I smelt her before I saw her. Granger. That vanilla scent of hers, it taunted me for years in Hogwarts. The smell was everywhere, you would think she would have grown out of using this soap but no apparently not. Maybe she was trying to keep one part of her the same even if it was how she smelt.
The Granger I had interacted with the last few weeks was no longer the nerdy bookworm who always thought she knew it all. No this Granger was dark and dangerous. She was unpredictable, possibly a werewolf and dare I say intriguing. You could feel the darkness seeping out of her, wrapping itself around her like a cloak.
"Mudblood gracing me with your presence I see. It has been a few days. I thought you were maybe dead. Pity you are still here." She narrowed her eyes at me. So much fire behind them.
"Mind you I guess you will have needed your rest." Her body language changed ever so slightly, her body stiffening. If I hadn't been trained for reading people I would have missed it.
"Yes sounded like you got a good fucking the other day. Next time you maybe want to put up a silencing spell up. I for one do not want to hear you mudblood getting your rocks off. The fact someone would want to fuck you is just absurd and quite frankly repulsive. Mixing with YOUR kind." The tension never left her body. She was hiding something.
"Oh Malfoy don't be jealous, it is very unbecoming of you. What would your father say?" She fucking smirked at me.
"Trust me Granger I would rather chop my dick off than put it anywhere near that disgusting cunt of yours."
"That could be arranged, as you know I am quite handy with a knife. How is daddy Lucius these days? I hope he is not missing me too much." She gave me a sassy pout. Oh this woman was dead once I was out of here. I would wrap my hands around that throat of hers and squeeze until she was lifeless in my hands.
She walked over and bent down so we were face to face, that damn scent wrapping itself around me.
"Your piece of shit father deserved so much more than what he got. But no matter we have got his precious son, his only heir. I am sure that is just eating away at him - mind you knowing Lucius he is probably making a new heir as we speak. How is your mother these days?" I spat at her hitting her on the cheek. Her smile grew wider as she wiped her cheek.
"Tsk tsk Malfoy what would your mother think? Spitting at a woman like that. Not very pureblood of you now. I am sure she raised you better than that."
She walked behind me and her hand wrapped around my throat her nails digging into my skin. Her breath tickling my ear.
"Oh yes that's right mother dearest is dead isn't she." She laughed and then abruptly stopped.
A strange tingling sensation flew down my neck and through out my body. She gasped and let go of me and walked away out the cell door.
.
What, what was that? I felt a strange tingling sensation throughout my body when I touched Malfoy. I wasn't even sure why I touched him. One minute I was goading him and the next I had my hand wrapped around his throat.
Because we need him. He belongs with us. He is ours.
I certainly do not need him. The only thing I need from him was to tell us where Tom was, what his plans were so that we could finish this once and for all.
Harry had died at the battle of Hogwarts, he had tried and failed. We destroyed all the horcruxes every last one of them and all he had to do was kill Voldemort but he'd failed and now Voldemort was in hiding. We heard he was too weak, heard he was dead, heard he had trained another to take his place but who knows what was real and what was not but Malfoy would know.
"Granger you are needed in the war room pronto." Dean snapped me back to reality. I nodded and made my way to what would prove to be an eventful meeting.
.
"We have it on good authority that we are to be attacked at dawn." Lupin gripped the table scattered with plans and details his lank hair flopping over his face.
"Attacked - what do you mean attacked?" Ron spluttered.
"Exactly what it means Ron! Death Eaters are coming, you know the people that want us all dead." I glared at Ron.
"So what? What do we do now?" Katie Bell threw out into the room.
"We need to leave obviously." Seamus replied coldly.
"I say we kill Malfoy and leave him as a gift for whoever comes for us." Dean sneered.
A low growl left my throat. Lupin looked at me. Then his eyes went wide, very wide.
"There shall be no killing today. Everyone pack up your things and leave in your groups as planned. Remember no apparating, they can trace us so use other means but Do. Not. Apparate!" Everyone nodded and proceeded to file out.
"Granger stay behind please." I watched as everyone filed out and all that was left was Lupin, Tonks and I.
"When did you bond?" His intense green eyes staring at me.
"Bond? What do you mean bond? Bond with who? I mean Fred and I have been having some fun but I would not say we have bonded it is more - convenience." I did not miss the way Tonks looked at Lupin.
"She does not know Remus. We - we need to explain to her." Tonks looked warily between us.
"Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" I looked at the two of them. Lupin swiped his hand down his face and sighed deeply.
