Hermione sat up, having woken suddenly from her sleep. She looked around the dark room and felt Draco beside her, sleeping soundly. Whatever it was that woke her, must have been in her head.
It felt like she had only gone to sleep an hour or so ago, but when she cast a lumos at the wall clock, she saw that it was 4:30am. The two days since they had destroyed the cup had gone by agonisingly slowly, but the nights raced by faster than she liked.
She laid her head back down and curled into Draco, closing her eyes, waiting for sleep to return to her, hoping to savour the time she had to spend alone with Draco before the light of day. . Everyone in the house has been pretty quiet, keeping to themselves to plan what was to come next, however Draco had been spending most of his time trying to make amends for the last 7 years. No one had any idea how to gain access to Hogwarts, no idea how to get the diadem. The last two days had felt like they were trapped in limbo.
She was just drifting off when she heard a yell from somewhere within the house.
"I knew it" she muttered to herself, getting out of bed and throwing on a gown.
She thought there had been a noise, she thought she had been woken up by something.
Out in the hall, there were footsteps and hurried voices.
"What's going on?" she asked Ron.
"Harry. He's had a dream. Or a vision. Or something" Ron said, running towards Harry's room with a jug of water.
Hermione followed Ron to Harrys room and was stunned to see Harry sitting on the floor, covered in sweat, covering his head with his hands.
"He knows Hermione. He knows what we're doing and he's going to Hogwarts to secure the diadem" Harry said, taking a cup of water from Ron.
"When? I mean, how long do we have? We haven't planned anything" she said, fear and adrenalin coursing through her body, making her shake uncontrollably.
"We need to go now" Ron said, pulling some clothes from Harry's cupboard.
"Now? We don't have any idea how to get in Ron, this is suicide" she said.
"We don't have a choice. If he gets hold of the diadem before we do, we have no chance of destroying it" Ron said.
Hermione stood there, unable to speak. She was terrified beyond belief, but she knew she had to act. Get her feet to move. Turn, walk, get ready, prepare. She was frozen with fear. She shook her head and turned her fear into action.
"Give us 10 minutes" she said, running from the room.
"We're going in 5" Ron called.
"Well then give me 4" she called back, running back to Draco's room and turning on the lights.
She rummaged through his closet, finding the clothes that he had been brought here in, his death eater robes.
"Draco, you have to wake up" she said, as she pulled out some clothes for herself.
As she hurried around the room, Draco woke slowly, aggravating Hermione who was now running on auto pilot.
"What's going on?" he asked. She almost stopped to take in the way he looked, adorable and all messy from just having woken up.
"It's time to go. You know who is on his way to Hogwarts and we need to get there first" she said.
"How long?" He asked, wiping his eyes.
She looked at the clock that now read 4:37.
"We're leaving in 2 minutes" she said, taking his clothes from where she had thrown them and handing them to him.
He looked at his death eater robes and back at Hermione.
"You want me to wear these?" he asked.
"Good idea. We have no way of knowing what is going to happen. If we need you to, you might need to play the part. We need to be prepared for anything. If he is coming, I assure you he won't be coming alone, and they fight dirty" Draco said as Hermione rushed down the stairs to the potions room.
They gathered in the living room a minute later, all weary eyed, but battle ready.
"This may be it" Harry said.
"We're with you Harry. We are in this together" Hermione said, shaking with the adrenalin that now coursed through her body.
Harry nodded once and looked around the small circle. Hermione held tight to Draco as they headed out the front door and out onto the street.
"The woods just outside Hogsmead should be ok" Draco said.
"We'll go in pairs" Ron said.
"I have to stay by Draco's side. The vow. We need to stay together or Draco dies" she said, suddenly aware that there was a very serious issue at hand.
"You're safer with him" Ron said, looking to them both as they walked quickly down the street.
"I'll keep her safe" Draco said to Ron and Harry before turning to Hermione, "I promise, I will keep you safe" he said as he kissed her knuckles.
"And I'll do the same for you" she said, squeezing his hand.
When they got to a quiet park, Harry stopped.
"This is as good as we're going to get" he said.
"See you in a minute" Hermione said to Harry, as she looked to Draco and held tight to his arm.
She closed her eyes as they disapparated and landed in the tree line, just behind the main street. She was relieved when she heard a crack symbolising Harry and Ron's arrival, however, it was short lived, when a loud screeching sound could be heard echoing around the small village.
"They knew he was coming. This place must be surrounded, we need to move fast" Draco said, running towards where Harry and Ron landed.
"The shack" Ron said, turning to run parallel to the tree line as shouts came from the street.
"We aren't going to get out of here without some kind of fight" Draco said, slowing down.
