A/N: Chapter 22!
Disclaimer: I own nothing recognized from the Harry Potter series.
Chapter 22 – Breaking In
Hermione sat by the window, a warm breeze caressing her hair, as she gazed unseeingly at the sea. The safe house was small, and simply furnished, except for a few lavish additions that Draco had not been able to resist. This room had been one of them. Bookshelves lined the walls and plush couches rested near the unused fire place. Hermione preferred to sit on the bench lining the window, looking out at the blue sky and crystal waters that defied the war surrounding them.
The safe house was a small seaside cottage. The front door opened right into the kitchen and main room. Two doors led off from there, one to their bedroom and the other to the
sitting room that had become Hermione's favourite spot. Draco often joined her there to read or practice chess, and answered Hermione's endless questions about magical babies and pregnancy.
A few days after her first interrogation, Draco returned with a stack of books on pregnancy. Hermione was touched to find that he had bought both Wizard and Muggle books. Hermione was tempted to ask where he had found them, but decided against it. His trips away from the safe house had become a tense topic between them, even though Hermione knew it was necessary for him to leave for food and supplies. She was both anxious for him when he left, and jealous that he got to escape their small abode, if only for a few hours. She, on the other hand, was not to leave given her condition. They had argued about it, and Hermione had almost won when she pointed out that she would need more regular medical attention, but the next day Draco had brought a woman to the cottage (whom Hermione almost hexed) and announced that she would be responsible for Hermione's prenatal care.
Emilie, Hermione quickly learned, was a muggle and a doctor from Belgium. After discussing both her medical history and their birthing options, a conversation Draco sat through stoically, Emilie briskly shooed him from the room so she could do a physical examination.
"Better," Emilie said, once he had left. "Now, let's see you." She spoke English well enough, through her heavy dutch accent, and Hermione followed her instructions as she lead her through a series of tests, chatting amicably.
Hermione learned that Emilie had two children of her own, and husband in Brussels where she lived. She had been in France on a medical conference, no doubt how Draco had found her. Hermione drew as much information as she could, making sure that she was trustworthy, even though she knew Draco would likely wipe her memory.
"You are young, to be a mother," Emilie noted cautiously as she tested Hermione's blood pressure, "but you seem beyond your years." Hermione merely nodded. How could she explain that she was eighteen and not at all prepared to be a mother. Or that she was involved in a war that spanned decades and had left her best friend an orphan. For the first time, Hermione had found herself in a situation that no number of books could prepare her for, and she was afraid. Afraid for her family, and afraid for the little life growing inside her. Scared that her child would grow up under the tyranny of Voldemort… or that it wouldn't get the chance to grow up at all.
"I'm sorry," Emilie said, "my questions are rude. Your body is very tense. Not good for a baby." Hermione was about to snap at her that she would be tense too, but the words froze in her throat as Emilie began kneading the tight shoulders and moving her expert hands across Hermione's body, taking special care around the small bump protruding from her belly.
As she was packing up, Emilie was studiously avoiding her eye. So Hermione laid a hand on the woman's arm, stalling her efficient movements. "Emilie, you can speak freely here," she said, hoping to convey that her silence had not meant to offend.
"He," Emilie said, pausing to glance at the door, "he treats you good?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, her heart softening knowing the lengths Draco had gone to protect her, even if she didn't always agree with him.
"You must be good to each other," Emilie said softly as she left, "that's how you be good for the baby." Hermione pondered that for a long time, while Draco returned Emilie to the medical conference at which she was supposed to be. It was not the advice she had expected to get, and she wondered if she was as good to Draco as he was to her.
Hermione lie awake listening to the sound of waves crashing in the distance, tossing and turning. She heard the door open, and clutched her wand turning toward the door, lowering it when Draco appeared, relief flooding her veins.
"Expecting someone?" Draco quipped, eyeing her wand.
"Constance vigilance," Hermione replied, not bothering to explain when he raised him eyebrows at her. He crawled into bed next to her, and Hermione surprised them both when she turned to wrap her arms around him, she felt more than heard his slight intake of breath before returning her embrace, nuzzling his head into her hair. Hermione pulled herself up, dragging her body against his and holding his gaze as she pressed her lips to his neck and jaw. His hands brushed across her cheekbones as he pulled her lips to his. Hermione felt her stomach quiver, and she pulled Draco closer, slipping her fingers through his silky hair.
His tongue slid into her mouth, twining with hers, and she moaned in protest when he pulled away, only to sigh as he planted open mouthed kisses down her chest lingering on her stomach. It was a habit he had developed since they found out she was carrying their baby.
"Draco," she whispered, pulling at his arms, so that he moved up to her mouth once more.