"As a werewolf we are pack animals, quite similar to wolves really. You and I are a pack. We howl to each other when we are in our wolf form. Tonks here is part of the pack. She's my bondmate." Bond - mate.
"What the fuck is a bondmate?" I didn't like where this was going.
"A bondmate is someone who your wolf bonds too, feels a deep connection too. Who they love and protect above all others." I did not miss how Lupin looked at Tonks with affection.
"And how - how did this bond happen?" I gestured between the two of them.
"When Remus first kissed me. I felt a strange tingling sensation through my body and so did Remus." My eyes widened. Oh no, no no no. Would - could fait really be that cruel?
"You felt it Hermione? With who? Who did you feel it with?" I was going to be sick, why did my throat feel so tight all of a sudden.
Tell them. Tell them who our bondmate is. We must protect what is ours.
"Mal- Malfoy." This could not be happening. I despise him. Loath him. Hate him with every fibre of my being. I wanted him fucking dead. I wanted to watch the blood drip out of him as he gasped for breath.
"FUCK! This can't be - no I can't - not with him, he is a - he is a monster."
But so are we.
"You are bonded, well not bonded bonded but your wolf - D - Draco is your bondmate?" Tonks looked at me worry flashing over her face.
"This changes everything Remus. We - they - she has to take him with her. We can't leave him here." Remus snapped his head up looking at me.
"Draco needs to go with you. The two of you need to get out of here and make your way to base camp. You will need to go on foot. It is too dangerous to apparate or fly. We don't know if he is being tracked. But that gives you time Hermione. Time to bring him round, to make him see that we aren't the enemy Hermione."
"I do not want to bring him with me -"
We need him.
"Stop talking to me." I rubbed my temples.
"Your wolf, is communicating with you? Isn't she?" Lupin came round and looked at me.
"Is this the first time she has spoken to you?" So much concern in his eyes.
"Yes, yes and she won't shut up. She keeps saying we need him - Malfoy."
"You must listen to her Hermione. She is part of you now."
"So what you are telling me is that I need to take Malfoy with me to base camp. You do realise he will kill me the first chance he gets. If he does not kill me, I will kill him."
No we will not.
Remus looked at me.
"We can preform a linking spell, it will tie you both together. One cannot kill the other." I gawked at him, linked to Draco Malfoy. Quite frankly I could not think of anything worse.
"Yes because being bonded is not bad enough! You want me to link myself to him? To link myself to Draco Fucking Malfoy!" I screeched.
Tonks came and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"You don't have a choice Hermione, you need to do this and do it now."
.
Something was going on. There was lots of people going back and forth but I couldn't tell what. All of a sudden the door swung open and in she walked the mudblood bitch - Granger. I looked behind her and saw Remus Lupin standing there. Eyes cold. He had aged quite a bit since I last saw him, war will do that to a person.
"Up now and give me your hands." She looked at me uneasily.
"I am not touching you mudblood." She rolled her eyes and took out her wand.
"Incarcerous" black ropes twisted and wound there way up my legs and across my arms making my hands easy for her to place her own in mine.
"Granger, get your dirty mudblood hands off of me or -" I stopped and stared. Intricate white ropes came out of Lupins wand they twirled and snaked there way around mine and Grangers hands essentially joining the two together. Once the white ropes disappeared Granger opened her hazel eyes and stared into my grey eyes.
"We are now linked together, you cannot kill me and I cannot kill you. The only way the link can be broken is when Remus breaks it. Now I suggest you play along nicely Malfoy we have got a long trip ahead of us and I want to get going soon."
Lupin left the cell with a nod to Granger and the ropes around me vanished. I moved my arms and hands trying to lessen the pain from being wound up so tight.
"Get going? You are fucking joking. Why would I go with a filthy mudblood cunt like you." Granger whirled round and had her wand pointed at my throat.
"Look Malfoy I do not want you with me either but I have been tasked to take you so either you come with me willingly or I will do it my way and trust me my way will be painful for you but I will get great satisfaction."
"You are all talk Granger, you would not have the gumption to do anything to me." A creepy smile spread across her face. For a split second she reminded me of Bellatrix.
"Really Malfoy, how is daddy? Have you forgotten how I left him last time we met? There is a reason for you to be linked to me Malfoy. If you weren't - well lets just say Lucius would be getting you back in pieces." I stared at her. She had truly lost her marbles, this woman in front of him was not the uptight, know it all witch that I had bullied in the halls of Hogwarts. No she was dark, dangerous and unpredictable.
