Hermione Granger was brilliant. Often touted as the brightest witch of her age, she was also known as the most level-headed member of the Golden Trio. She rarely took chances, she tended to follow the rules set forth by the adults around her – which sometimes led to disagreements with Harry and Ron. But she felt that those around her had her best interests at heart, so she often did as she was bid.
All this to say – it was quite unlike her to be digging through Harry's trunk in the boy's dormitory under the cover of darkness. Harry and Ron were still at St. Mungo's, and their roommates weren't in the Gryffindor common room, so Hermione had hoped she'd get at least fifteen minutes.
The first thing she'd done was grab Ron's Deluminator, a gift from Dumbledore when they'd been hunting horcruxes. She was now searching for Harry's invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.
Hermione silently cursed Harry's inability to organize anything. She knew Ginny had put it back. She was running out of time – time she didn't have.
She finally found the cloak buried at the bottom of the trunk. The map was inside one of Harry's textbooks, which she assumed he hadn't opened all year, besides to store things in it. She made a mental note to scold him later.
Finally prepared, Hermione slipped the cloak on and carefully crept out of the dorms. Ginny and Neville were sitting in the common room – oh, thank goodness Neville hadn't decided to go upstairs first.
"Hermione should be sleeping still." Ginny murmured. "I brought her right back after the meeting and she seemed so shell-shocked. She just got in bed and closed her eyes right away."
"Why aren't we sleeping?" Neville asked. "Dean and Seamus said they had a special task from Dumbledore, but I wasn't sought out so I thought I could just stay in bed."
"We're keeping guard." Ginny told him, lowering her voice even more. "Just in case Hermione wakes up and decides to go after Malfoy. Don't you remember what happened last time? When Constantine kidnapped her? We can't afford a repeat. I don't know why they'd want her, but we can't let Hermione get captured again."
"Shouldn't someone be up with her?" Neville asked.
"Lavender is." Ginny agreed. "Parvati is waiting in the hallway outside, and Lavender is inside the room. Just in case."
Hermione bit back a smile. Lavender had been fast asleep when Hermione had snuck away, and Parvati was reading a book. She was so invested in the story, she hadn't even looked up when Hermione crept past her. It probably didn't help that Hermione had cast a Muffliato before she left, too.
"I think Dean and Seamus are watching the front doors." Neville remembered. "Dumbledore must have asked students to keep an eye out all night, just in case Hermione slips past us."
This was good information. Hermione tried to remember all of the places where people could hide on the way out. She was glad she'd grabbed the Marauder's map.
"To be perfectly honest," Neville said. "I can't imagine Hermione sneaking out. Like some wayward rebellious teenager."
"I can." Ginny laughed. "Don't forget, Harry and Ron report to her. Don't you remember she brewed Polyjuice in first – or, I suppose second year, for all of you. She was twelve!"
"I suppose that's true." Neville agreed. He sobered. "I hope she's alright though. I can't imagine how it would be to know that someone you love is in the hands of your worst enemy."
"I know what it's like." Ginny said softly, no doubt thinking of Harry and Voldemort. She was quiet for a minute. "If I wasn't afraid that they would kill Hermione on sight, I would help her."
"What do you think is Dumbledore and the Order's plan? To save Draco, I mean." Neville asked as a distraction.
"I overheard my brother say that Dumbledore is going to go in her place." Ginny replied. "Hermione is valuable, but Dumbledore is Dumbledore. Surely they'll take him in her stead."
Hermione's stomach tightened. Constantine wouldn't. She didn't care about politics, or history, or the value of famous people. Constantine was running the show, and she only cared about the people she knew.
With a deep breath, Hermione shuffled past Ginny and Neville. She carefully cracked the portrait door and slipped outside, with no one the wiser.
With a sigh of relief, Hermione checked the map. Ginny was right. Hogwarts was crawling with students. There were two Ravenclaws at the end of the corridor, in fact, and all the stairs. Dean and Seamus were by the front doors, as were Ernie and Justin and Hannah. All the commonly known ways out were covered by students.
Luckily, the map in her hands gave her access to a few not-so-commonly-known ways out.
It was going to take a while to get to Malfoy Manor without Ginny's broom, but Hermione was confident that she'd reach before high noon. She headed for the first secret passageway, careful not to attract any attention from the students who were trying to keep her safe.