His hand lingered on her belly, and Hermione felt her chest tighten. She clung to Draco tighter, unable to sort through her complicated emotions. Their relationship had grown to be so much more than she had ever imagined, and she knew the lengths to which he would go to protect them and their little family. There were so many people who wanted to hurt them, maybe it was time for them to be good to each other.
Hermione flipped another page of Legilimency: Mind over Matter. Her pregnancy had stopped all of her and Draco's physical training, but she was still working on Legilmency and getting better every day. She glanced at the door wondering when Draco would return. She was doing her best to pretend everything was okay, but being holed up in the cottage was starting to feel like hiding. She knew they needed to protect their baby, but she was plagued by nightmares of raising her son or daughter under Voldemort's reign.
She heard the lock on the door click as Draco slipped back into the cottage, putting the defenses back up as he did so. He gave her a weary smile as he settled down into the seat next to her.
"No legilimency today," he said, as he stretched back and closed his eyes, a small smile still on his features. "You'd be into all my thoughts before I could stop you. You wiped me out again last night."
Hermione blushed, and then bristled at his contentment. "It's not as if we have anything productive to do here," she replied waspishly. She didn't blame Draco for their situation, but she could not understand how he could be so happy about it. They were in hiding, not on vacation! His eyes opened, and she felt a chill from the concentrated blankness in his expression.
"No there isn't," he replied in a measured tone. "We are going to have a baby. A baby, that if anyone found about, would likely be murdered before it could take its first breath. Sometimes I wonder how you so easily forget that there are other lives at stake here."
"I know that!" Hermione shouted, tears welling in her eyes in her anger. "I would never let anything happen to our baby, Draco. You know that!" She stood, slamming her book shut in the process.
"This is killing me," she went on, before he could say a word. "We have finally gotten away from Voldemort, and I still have no idea where Harry and Ron are…if they are dead, or hurt, or any closer to bringing all of this to an end. I am supposed to be a part of this. I need to stop him because everything he stands for alienates people like me. Mudbloods, and Halfbloods! That's what our baby will be. I can't bring a child into a world like that!"
"We can't stop him if we are dead," Draco replied angrily. "We don't even know where to begin searching for Potter, and are you so sure he would want you fighting with him in your condition." Hermione ignored that. Of course Harry would not want her to fight, he always thought he could save the world on his own.
"But how long do we wait here?" Hermione said. "You seem perfectly happy to turn your back on everything else." Draco stood, towering over her, anger replacing his cool demeanor.
"A Malfoy doesn't turn his back on his family," he spat, and turned towards the door.
"No, they just run," Hermione replied. "Are you going to run from me? From our baby?"
Draco stopped dead, hearing the catch in her voice. His hand gripped the door handle so tightly that his fingers were white. The cottage was silent for a few moments, apart from the sound of Draco's heavy breathing. Finally, he released his grip on the handle and turned back to her.
"You accuse me of wanting to run, but it seems to me that you are the one who can't wait to get out of this hideout- and our marriage," he said, moving closer to her as he spoke. "I don't blame you. I know you want to stop Voldemort. I don't want our baby to know what it's like to live in a world like this. Filled with pain and prejudice."
He was in front of her now. His hands wrapped around her upper arms, his fingers pressing into her flesh gently. Hermione felt the tears dripping down her cheeks, but did not try to hide them,
"I'm scared," she admitted at last. "The longer this war goes on, the more people die. I would die to protect this baby. But what if the cost of our hiding is Harry or Ron's life? No one is safe, and while hiding here protects us for time, it doesn't guarantee us a better future."
"Hermione, you hold the future in you right now," Draco said, placing his hand over the slight bump in her belly. "As long and you and our baby are safe, that's a good enough future for me. You have no idea how much you mean to me. How much I love you." Hermione's heart stuttered as she heard him say those words. He throat closed up, and more tears fell. She sobbed into his chest, because she knew she couldn't say them back. The silence was painful, and eventually Draco pulled away.
"I know you won't be okay until you know that Potter and Weasley are alright," he said, surprising her with the change of topic. "I say it's time to find out." Hermione felt a wave of relief wash through her.
"I will go back to England, and seek them out," he said. "But only if you agree to stay here."
The moment Draco had apparated he could feel a chill take root in his chest. Dementors. He could sense their clammy presence all around. He pulled the hood of his cloak over his head, grateful for the added shield of the rain. Few people were on the street, and those that were did not linger long.
Draco made his way closer to the center of Tutshill, the small seaside village that he had once visited with his parents. They stayed only for a day, and Draco could still clearly remember his father turning his nose up at the general shabbiness of the town. At the time, Draco could not understand his father's disdain. He had seen a flying seahorse at the shore and was blind to anything else.
