Here comes the promised action as we (um, Draco and Hermione…) go through with the plan! :) Hope you enjoy it and try to look between your fingers when it comes to grammar and spelling for a bit – me and dad are making joint efforts to salvage our internet connection O,o

It felt like it was the middle of the night when a sharp crack woke Hermione from her rather fitful sleep, the knowledge of what the Weasley twins had done and what it would most likely result in making her too nervous to be able to sleep restfully. Brown eyes snapped open and widened in shock when she saw Umbridge standing over the side of her bed, her hair dishevelled, her mouth in a tight line and her eyes staring wildly, something crazed lurking in their depths. Glancing at the clock on her bedside table and seeing that it was indeed the middle of the night, Hermione knew that this was what they'd been waiting for, what they'd been working for. Still, seeing the woman standing over her with that look in her eyes and both her own and Hermione's wand clutched tightly in her meaty fingers, she couldn't help but wonder if this would really go their way.

"Up," the woman hissed furiously and Hermione quickly threw the covers aside to scramble out of bed, catching sight of Lavender peeking out between the hangings around her bed, no doubt woken by the samecrack that had woken Hermione. Her fellow Gryffindor looked torn, uncertain, then mouthed a silent good luck before disappearing behind the hangings again, hiding away in the safety of her bed.

Hermione swallowed and reached for a robe to pull over her nightgown, quickly stepping into a pair of slippers. The tip of a wand poked the side of her ribcage harshly before she could reach the robe, and her hand stilled mid-air.

"Don't even think about it, you stupid girl," Umbridge hissed, making Hermione stare at her with eyes wide in disbelief. The woman couldn't possibly mean to parade her through the castle in nothing but her nightgown, could she?

"Hurry up!"

The wand poked her harshly again, forcing her to bite back a wince and surely leaving a bruise. Biting her bottom lip to stop herself from saying anything she would regret, Hermione let herself be led from the dorm, down to the thankfully empty common room and through the portrait hole to walk the cold halls of Hogwarts, the chill in the air biting into her bared skin and making her shiver as goose bumps erupted all over her body. She threw her arms around herself, hugging herself tightly in a pitiful attempt to hide her near nakedness and preserve a little warmth.

In Hermione's opinion, they couldn't reach the horrid woman's office fast enough with the castle being so cold and the risk of someone finding them. What if they came across a professor or a prefect patrolling the corridors after curfew? Not only would their plan no doubt be curbed, but she would surely die of shame. Parading through Hogwarts in nothing but slippers and her nightgown with a wand digging into her back had not been accounted for in their plan.

When they finally reached the office, Draco was already there, sitting on a chair and turning to them as they walked in, his silver eyes widening dramatically for effect as he pretended to be surprised that Hermione had been caught with him. He was dressed in a cosy flannel pyjama with slippers and his Slytherin-green night robe but without his wand, his hair slightly tousled and not perfectly in place, even though he'd obviously run his hands through it a few timed to attempt some kind of order.

Then real surprise flittered in those star-like eyes as they travelled down her body, taking in her lack of proper clothing and lingering a bit too long at her breasts, swelled by her arms as she hugged herself, and her bare legs. She felt her face heat in embarrassment and was almost grateful to the woman when Umbridge snapped at her to sit in the chair beside Draco, giving her an excuse to move instead of standing still under the scrutiny of those eyes. Sitting down she dropped her head to have her curly hair hide her flushed face and kept her hands in her lap, wringing them nervously as she felt Draco's lingering gaze.

At least the pink office was warmer then the corridors had been.

The pink toad walked around the desk, keeping a distrustful eye on them before she lifted the cushion to check under it, making sure there wasn't another of the twins' little bombs under it before sitting down, the extra caution making a smirk twitch in the corner of Hermione's mouth before she managed to suppress it.

"I trust the two of you know why you are here," Umbridge began, her voice overly sweet and making Hermione shudder in revulsion.

None of them answered, instead opting to sit in silence, playing the part of rebellious teenagers – or Dumbledore's loyalists.

