Night had fallen, so they'd set up camp in the first clearing they'd found. Hermione had cast a number of protective wards so they could sleep soundly, and set up the same three bedroom tent the Golden Trio had used during the war.
Hermione sat near the crackling fire as Draco gathered more firewood. She fought against the anxiety that was blooming in her chest. Her mind was continually jumping from one stressful topic to the next. George: was he alright? Had they started to maim him the way they had the other creatures? Why didn't she owl him before she left? Or at least say goodbye? Blaise: Where was he? Was he well? Was he thinking of her? Was he moving on? Werewolves: Were they going to get eaten? It was only Draco and herself, and she had never been much good in a fight. Every werewolf she had ever encountered, with the exception of Remus, had been horrid, foul people. She shuddered as Fenrir Greyback's face flashed through her mind. Filetrius: What did he mean about the creatures of the magical world wanting to tear apart the wizarding world? Is that what the werewolf attack was? Was that just a small move in some greater chess game? Were they on the brink of another war? They hadn't even fully recovered from the last one!
She snapped out of her daze as Draco walked up. He dumped the sticks and logs he had gathered by the fire. The confusion on his face quickly melted into concern."Are you okay? You look… unwell."
He sat down in the folding chair on the other side of her, leaned back just enough to be comfortable, and waited patiently as she tried to decide what the right answer was. "I'm not okay," she began. "I'm worried and I'm stressed, but it's nothing that we can do anything about right now." Her reply was slow, but not in a measured sense. Her gaze was somewhere far away in the flames.
Draco nodded slowly, matching her pace. "I can only imagine what you are feeling."
Hermione shifted, uncrossing and recrossing her legs. "Well, I should probably start with something that may be an immediate problem."
Draco's eyebrows shot up, and he turned slightly in his chair. "Oh?"
"You said you were planning a trip to come here alone? For answers?" She began with a question, hoping it would help organize a direction for her thoughts.
Draco intertwined his fingers in his lap, his gaze finally drifting away from Hermione. "I was, yes."
"What was your plan for when you found the wolves? We are looking for answers, yes. Right now, for George's sake. But in my experience, wolves are rather savage and bloodthirsty." Hermione continued, "How are we going to protect ourselves from them? I'm realizing now just how unprepared we truly are."
Draco smirked. "Yes. Well, rushed plans driven by sheer panic usually do end up that way." He stated, earning a glare. He chuckled. "I think we need to find them first, and then sit back and observe. You're right. If Greyback was any indicator, Werewolves are absolute monsters. Our safety must be of paramount importance. We must treat this as we would any risky research, and tread lightly." He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, fingers still laced. "But know this, Hermione. Your bleeding heart for creatures be damned." He locked his stormy grey eyes with hers. "I will not hesitate to kill any of them, if they try to attack us."
Hermione swallowed dryly. Unable to find the words, she could only nod in reply.
They were already back to trekking through the forest by the time the sun broke the horizon. Hermione was unwilling to waste any time. She was truly getting a peek into just how spoilt Draco was though. Waking him up had been an arduous task, to be kind. After half an hour of trying without success to rouse him gently, she had finally cast aguamenti, and hosed him down. He'd been far less than thrilled with her, which resulted in incessant bickering and a generally foul air about the two.
"Let me see the map. Give it to me!" Draco whined for the hundredth time.
"No! I am the navigator!" Hermione argued back.
"Self proclaimed! Gimme!" He lunged for it, but Hermione snatched it back too quickly. "Oh, come ON! We have been walking for hours! For all I know, we've been going in the wrong direction the entire time!"
Hermione gasped and spun on her heal, insulted. "Excuse me!? What are you implying!?"
"That your little mudblood brain has been holding the map upside down this whole bloody time!" Before the sentence had fully departed his lips, Draco was apologizing. His sweaty face froze in shock when Hermione burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
She wiped tears of mirth away as Draco stared at her, bewildered. "You know, there's a small part of me that's been wondering if you had been replaced by an imposter ever since we reconnected. At least now I know it's really you." She grinned, mischievously as she regained her composure.
Draco shook his head, ashamed. "It's not funny. I'm so sorry. It's an old habit. A very bad habit. I don't know why it came out just then." His dirty cheeks were flushing.