The village from Draco's memory was a far cry from what he saw now. The village looked more run down and there was an air of abandonment about it. Draco wondered if any of the residents still remained here. Planks of wood covered several windows, and in some houses no windows were left, only shattered glass. Draco paused at one of these buildings, examining it more closely. He could see chunks of brink and wood missing, where the structure had been hit with spells. Death Eaters had been here.
He fought the urge to claw at his own forearm. When his child was born, it would one day learn of all the horrors the Death Eaters had committed. How would Draco ever explain that he had been one of them? Draco moved briskly away from the building towards another that was heavily papered.
They were Ministry Wanted posters. Draco had seen them a thousand times before. Usually with Potter's face on them. But he was not prepared to see his own face sneering back at him. Not far away Hermione's face was watching him intensely, and both of his parents' stared down at him. Without a further thought Draco fled from the window.
He ducked into an alley, away from prying eyes, and pulled out his wand. He tapped it sharply over his own head. He felt the cold and slimy sensation of the Disillusionment Charm concealing his body. He looked down at his distorted body, and sighed. It was not nearly as good as Hermione's but it would have to do. It was her idea to learn the charm, and Draco could recall the way she could disappear among the curtains and tapestries at the Manor with ease.
"You really should practice more, Draco," Hermione's voice called, taunting him with her closeness. He snatched at a tapestry woven with the Malfoy crest, and heard her chuckle in the distance. "Supposedly, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord could cast it so well they disappear completely." Her voice was moving further down the hall, and Draco thought he saw her dart past a window.
"Well, you're getting pretty close," he grumbled. He was rewarded when her laughter echoed down the hallway. "Well, if you insist…"he said, tapping his head in the process. He watched as his hand became camouflaged to match the carpet beneath him. He crept to the wall, unlatching a small hook on a portrait of his great uncle and sliding it aside to reveal a passage way. He darted inside, racing down the passage to cut off Hermione.
He darted out of the passage and collided with something solid. He heard a girlish scream, before landing hard on the ground.
"Omph!" he groaned as she landed on top of him, knocking the breath out of him. She rolled off of him, and he felt arousal stirring. He got to his feet, with the full intention of grabbing her to satisfy the hunger, but her distorted image was already sprinting ahead of him.
Draco moved through the village cautiously, peering at the other Wanted posters as he passed, and searching for a copy of the Daily Prophet. When he failed to find anything of use, Draco squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to apparate.
When he arrived in London, it was worse than he imagined. Diagon Alley was a ghost town, almost every shop was boarded up – even Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, much to Draco's surprise. Things must be dire for the infamous Weasley twins to abandon their shop, Draco thought.
Draco passed a couple of haggard looking witches trading gossip in a hidden alcove. 'Reckless, if you ask me,' one witch said. As he moved further away, he heard her companion reply, 'Even the school isn't safe.'
Draco paused for a moment, before making his way closer to Gringotts, where a long security line twisted. Draco wondered who was running the place, with both him and his father marked as traitors. When he got closer her realized the line was not nearly as long as it seemed, but goblins and Ministry wizards prowled the few visitors inspecting them carefully.
Draco backed away, anxious of being spotted with his mediocre Disillusionment Charm. He wondered back down the alley, wondering what the witches had meant by their conversation. They must have been talking about Hogwarts, but what was reckless?
His question was answered sooner than he anticipated, because he finally stumbled across an abandoned copy of the Daily Prophet.
MAYHEM AT HOGWARTS
Wanted fugitive, Harry Potter, and accomplice, Ronald Weasley spotted at Hogwarts.
On Sunday evening, wanted criminals Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley attempted to break-in to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. No students were present at the time as school does not resume until September 1. Despite the Ministry's best efforts, the convicted duo did escape. In their escape efforts, one of the parties was severely injured. The Ministry applauds the work of Auror Carrow and Thicke on their handling of this issue.
The Ministry will continue their hunt to serve justice. Any tips on the whereabouts of these felons can be directed to the Ministry of Magic: Auror's Office. Both fugitives are considered dangerous and unstable. If seen, contact a Ministry of Magic representative.
Draco skimmed the rest of the article scowling. If they had tried to break into Hogwarts, that meant there was a Horcrux there. Draco sincerely hoped they managed to escape with it. If they hadn't, it would by now be moved even further out of their reach. Plus one of them had been injured in the process, Hermione would be devastated. He suspected it was Weasley, Voldemort would not be able to resist the opportunity to gloat if had been Potter.