"Don't think you'll be able to walk away from here without answering tonight," Umbridge warned, her voice positively dripping with syrup. "Of course I understand that you are not to be blamed since you are underage and so impressionable, but if you do not answer my questions I will be forced to expel you both since you have tried to kill a professor and a Ministry official."

Hermione sagged in her seat, adopting the look of someone who'd given up, resigned herself to her destiny, while she saw Draco stiffen by her side.

"Now that we understand each other; tell me who the leader of your group is."

Draco glanced at her in well played hesitance and Hermione immediately shook her head, making Draco keep his mouth closed.

"Are you truly that loyal to the old Headmaster?" Umbridge asked with false sweetness that made Hermione shudder again. Any and all doubts she'd had of if the woman deserved this were shrivelling up and disappearing, leaving her determined and grimly anticipating what was to come.

"Since I already happen to know that your little group is led by Dumbledore, you can tell me who else, apart from the two of you, is participating."

This time it was Draco who shook his head before swallowing loudly.

"I'm sorry, professor," he apologized and Hermione would only imagine how hard it must be for him to press the words over his lips. She knew for sure that she wouldn't have been able to do it. "But… we really can't tell."

"How so, Malfoy?" False understanding and revolting sweetness made Hermione clench her fists in her lap to stop herself from doing anything stupid, to force herself to sit still.

"We've been sworn to secrecy," Draco lied smoothly, sounding truly regretful.

"Oh," Umbridge voiced, clearly disappointed. "And who forced these vows on you? Was it Dumbledore?"

"Yes, professor," Draco whispered, nodding slightly. Never would Hermione understand how he could continue playing his part so well when she felt as if she was close to exploding.

"Well, that is truly regrettable," Umbridge said sweetly, leaning back in her chair, smiling widely. "Surely there must be something you can tell me? After all, you wouldn't want to be expelled, would you now?"

The threat hung in the air and played hesitance flickered in Draco's eyes as his bit his lip, seemingly unsure of what to do. Hermione, however, knew that he was fully aware of what he was to do.

"Not even a bitsie-witsie little thing? No? Well then…"

"Wait," Draco suddenly spoke up, his eyes flickering to Hermione before he locked his gaze onto the desk, not looking directly at the toad before him.

"There is one thing…"

"Yes, Malfoy?" she asked sweetly, leaning forward eagerly, her eyes sparkling.

"There is this thing that we could show you…"

"No, Draco!" Hermione snapped, turning her head slightly to the side to glare at him. It wasn't all that hard when pretending that he was the toad.

"Shut up, you little bint! Let the boy talk!"

Draco took a deep breath, pretending to gather his courage, and told her: "There is this thing in the Forbidden Forest that Dumbledore has had us building…"

"Go on, my boy, tell professor Umbridge," she encouraged sweetly. "What is it that he has made you build?"

"A weapon."

"A weapon? A weapon? Has Dumbledore made you build some kind of weapon that is to be used to overpower the Ministry?"

"Yes, yes," Draco agreed, nodding.

"What kind of weapon is it? What does it do?"

"I…," Draco began, hesitating. "I actually don't know…"

"You don't know?" Umbridge asked, clearly disappointed.

"No, Dumnledore never told us. We just did as he asked, but I'm sure, if you saw it, professor Umbridge, you'd understand."

The little bit of false praise worked like a spell, making the woman sit straighter as her smirk widened, threatening to eat her whole face.

"Show me to it, then! Come on, then, both of you! Show the way!" she ordered, pointing her wand that them and stuffing their wands into the pocket of her pink tweed jacket.

They rose, chairs scraping against the stone floor, the toad posing as their professor gesturing for the to walk before her so that she'd be able to see whatever they did and also keep her wand trained at them, assuring that they wouldn't be able to do a thing. The halls of Hogwarts were silent and dark, their walk illuminated by the lumos shining at the tip of Umbridge's wand, casting long shadows in front of Hermione and Draco as they walked in silence. Portraits with sleeping occupants lined the walls, a few of them waking and grumbling over the harsh light, some watching in silent curiosity when the two students were paraded past them with only their sleepwear to shield them from the chill of the air and a professor watching them with the threat of her wand. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw an elderly wizard slip out of his portrait with a rather alarmed expression, most likely going to alert someone of what was happening. Would it be good for them if one of the professors was alerted, or would it put a stop to their plan? Would it benefit them or ruin everything?