"We'll meet you there" Hermione said to Ron, who hesitated before nodding and continuing through the tree line towards the shack.
"Hide here" he said pulling Hermione down an alley between two buildings that lead to the main street.
"Fifty feet Draco" she reminded him.
"I know. Hopefully I won't need it" he said.
Draco hurried down the small lane way between two buildings and Hermione saw his stance change when he got to the street. He was in Death Eater mode.
"Malfoy? I thought you defected?" she heard a voice call. The screeching sound stopped.
"I was sent here as punishment for my absconding. Personally, I think it's a waste of time" he said, oozing with contempt.
She heard the voice say something about the charm. The person speaking wasn't talking loud enough for her to hear clearly.
"Yes, moron, me. I apparated in just now" he said.
Another voice mentioned the Dark Mark and she heard Draco falter. She knew they would have sensed it in him too. The hesitation, the pause, the reluctance.
The other voices grew further away, and she could no longer make out what they were saying. It made it difficult to determine what to do.
"Fine… just some plaything. She didn't want me to leave her behind. She's back up the street trying to get a room at the pub" Draco said.
There was a pause before Draco spoke again. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have things to be getting on with".
She heard more muffled talking and saw Draco start walking further away, onto the street. Hermione knew that if he continued that way, he'd be more than 50 feet from her. The only thing she could do was to follow him and try and stay hidden.
She moved from her place and crept down the alley towards the road. If she was seen, she was dead, and Draco would be dead for good measure.
She looked around the corner and the backs of the death eaters were to her with Draco between them, following them up the road. She wanted to alert him to her presence. She wanted him to know that he was safe. That she would make sure he didn't get too far away but if she made a noise, they'd be on her straight away.
"Just how many of us are stationed here anyway? Last I heard there was only a handful" Draco asked.
"The Dark Lord sent some extras, little while ago, so makes 11 include'n you. Most of them went to the pub. Prob'y run into your girly. The others are asleep, lazy bastards" one of the voices said. She had heard it before but couldn't place it.
She saw Draco glance back to her and his shoulders relaxed in relief before straightening up again.
"And they think they can defy the Dark Lord? There's a war going on. Surely they'll be punished for their inadequacies" Draco said, pulling out his wand.
Hemione caught sight of what he was doing and took out her own wand, casting a disillusion charm over herself and preparing to cast one on Draco.
She was careful with her footsteps when she ran towards Draco, closing the gap, making sure she was by his side. Draco silently lifted his wand and aimed it at the two death eaters, casting a nonverbal stunning spell at both, one after the other, making them fall to the ground. Hermione disillusioned Draco as he levitated them to the side of the road and obliviated them both so they wouldn't know what happened.
"They'll wake up with a headache soon and thing they've been drinking Rosmerta's mead" he said quietly when Hermione stood beside him.
"Come on, we need to go" she said, taking his hand in hers and leading hm back down the road in the shadows of the shop fronts.
They hurried in silence, not speaking. Hermione felt his hand in hers, felt the love that she had for him, felt the way he squeezed her hand every now and then for comfort, but the way he could slip into Death Eater mode was frightening.
They quickly caught sight of Harry and Ron outside the fence line of the Shrieking Shack.
"There are 10 death eaters here in Hogsmead" Draco said, after Hermione removed the disillusionment charm from them both.
"Two are having a nice long nap" Hermione said, looking to Draco.
"Not many people know about this passageway, lets hope it has stayed that way" Harry said, making his way to the veranda of the shack and sliding in through a broken board on the door.
It was just how Hermione remembered it, dusty, dirty with claw marks up the walls and on the floor.
"Isn't this haunted?" Draco asked.
"No, it was put here for Lupin's transformations when he was a student. The haunting was a rumour to stop people coming here and being attacked" Harry said, making his way down to the basement.
"There's a passageway through here that leads to the Whomping Willow" Hermione said.
"Right, well, that makes sense" he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Its still early, we should be able to get in, get to the room and get out before we're seen" Harry said, earning a scoff of laughter from the three others. Hermione knew they stood very little chance of getting in and out that easily.
"Yeah, unless someone's in there" Ron said.
They hurried through the passage and climbed out at the other end, avoiding being clobbered by the tree with a touch of the notch on the trunk on the way out.
The grounds were quiet, but it wouldn't be long before the castle came to life. Hermione estimated it had been an hour since she had woken to Harry's screams. The sun would be up soon.
They crept along the tree line towards the castle entrance, with no idea how to get in, how to get up to the 7th floor and how to get the diadem destroyed without being seen.
"Harry, Ron, stop, we need to make a plan" Hermione called in a whisper.