Draco put himself in their position. If he had been on the run and injured where would he go? The Burrow was too obvious. Draco wondered if Potter would go back to the Aunt and Uncle Hermione said he lived with, but that would put the muggles in danger. It finally dawned on Draco where they would go: Grimmauld Place! He was pretty sure Potter owned it and it would be abandoned. It was still an obvious choice, but Draco really didn't expect them to do much better without Hermione.
Draco was moving as quickly as his thoughts. He needed more information on how to get into Grimmauld Place. He could not even remember what the exact address was, much less what wards protected it. But his mother had been a Black once, and he knew she had information on it back at the Manor. Night was falling and it was the perfect time to get in, because that was when the Death Eaters did their dark deeds.
Draco apparated to the village closest Manor, making the rest of the way on foot under the protection of his Disillusionment Charm. The darkness made up for what his skill lacked, and Draco felt disguised well enough for the risky venture. He knew almost all of the Manor's secret passages, if could get in he would be able to find his mother's books undetected.
Draco was surprised to hear voices as he got closer to the side gate. These gates were almost always unmanned. Draco crept closer, not recognizing the voices of the masked guards, but from his vantage, he could see several lights on in the Manor. He bit back a curse. There was no way he was getting into the Manor tonight.
The voices of the guards irritated him further, but paused when he heard his name. He lingered closer to the guards catching their conversation.
"Run off with that Mudblood," the larger one spat. "Can't say I'm surprised. Serves the whole lot of them right. Always with their noses up in the air."
"Well they'll get what's coming to them," the smaller once said in a nasally voice. "Once the Dark Lord enacts his plan to lure Potter out of his hidey hole, we can really start the search for him and his parents. With all that money, I thought they would be living it up somewhere, but they seem to be laying low. I haven't heard a whisper of where they ran to."
"Give it time," the larger one replied confidently, "and then we can see how pure the Malfoy blood is." Draco backed away cautiously. He had heard enough. Enough to know that his parents had gotten away safely. And enough to know Hermione was right. They needed to help Potter before the Dark Lord found whatever bait he needed to lure him out unprepared.
Draco apparated from the village. He had been prepared to spend several nights away from Hermione, and found himself surprised and relieved to be returning to her the same day. He didn't want to put her in danger, but also couldn't bear to be separated from her. He had convinced himself that there was no other way. He was positive she would know how to get into Grimmauld Place. And on second thought, he knew that there was no situation in which Potter would welcome him to the team, but without Hermione he was as good as dead.
"Draco?" Hermione said in surprise, still pointing her wand at him. He gave her the codeword they had agreed upon, and Hermione felt relief flood through her body. "Are you alright? I didn't expect you back so soon."
"I'm fine," Draco said, "but I'm not sure how good of a plan this was. I clearly need you as much as Potter and Weasley."
"Are they okay?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not sure," Draco answered honestly. "I think Weasley is injured." Draco went on to explain everything he had found out.
"We need to go," Hermione said, rising immediately. "I can get us into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Neither of them are particularly good healers. We need to regroup."
"Hermione," Draco said placing a hand on her arm. "If Voldemort is planning to lure him out, he is going to go after someone he cares about. That's Potter's weakness. He cares too much. That means you are at risk."
"I know I'm at risk," Hermione said over. "Did you expect to come back and I would just tell you how to get in and not come with you?"
"No, I know you better than that now," Draco replied. "But Potter probably doesn't have a plan, and we are going to need to act quickly before Voldemort gets his hands on you or someone else that can be used again Potter."
"We'll have to come up with something then, and quickly," Hermione was frowning. "I have no idea what they have done since I left, so we can't plan for anything until we've seen them." Hermione was anxious. She felt more nauseous than she had been with morning sickness. She dashed into the bedroom, trading her dressing gown for jeans and a sweater. The sweater had grown small and stretched around her baby bump. Hermione pulled a cloak around her to conceal the bump and grabbed her wand and bag before meeting Draco by the door.
The night was calm when they apparated, but when they arrived at Grimmauld Place it was two find two Death Eaters patrolling the street.
"Stupefy!" Hermione said, knocking one of them to the ground as Draco stunned the other. "Hurry, we need to get in before the spell wears off."
"They'll still remember," Draco said as he pulled her towards them. "Can you erase their memories?" Hermione nodded and directed hand toward them, erasing their memories.
"Let's go," she whispered, pulling Draco up the steps as Number 12 appeared before them. They slipped through the door and Hermione came face to face with Harry and Ron.
"Boys!" She breathed, a sense of rightness washing over her, even as she took in their haggard appearance.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. Hermione looked past him at Ron, who was staring at her protruding belly in horror.
Coming Up in Till Death Do Us Part:
"Liar!" Ron burst, his patience finally snapping, "You said..."