Save for the moving portraits and occasionally shuffling armours, the halls of Hogwarts were empty and Hermione silently wondered where all the patrolling teachers and prefects were when things such as this happened. Reaching the Entrance Hall undetected they stepped out into the cold night, an icy wind creeping in under the little clothing they wore, making Hermione's teeth clatter as she shook like a leaf with only her nightgown to protect her from the cold – an entirely useless protection that made Hermione wonder if she would feel any different walking into the night wearing nothing at all. Perhaps then she would have been embarrassed enough for the heat of her blush to warm her.

Hermione startled when something warm and rather fluffy was suddenly thrown around her shoulders, and she looked up to find Draco draping his night robe around her to give her some warmth, his own body getting better protection by the pyjama he was wearing that at least covered everything, even if it could not have provided much warmth. Brown eyes widened in surprise and gratitude and she stepped closer to the Slytherin walking by her side, his arm coming around her back for his hand to rest in one of the pockets of his robe, consequently hugging Hermione closer to his side. The cold was still biting since they both wore far too little clothing for the season, their slippers soon dirtied and wet with the cold leaking through them to their otherwise bare feet, but sharing warmth made it bearable.

As they were both walking rather quickly to get this over and done with so that they could return to the castle and warm themselves by a sparkling fire, it didn't take long before they walked past the first few trees and entered the darkness of the Forbidden Forest where the sparse light of the moon was hidden by the lush crowns of the old, gnarled trees. Once again the artificial light of the lumos was the only thing lightening their path as they made their way between thorny bushes and over twisting roots seeking to trip them, forcing them to lower their pace.

The forest rustled around them, as alive as ever, watching their every move and waiting for a chance to attack. After four years at Hogwarts the two students were quite familiar with the forest, knowing how it looked and sounded during the dark nights and therefore mentally prepared for it, a benefit Umbridge did not have. Every time a bush rustled, she flinched. An owl hooting in the distance made her gasp and the sound of a howl that travelled for an even grater distance actually made her squeak. If she went to Hogwarts for her magical education, she obviously didn't frequent the Forbidden Forest, and the result was quite satisfactory. Hermione had always found the forest creepy and frightening with the many dangerous creatures that lurked in the darkness just out of sight, and this was the first time she found herself walking through it with a smile on her lips as she let herself enjoy Umbridge's distress.

"Is it much further?" Umbridge asked, her voice a pitch higher then usual, the sweetness lost to her fretfulness.

Hermione searched the surrounding forest with her gaze, looking for things that were familiar, trying to decide if they had walked far enough or if they would have to move further into the depths of the dark forest. There was a clearing to the left, a pit of bared soil streaked by roots that seemed vaguely familiar and Hermione decided to take the chance and hope that they were being overheard.

"We really shouldn't walk any further," she stated, making a point of looking around as if worried that someone would hear them while talking loud enough to ensure that anyone close enough would be able to hear her.

"Any why is that?" Umbridge asked, some of her sweetness returning to her otherwise mocking tone.

"This is centaur territory," Hermione explained, looking for any sign of movement around them only to find the forest perfectly still. "We shouldn't intrude."

"Intrude?" Umbridge repeated in disbelief. "They have no legal claim over this forest so if there is anyone intruding it would be them!"

"Please, professor," Draco mumbled, a nervous and entirely faked undertone to his voice. "Please, lower your voice – what if they hear you?"

"What if they hear me? It is inconsequential if they hear us as those half-breeds should be naught but grateful to us for letting them stay here."