Hermione smiled, kindly. "Because you're tired, and frustrated. Look, I know you. I know you didn't mean it. Your intent wasn't malicious in the way that it was when we were young." She shrugged. "It would be moronic to take offense to that. Some might say it was even endearing." As a peace offering, Hermione handed Draco the map.
He looked it over quickly, glancing around the terrain. "You were right. We should be coming up on the hills over this way, which would be just about where the outer circle lays." Hermione nodded. "The inner circle appears to be directly in the center of a valley. So we will have to cross the hills to get to it. We are going to have to stop messing around though, and really pay attention once we get there. We will be in their territory, and we don't want to get caught off gua- "
A massive boulder crashed through the trees not a meter from where they were standing, followed by the roar of a giant. Without hesitation, the two started sprinting as fast as they could, away from where the boulder had landed. Draco had already whipped out his wand, and thank Merlin for that, because he tackled Hermione and cast a shield charm over them right as an entire tree was thrown on top of them. The tree exploded around the shield, but all Hermione could hear was a giant tearing up the forest, screaming in rage and… pain? She didn't have time to process that. She levitated the largest bits of tree off of them, and they scrambled to regain their footing. Hermione glanced back, looking for their assailant, and realized that the giant wasn't chasing them at all. It wasn't really even aiming for them. He must have been two stories tall, and was just grabbing anything and everything he could, and throwing it in every which direction. She could only see his upper half, but it was clear that he was being attacked by something, or someone. Whatever or whomever that was, she was not going to stick around and find out.
They continued to run until they couldn't run any longer, the sound of the giant's anguish no longer following them. Breathing raggedly, the two stopped in a clearing with a lake as clear as glass. Draco leaned against a nearby tree as he heaved for air, trying to calm himself. Hermione wasn't even trying. She crumpled onto the ground and lay on her back, her chest rising and falling faster than an Augurey's wings. Every ounce of effort and control was spent on trying to will the world to stop spinning.
A few long moments later, Draco's face came into view, upside down, as he stood over her. "How are you feeling?" He asked, still rather breathless.
"I don't know. Are there supposed to be eight of you?" She quipped.
Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, drama queen." He held his hand out to help her up. "Let's go wash our faces, and then get going. I have an odd feeling… I don't think we should stay here."
Hermione wasn't going to argue with that. She nodded, and let him pull her to her feet. They kneeled, side-by-side, at the edge of the lake, and splashed water onto their faces. Draco rubbed extra water on the back of his neck and through his frazzled hair. They stood to leave, simultaneously, and froze as a hauntingly beautiful woman rose from the center of the lake. Long silver white hair hung to her hips, and although she had just risen from the water, she did not seem wet. She wore a sheer shimmering white gown that floated airily around her ankles. At once, her alluring eyes locked onto Draco's, and she opened her mouth, and began singing. Veela, Hermione thought. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Draco, expecting him to jump towards the Veela, or fight in some way to get to her.
Much to both her and the Veela's shock, he merely regarded her, coolly. "Your magic will do nothing to me, siren."
The Veela sneered. "Ah, one of my own. If I weren't so hungry, I'd let you go." The skin around her eyes rippled and darkened, and her sheer white dress turned to black. Sinister storm clouds formed in the sky as Draco clawed for Hermione's arm, dragging her behind him as he began to sprint back into the forest. Lightening suddenly struck to their left, and then to their right, almost as if it were chasing them. A third bolt struck a tree ahead of them, bringing it down upon them. Neither were able to get their wands out in time to shield themselves. It pummeled them both as it fell, knocking them apart. Hermione's vision swam. She saw Draco laying not far from her, fully unconscious. She tried to will herself to move, but couldn't. Her body was in shock from the impact, and would not obey. She saw the Veela transforming into something hideous, with wings and a beak, as it approached them. She could hardly breathe. Suddenly, she heard the Veela shriek, and heard splashing in the lake. Her eyes searched for an answer to the Veela's sudden retreat. She saw a red wolf saunter forward from the treeline. It had to be larger than a bear. Tears fell as her heart went to George, and her family, and Draco beside her. This wasn't a werewolf. Werewolves don't look like real wolves when they change. As the animal stepped over her, she knew it was over. No longer able to fight the loss of consciousness, her eyelids fell shut, and the last thing she heard were bones snapping and cracking beside her.