Hermione woke, bleary-eyed and confused, to see bright green eyes staring down at her and a loud rickety noise was echoing in her ears.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked her slowly. She felt his hand on her arm. It took her a moment to realise she was lying down across something soft. Soft and cold. The leather seat of one of the train carriages. She was on the train.

"Narcissa" she whispered. "Narcissa, Draco's mother…she's in trouble, I saw You-Know-Who torturing her" only Harry could hear her voice, and he nodded as if he understood. Then came another boy's voice, louder and more concerned.

"You were screaming" Ron said quietly. "And then, you, sort of….well…collapsed" he finished with a miserable tone. Hermione knew that already. Her head spun as she tried to sit upright. Harry helped her steer herself the right way round in her seat and her foot connected with something large and heavy. Her school trunk. A hissing noise told her that Crookshank's cage was balanced on top.

Narcissa…the amount of trouble she had got herself into for her and Draco! She was trying her best to protect them, but all she was doing was making things worse for herself. She saw her in her mind's eye, crumpled in a terrified heap on the bare floorboards in that dark, dank room, tears streaming down her face, begging Voldermort to kill her instead. The thought made a shiver run down her spine. She didn't deserve such a willing protector. She was Draco's mother. She had every right to try and protect him. But she never thought Narcissa would even think about her. The thought of Draco gave her a sudden, uncomfortable pang. Where was he?

Her head throbbed and she felt dizzy. It had all seemed so real. With a sickened feeling, she remembered that it was real. Everything about her visions was real. And now, after this most recent one, she longed to be with Draco more than anything. She fought back tears as she looked around the carriage. Three white, shocked faces were looking back at her. Ginny looked close to tears. And guilt came back to her again. And the fear. The loneliness, the fright, the desperation…she felt ill. Ill with fright. Ill with worry. Ill with longing.

"What happened?" came Ron's quiet voice over in the corner of the compartment. Hermione turned, her head spinning though she tried to ignore it as much as she could. She didn't know how to answer. How could she explain her visions to them? Ron wouldn't understand. He would think she was going mental. Ginny would just get upset and over-friendly. And Harry…well, Harry would be worried. He knew what these visions felt like. He'd had them himself, last year and the year before last, when Voldermort was attempting to penetrate his mind…

"I'm scared" she gasped tearfully after a while, not really knowing what she was saying. "I'm really, really scared" tears fell down her cream-skinned cheeks. Ginny leaned over to put a hand on her arm. Harry put his own arm around her shoulders. And Ron…Ron didn't do anything. He just sat there, a look of silent sympathy on his face. He was still a bit shell-shocked about the necklace. There it hung, perfectly still on her ample chest, the diamonds glimmering and glittering the bright yellow light from the carriage lamps.

"Hermione, it's okay…it's okay" Ginny said softly. "We'll be back at Hogwarts soon. There'll be teachers there who will look after you, and Malfoy, and…Anielle" she dropped her voice at the last bit, glancing nervously at the carriage door. Hermione cried even harder. Her friends were being so supportive. They truly cared. That was what she valued the most right now. That, and Draco's love. It was the two things she needed if she were to survive this nightmare she was living. She didn't want to end up like poor Narcissa. She didn't want to be forced, scared, into hiding, into doing things she didn't want to do. That wouldn't be her.

And yet, it grew on her with an ever-threatening notion that their ordeal was only just beginning. In light of Narcissa's warning, she had hardly slept at night, not comfortable with being so far away from Anielle and Draco. It bit into her flesh and made her heart beat faster and her skin clammy. If only there was a way of being truly safe.

Hermione wiped her face with the sleeve of her jumper, dried her eyes as best she could. She had to be strong. Hadn't Draco told her that? If they showed weakness, then it would be certain to anyone that they were buckling under Lord Voldermort's intimidation. If that happened, then they didn't have a chance against him. Yes. Draco was right. But it still didn't stop her from becoming a broken soul in his arms, and he in hers. When they were alone, they could let each other know how scared they were. But outside of their own sanctuary…that was different story. Anyone could be spying on them. Especially Pansy Parkinson.

The thought of the sour bitch made Hermione's skin crawl. She had bullied her, teased her, attacked her, nearly killed Draco…she had every right to hate her with every single fibre of her body. She was the only other person in the world, apart from Voldermort, Professor Snape and Professor Trelawney, that she really hated. It was all her fault she lay awake at night, anxious to know if her boyfriend and daughter were still alive and breathing in the next room.

"You know, Hermione, things will be alright…" Harry said. "I know they will. Bad things were always happening to me, weren't they? But I'm still here now" Hermione managed a smile. Ginny gave a broad grin that reached her eyes and further beyond. Hermione was confused. She watched her two friends, trying to make some kind of sense of their expressions. And then, it hit her. Of course. Ginny…Ginny wasn't over Harry. That was the plain notion of it. She still had feelings for him. Hermione held down the desire to laugh at her discovery. A pink blush rose up her cheeks. She hoped Ginny didn't realise she'd caught on.

I wonder if she's told Harry. She thought to herself. I wonder if he knows Ginny still has feelings for him. For a moment, she forgot everything. The sadness and despair she had been feeling melted away. She felt comforted by knowing that there were people in the world who were hurting too. People who had been betrayed, stabbed in the back, crushed. Narcissa. Ginny. She wasn't alone. She wasn't the only one in a horrific turmoil of sadness. Other people were too.

And as long as she felt she wasn't alone in her feelings, the easier she thought it would be to carry on and be as strong as she could. Because Lord Voldermort wasn't backing down any time soon.

A/N: Righto, another chapter finished! Okay, I know it's a bit short, but I wanted this to be a kind of filler chapter until we get to Hogwarts...I hope you enjoyed it. There will be a lot more Draco/Hermione interaction next chapter, as well as a few more surprises...so, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll try not to keep you too long til the next one! Don't forget to review! xx