Brown and grey eyes flickered to the side when a twig snapped and Hermione felt excitement, nervousness and worry swirling in her chest, adrenaline pumping thought her veins even as she worried that something would go wrong, that the outcome wouldn't be what they expected it to be. What if the centaurs found out that they were indirectly being used? Such proud creatures surely wouldn't react favourably to that. And what if Umbridge had something up her sleeve, some kind of protection provided by the Ministry?

There was no going back now, thought. They only had themselves to blame for being here and the only way to get back to the castle and out of the cold was to continue without hesitation.

"How can you say something like that?" Hermione spat out, turning on her heal so that she was facing Umbridge, her brown eyes narrowed. "Do you really think yourself better?"

"Of course!" Umbridge answered in a tone that implied Hermione's lacking intelligence, making it sound as if she explained something obvious to a toddler. "I am a witch of a pureblooded family and they are nothing but filthy animals. They should be driven off to some zoo for children to come look at so that they realize their place in this world!"

Hermione took a step closer to the short woman, strengthening to her full length and towering over the witch, managing to look frightening in her nightgown with Draco's robe wrapped around her and her hair in disarray, scratches on her legs where they'd walked through thorny bushes. Her anger was like a roaring lion, bearing its teeth and growling, ready to attack and rip the throat of its enemy.

For this, there was no need to pretend.

"You are the most despicable woman I have ever met and the only one truly filthy here is you! The Ministry has truly fallen for them to employ someone like you and I cannot believe they sent you to Hogwarts when all you do is torture the students and poison their minds!"

"Be quiet!" Umbridge hissed, raising her wand in anger, but Hermione barely noticed the impending danger.

"To actually use forbidden means such as a Blood Quill on your own students when they think differently shows that you care nothing for the students' futures – all you want is to turn them into mindless puppets for the Ministry to use. You think yourself so high and mighty but in reality you're so pathetic I can't even bring myself to feel bad for you! You're nothing but a warped, truly sadistic and power-hungry parasite forcing your own twisted believes onto others!"

"I have warned you, Granger, but you leave me with no choice!"

"What are you going to do, huh? Here's a student who won't just take it so what now? Will you torture me into submission to make me obey?"

"Crucio!"

Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief and then a body tumbled into her side, sending her sprawling to the ground as a piercing scream filled the air, a tortured sound of unbelievable pain. She twisted around on the ground to see Draco convulsing, his limbs bending in ways that were not supposed to be possible, an agonized scream ripping itself from his throat as his eyes were wide and bulging. Then a big, brown body rushed out from between the trees and collided with the smaller form of Umbridge who gave a high-pitched yelp as she was ploughed to the ground, her wand falling uselessly from her hand and snapping under the heavy hove of a centaur. The spell was broken and Draco's body fell limp, his breast heaving as he panted for breath, sweat glistering on his forehead and dirt filling his hair, silver eyes squeezed shut and his fingers twitching.

"Draco," Hermione breathed breathlessly and crawled over to him to kneel by his side and throw her arms around his shivering frame, holding him close and pressing her cheek against his to hear his breath against her ear. He groaned wearily and she hushed him while pressing him closer still, bringing a hand up to comb through his pale hair.

She wanted to apologize for baiting Umbridge into using the cruciatus curse, for being unable to defend herself so that Draco had to throw himself before the curse and suffer the pain meant for her. However, she could tell it would be wrong, understood that it was not an apology Draco wanted right now, and so she settled for the next thing that came to mind.

"Thank you," she mumbled into his hair and squeezed him a bit harder for emphasis.

Thank you for saving me from having to endure that pain.

Thank you for protecting me even though you have no obligation to do so.

Thank you for caring.

"Are the two of you alright?" a deep voice asked from above and Hermione looked up to see a centaur standing close, watching them and holding a pair of wands in one hand.

Behind him, Hermione could see a centaur with the lower body of a muscular brown horse holding Umbridge by the ankle and dragging her off into the bushes and out of sight, her shrieks and protest growing muffled by distance until they fell silent.

"Yes," she answered the centaur before them, letting a wavering smile of relief onto her lips. "At least we will be," she added as a second thought when Draco uttered a weak sound of protest.