"Follow me, you can get cleaned up before we leave. I refuse to share a tent with you smelling like something that came out a trolls arse." She walked out the cell. Draco followed behind her. From what he could tell they were in some sort of underground bunker. Why were they leaving and why was she tasked in taking him?
.
Draco leaned against the wall, the water cascading down his body. It felt - bloody marvellous. The hot water soothed his aching muscles and he enjoyed the bite of the water as it seeped into his wounds. Pain and pleasure rolled into one. Draco's favourite.
He clicked open the bottle of soap and sniffed, a woody citrus smell. It smelt heavenly. He half expected Granger to give him some girly shit but no she handed him something manly and told him to get on with it and left.
Pouring it into his large hands he rubbed the soap into his skin, feeling his muscles and abs under his fingers as he worked the heavenly scent into his skin. He skimmed over the large bruise on his ribs, thanks to Granger. He worked his way down his body, as he washed one leg and another something caught his eye at the other side of the showers.
He strode across the bathroom in all his naked glory, soap and water running down his body. He picked up a tile, a broken sharp piece of tile and ran his thumb over the sharp edge. This could come in very handy. He knew he could not kill Granger but he could injure her enough to escape, he just had to pick the right moment to strike.
The door swung open and Granger stood in the doorway. Their eyes locked onto each other. She broke eye contact looking at the tile he was still holding in his hand.
"Planning on using that on me Malfoy?" She quirked her brow. "Thinking of all the ways you can hurt me but not kill me?" She put down a pile of clothes on the counter top, he noticed his rings sitting on top but no wand, he hadn't expected he would get his wand back.
Granger walked over to him. Her hazel eyes staring into his grey ones, he noticed a glint in her hand and and realised it was her knife.
She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, never taking her eyes off him and she ran the blade along her arm. Neither of them flinched as blood ran down her arm creating a pattern against her pale skin, it began to drip from her arm onto the ground. Both of them stood in silence as they watched it splash onto the ground mixing with the water beneath them.
"Look at your arm Malfoy." Draco looked down at his own arm and an identical cut just beside his dark mark had appeared. He watched as his blood ran off his own arm and mixed with her blood on the ground. You could not tell whose blood was whose. They looked the same. Identical. Her blood maybe inferior to his but at that moment you could not tell which was which.
She stepped closer and held the knife to his throat he could feel the cool metal against his hot skin. She never broke eye contact, never glanced down at his very naked body. No she was unfazed by him, unfazed about how naked he was.
"Just remember whatever you do to me happens to you too. So if you are planning on stabbing me-" she glanced at the tile, "with that just remember it will happen to you too." With that she turned and left.
Draco stood there naked and bleeding staring at their blood on the ground.
.
Hermione stood outside the bathroom waiting for Malfoy to be finished.
"Is it true? Hermione? Is it true you are going with him to base camp?" Fred stood staring at her.
"Hmmm- Y-yes Lupin decided it should be me that takes him." Fred snorted.
"What a fucking stupid idea that was. Does he not realise Malfoy will try and kill you and that's if you haven't killed him first. I don't like it Hermione." Fred stepped forward and cupped her cheek. She knew what he was doing was a term of endearment but it felt odd, weird - wrong.
"Hermione what happened to your arm?" He grabbed her arm and pulled up the sleeve where the blood had soaked through.
"Did he do this to you? Did he -." At that moment Malfoy came out the bathroom, as quick as a flash Fred had him up against the wall with his arm over his throat.
"You piece of shit, fuck keeping you alive." Fred took out his wand and held it to Draco's throat.
"FRED! LET. HIM. GO." Hermione all but growled at him. Fred turned and his eyes went wide.
"Hermione you - you can't be serious. You were all for killing him not a few days ago." He still had Draco pinned to the wall.
"Lupin linked us together, if you kill him I will die too. Put him down - NOW." Fred let go of Draco. His wand still at his throat.
"You might be linked to her just now but once you are unlinked you will get what is coming to you Malfoy, that is a promise." Fred lowered his wand.
Fred turned to Hermione and brushed his lips against hers. "Do not die darling, I will be waiting for you." With that Fred disappeared down the corridor.
"See your taste in boyfriends has not improved Granger, just gone from one Weasley to another." Hermione whirled round and glared at Malfoy.
"Fuck off Malfoy, come on we have got supplies to get and then we are going."
.
Dull emerald green eyes stared at her, a flash of green was all it took and her best friend was dead. A spell wizzed past her head, how - this was not how it was meant to be. They were supposed to win. They were the good guys. A rage came roaring through her body. She picked up her wand and shot her first unforgivable curse.
"Avada Kedavra!"