risk going to visit a Death Eater."
"He's no more of a Death Eater than I am." Draco protested. "He doesn't support Voldemort."
Normally Hermione would be pleased that Draco had used Voldemort's name without thinking but she was trying to keep her temper in check. "He killed Dumbledore, I call that supporting Voldemort." She snapped as she stood up and walked over to the window.
"He did kill Dumbledore." Draco admitted. "But he doesn't support Voldemort."
"How can you say that after last year?" Hermione turned to face Draco, tears evident in her eyes as they discussed the murder of their headmaster.
"I can say that because I know the full story." Draco said. "There is more to the story than anyone else knows. Severus told me the truth days after Dumbledore's death."
"What truth?" Hermione asked, unsure of whether she believed there was more to events than she knew.
"Sit down and I'll explain." Draco sighed as Hermione sat down in the chair opposite him rather than return to sit next to him.
"I'm waiting." Hermione said, a hint of impatience evident in her tone of voice.
"Severus killed Dumbledore on his request. He was dying and knew of my task, he didn't want me to become a killer so he begged Severus to do what he knew I couldn't." Draco explained.
"Dumbledore was dying?" Hermione gasped. "How?"
"Can you remember his shrivelled hand?" Draco asked and Hermione nodded. "That was the beginning of the curse taking effect. He came into contact with the curse by wearing a ring or something, I'm not totally sure on that part. Anyway, the curse was too strong and the best Severus could do was delay the inevitable, giving Dumbledore a few more months to live."
Hermione sat silently after Draco had finished talking, the moment he mentioned the ring she knew he was telling the truth. Hermione knew from Harry that Dumbledore had destroyed a Horcrux belonging to Voldemort last year, the Horcrux in question had been a ring.
"I know you probably don't believe the story, but I've seen Severus's memories and it's true." Draco said, worrying about Hermione's lack of response. "Severus is loyal to Dumbledore and the Order. He only did what Dumbledore asked him so he could save me."
"I believe you." Hermione said quietly. "If you want to visit him before we go to the Order we can."
"Thank you." Draco breathed a huge sigh of relief. He knew that no matter what Severus would protect his mother but he also wanted to visit so he could let his mother know he was safe. "It means a lot to me that you believed me."
"Well for some strange reason, I trust you." Hermione said as she stood up. "If you're willing to trust me with your wand, I'm willing to trust you in regards to Snape."
"Thank you." Draco smiled as he also stood.
"You're welcome." Hermione said. "I'm going for a bath. We can iron out the details of our plan when I come back."
"Sure." Draco replied, slightly disappointed that Hermione was rushing off so quickly. "I'll make some dinner and we can eat as we talk."
"That sounds good." Hermione smiled. "I'll not be long."
As Hermione disappeared up the stairs Draco wandered into the kitchen. As he began magically preparing dinner he wondered how to broach the subject of sleeping arrangements. After the previous night and earlier that morning he really wanted Hermione in his bed again, he was just unsure of how to ask her without sounding like an idiot. Carrying on with dinner Draco vowed that whether he had to sound like an idiot or not he would have Hermione in his bed again that night.