"Good, then I presuppose that you will be able to make your way back to Hogwarts without assistance?" the centaur inquired, clearly hoping that they'd say yes and reminding Hermione of that fact that centaurs resented the notion of carrying humans on their backs like horses.

"Yes, I think so," Hermione hastily assured, her brown eyes straying towards the wands held in the centaur's hand. "Are those…?"

The centaur looked down at the wands and then held them out towards Hermione with a slight nod. "They fell out of a pocket, and it seemed fairly likely that they belong to you."

"Yes, they do," Hermione answered, relief and gratitude in her voice as she took the offered wands and returned Draco's to his waiting hand. "And thank you so much for saving us, I know you don't like to get involved with humans so-"

"Your gratitude is accepted," the centaur cut her off in a grave tone. "However, there is no need for you to apologize as what happened here was obviously out of your hands, and we have therefore no need to blame you. On the contrary, we will be glad to take care of a woman of such beliefs who is capable of harming foals of her own kind like that."

Hermione swallowed and nodded, hoping that the centaurs would never find out that their plan from the very beginning had been to be saved by them, even thought torture under the cruciatus had not been part of that plan.

A gruff voice sounded from behind the surrounding trees, and even though Hermione couldn't make out any words it had to have said something because the centaur before them nodded towards the voice before turning to them again.

"I will leave you now," he stated as means of farewell, and with that he left them to the thunder of hooves against the soil.

Silence settled over them as they sat still on the cold ground surrounded by bushes, mighty tree trunks and darkness, the crowns of the trees moving slightly overhead and the leaves whispering against each other. Several minutes passed without either of them trying to move as they were both thinking of what had happened, realizing that their plan had worked out in the end and what danger they had put themselves into. The feeling of having a bucket of cold water dumped over your head filled Hermione as she realized how close it had been to going terribly wrong, the feeling mixing with relief that it was over, exhilaration that they had succeeded in getting rid of the toad and a feeling of emptiness as if she wasn't sure of what to do now.

"Help me up?" Draco asked silently and she nodded, putting an arm around him to help him stand and letting her arm stay in place as they slowly started making their way back, retracting their earlier steps towards the castle of Hogwarts.

The sun was peeking over the horizon when they left the last trees behind them and stepped out onto the castle grounds, the rays of sunshine painting the underside of the clouds cluttering the sky in lightsome hues of pink, yellow and orange with darker edges of deep red and purple. A kind of silent agreement made them stop their tired staggering and stay for a moment to watch the display of nature's wonders even though they were exhausted, cold and downright filthy. They stood side by side, appreciating the beauty of life, a life they had been allowed to partake in for some time more before death called for them. Side by side they stood, leaning against each other out of exhaustion and to seek the comfort of closeness, their hands clutched tightly together between them.

"Is that McGonagall?" Draco asked after a moment and Hermione turned her head to look in the direction of his gaze, seeing the form a woman with dark robes, pointy hat and a tartan shawl over her shoulders hurrying towards them.

"I guess we've been found," Hermione answered as they slowly started walking to meet with the woman.

"Oh, dear, you poor children!" McGonagall exclaimed when she reached them, her hat slightly askew on her head. "What has that wretched woman done to you?"

She wasted no time in leading them back to the castle and more specifically to the hospital wing, picking leaved and twigs from them and spelling away dirt as they went. Furious activity that they were both too tired to truly register broke out as soon as they entered the hospital wing, and Hermione immediately found herself pushed onto a bed, her dirty and torn clothes transfigured into a set of the striped infirmary pyjama, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a cup of hot cocoa in her hands for warmth. In the bed beside hers, Draco was given the same treatment, a rather distant look in his eyes and his body slumped, showing how tired he truly was. Hermione didn't feel any better. The rush of adrenaline had worn off on their walk back through the forest, the blazing fire of anger having died when the centaurs had saved them and she'd realized that they'd made it. At that moment, she'd felt strangely detached even from her own feelings, but that detachment, too, had left her and the cold and exhaustion had announced their presence with a vengeance. Letting her body relax back against the pillows, she yawned hugely and felt her eyelids growing heavy as she sipped from the cup that warmed her hands, the cocoa warming her insides.

Turning her head to the side, she saw Draco huddled up in his blanket, his hair still disorderly and seemingly enjoying the rare moment of freedom from whatever spells normally kept it in check. His grey eyes stared intently into the cocoa as if he expected the answers to all of his questions to reside in the bottom of the cup and then he shifted, blinked and looked up to see Hermione with a small, tired smile on his lips, a smile that must have been infectious because she could feel her own lips curling in an answering, equally tired smile.

Their peaceful moment was interrupted when the doors to the hospital wing opened to admit the headmaster of Hogwarts, dressed in a maroon coloured robe with suns and stars shining in gold embroidery and his blue eyes twinkling behind the half-moon spectacles. A dark form hovered by Dumbledore's shoulder before stepping aside and revealing itself as Snape, the trademark scowl in place as black eyes regarded them, possibly searching for unattended injuries. With the headmaster and their respective heads of houses, the two teens exchanged a look of silent communication, both of them too tired to do anything but sleep yet they knew that they had no choice but to tell them what had happened – or, rather, tell them what they wanted them to think had happened.

"Ah, Mrs Granger, Mr Malfoy, it is a true relief to have the both of you back within the castle walls! I trust Poppy has patched you up?" Dumbledore greeted them merrily, not at all displaying the seriousness and regret that would fit the situation.

"Do try to keep this short, headmaster, the children need all the rest they can get," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, all the while waving her wand over Hermione, healing cuts and sealing scratches efficiently with obvious routine before she went over to Draco.

"Oh," Dumbledore mumbled, looking a bit stumped and suddenly seeming to have lost track of what he had been meaning to say now that he couldn't try to get the information he wanted in the roundabout way he usually utilised.

"We would like an explanation to what has happened, even thought the headmaster seems unable to remember that when without his lemon drops," Snape stated rather coldly, thought he seemed to be slightly amused by the headmaster's temporary speechlessness.

"Yes, you really had us all worried!" McGonagall exclaimed where she stood by Hermione's bed, leaving no doubt as to which student belonged to her. "We did not know what to believe when Dumbledore called us to his office after having been warned by that portrait, and to hear from your respective dorm mates that Umbridge had dragged you out of bed without even letting you dress properly made us truly concerned for your safety."

Hermione smiled slightly, warmed by the fact that the strict transfiguration professor obviously cared for them, and she had to stop herself from chuckling when she saw Snape's dark gaze, his expression making it look as if he wanted to tell McGonagall to speak for herself and not involve him in her sentimentality.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione collected her thoughts to make sure she told them the right things. She wouldn't actually have to lie all that much, just tell them some things and leave some parts out to tweak the truth a bit here and there, but she was still worried that either of them might realize that she wasn't telling the whole truth. Releasing the breath she'd been holding in a whoosh of air, she turned to McGonagall, feeling the strict woman would be the most likely to believe them since she already disliked Umbridge. Of course Snape would have been a choice, but it would have seemed strange for her, a Gryffindor who'd always hated the greasy bat, to suddenly confide in him.

"As you know, Umbridge collected me from my dorm," she began with slight uncertainty to her voice, gaining an encouraging nod from McGonagall to continue. "She led me to her office where Draco was already waiting, and started accusing us of having tried to murder her. She tried to make us confess and threatened to expel us, but there really wasn't anything we could tell her since we had no idea of what she was on about."

"Is that true, Draco?" Snape interrupted, black eyes locked onto the blonde sitting in the bed beside Hermione's, sipping on his hot cocoa. He nodded and lowered the cup before turning to meet the black glare.

"It is as Hermione sais," he answered tiredly, the after-effects of the curse and the happenings of the night taking their toll. Even in spite of that, the lie came smoothly. "I really don't know what made her think that we'd tried to kill her, but she really didn't like it when we didn't confess. She started talking about discipline and such and ordered us to walk to the Forbidden Forest. There was nothing we could do but to do as she told us to since she kept her wand pointed at us and had already taken our wands."

"Whatever would she want to do in the Forbidden Forest?" McGonagall asked with a frown.

Hermione hesitated and Draco was quick to cut in in her place.

"I'm not sure, she didn't tell us," he said evenly, turning away from Snape to gaze into his cocoa again.

"She walked us deep into the forest and, well, I've been in the Forbidden Forest before…," Hermione continued, admitting her rule breaking sheepishly and gaining a stern look from McGonagall. "… so I thought I recognized the area we were in and warned Umbridge that there might be centaurs around. She… didn't seem to care. Told us that they, the centaurs, are inferior creatures and so on, so I warned her that they might hear us but she just said more horrid things, and I started arguing back…"

MvGonagall looked as if she didn't know if she should look disapproving, exasperated or proud, and therefore settled for a tired sigh. Snape on the other hand, sneered at the obvious display of Gryffindor characteristics while Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled madly, the story seemingly pleasing him even thought Hermione couldn't figure out why it would.

"What then?" McGonagall asked tiredly.

Hermione hesitated, chewing her bottom lip while glancing at Draco, wondering if they should tell about the cruciatus. Telling would most likely benefit them, but then again, it hadn't been in the plan and therefore they hadn't made room for it in their explanation.

"It appears Umbridge lost her patience and with it her last shred of morality," Draco answered, his voice hard and filled with dislike. "She aimed the cruciatus curse at Hermione."

"What?" McGonagall exclaimed, clearly shocked by the revelation as Madam Pomfrey raised her wand, ready to get to work on her patient and cure all and any possible lingering discomfort.

"I'm fine!" Hermione shouted, gesturing towards Draco. "He saved me from the unforgivable but got hit by it instead!"

Pomfrey's wand immediately turned to the blonde instead, causing him to sigh heavily over the fussing. He was tired, exhausted, but no after-effects except for the bad memory and nightmare material remained after the curse, and both he and Hermione knew it so surely the matron of the Hospital Wing had to know so as well – this knowledge, however, did not seem to deter her.

"And how, prey tell, did two wandless children escape an experienced witch in possession of her wand?" Snape drawled, his eyes narrowed. Snide comments aside, it was obvious that he cared for the young Malfoy and did not enjoy seeing him harmed.

"The centaurs saved us," Hermione answered. "They'd heard Umbridge insult them, so they took her when she'd cast the unforgivable. Her wand was snapped and then she was dragged further into the forest, thought I don't know where or what they were going to do with her. Then a centaur gave our wands back and made sure we could make it back on our own."

"I do believe we should contact the Ministry, Minerva," Dumbledore intoned, a slight frown upon his wrinkled features, clearly dismayed that one of the unforgivables had been used on one of his students – by one of the professors, none the less. "This is no doubt a matter for the Aurors as I am sure they will like to apprehend Dolores Umbridge as soon as she is found. They are also likely to wish to talk to you of the matter, Mrs Granger and Mr Malfoy, to get your statements of the happenings, but whatever they say I do believe that they can wait for a later time as Poppy has made it clear that you are both in need of rest."

Madam Pomfrey nodded sternly and shooed the professors out of her domain before relieving her charges of their now empty cups and disappearing with them for a moment before returning with two potion vials. Making sure that they were comfortable, she fluffed pillows and tucked them in before giving them a vial each, explaining that they held Dreamless Sleep that would ensure they got their much needed rest without being disturbed. Hermione glanced at Draco, the lid of her vial to her lips, and the blonde toasted her with a tired smile, a toast she returned before they both downed their potion.

The Hospital Wing lay silent around them with its beds, hangings and walls all in white, the morning sun filling the room with an almost golden light. The two teens slept peacefully in their respective beds, slight smiles on their lips. It had been dangerous and it had gone wrong, but in the end, they had made it. They had succeeded.

Together.

Gah, I've started writing the next chapter, and for some reason, it's fucking hard to write! Shit just doesn't want to appear in black on white! :C Oh, well, I'll just have to continue trying, but be warned: next chapter might end up being LATE… :/