"When have plans ever worked? We made it here without a plan, didn't we?" Ron asked.
"Yes, only because I planned ahead and made Draco wear his death eater robes and he was able to talk his way out of being killed back there" she said. "We need a plan" she added.
The four of them sat down on fallen logs, catching their breaths, trying to come up with something to give them access.
"I could send a message to Snape? Tell him what I've come for?" Draco suggested.
"No way, I don't trust him as far as I could throw him" Harry said.
"He's on our side" Draco snapped.
"I watched him kill Dumbledore. He's not on our side" Harry sat.
"This isn't working. It's a good idea though, Harry, I think you should send a patronus to McGonagall, get all the students down for breakfast, call an emergency breakfast meeting or something. That would make sure we can get into the room" Hermione said.
Harry pulled out his wand and closed his eyes, concentrating.
"Expect Patronum" he said, watching as his stag, bright and graceful lept out of his wand and danced around the group.
"Go to McGonagall, tell her this, 'I'm in the forest and need to get into the castle. I need the room on the 7th floor. Call a meeting at breakfast and I will be in and out quickly'" he finished. The stag bowed its giant head and hurried off towards the castle and out of sight.
"I hope this works" Hermione said, leaning against Draco.
They group sat and waited and watched the castle for signs of life. They saw Hagrid leave his hut and make his way to the castle a little while after sunrise and Hermione suspected it was about 6:30am. She was so tired and contemplated closing her eyes while she was leaning comfortably on Draco, but as soon as the thought entered her head, a bright white tabby cat approached them and stood in the middle of the circle they had somehow formed.
"In thirty minutes, the rear doors will be open. Take the back stairwell and be quick" came the voice of McGonagall.
"I guess we have thirty minutes then" Ron said.
Hermione was now completely alert, having a plan, having a focus. The goal felt that much closer, so much more attainable.
Time seemed to fly by and once they were sure it was time, they left their place at the edge of the forest and hurried to the back of the castle and in through the courtyard where Hermione had run into Draco and his friends only a year or so ago.
It felt like a different life, like an alternate universe. She was more than happy that they could be together, that they shared this bond, this connection, but there were times where she craved the days where she was just a high school witch, having a secret love affair with her mortal enemy.
They hurried up the stairs and were lucky not to have run into anyone before they reached the 7th floor.
"I'll open it" Draco said as he began pacing back and forth.
When he had walked past three times and the door hadn't appeared, Hermione knew something was wrong.
"Someone is in there" she said, grabbing a fistful of hair and sinking to the floor.
"Its ok, we can wait… We'll wait" Harry said, looking around for a place to hide.
"Two of you in behind the tapestry" Draco said, urging Harry and Ron to climb in the small unseen alcove behind Barnarby the Brave.
"What are we going to do? Stand around?" Hermione asked.
"The classroom down the hall" he said, gesturing to an unused classroom.
They entered the room and stood beside the door, waiting for something to happen.
"This room has some pretty great memories" Draco whispered.
She looked around and saw the table near the front of the room where he had taken her from behind one time. She remembered it like it was yesterday. The passion, the longing, the desire. She now knew why she had felt the way she did. The bond that they had, that she was now aware of, had started forming way back then and the way she felt, the urge she had to go to him as often as she could was what formed it, what solidified it, what made it real.
"I'm glad we had what we had" she said quietly.
"Even though it was based on a lie?" he asked.
"It wasn't based on a lie Draco. I loved you regardless. I loved you even after I found out you were what you were, despite trying my hardest to fight it. I loved you still, even in the moments after the tower" she said.
"I'm sorry" he said sadly.
"I'm not" she said, leaning into him and exhaling when he wrapped his arms around her. They stood like this for a few moments, relishing the feeling, taking in this moment of stillness among the chaos.
A hurried knock on the door interrupted what could have been a moment of bliss in the midst of chaos.
Draco looked out carefully and came face to face with Ron.
"Time to go" he said.
They followed Ron back to the corridor where the door to the Room of Requirement was now visible.
They entered the room and Hermione stopped in her tracks, stunned at what she saw. The place was filled with students from all years and all houses except, it seemed, Slytherin.
The room was enormous, and banners and hammocks hung on all walls. There were lounge chairs, fireplaces, books shelves and study desks scattered throughout. On a podium stood a desk with what looked to be a radio production station and some chairs. Most students were in the process of climbing out of hammocks, but they all had the same reaction when they saw the four of them.
They were elated at seeing Harry, happy to see Ron, many were delighted to see Hermione, as there had been a rumour that she had died, but the biggest reaction of all came at the sight of Draco, then the look on people's faces when they noticed Hermione's hand in his.
The conversation buzzed and Hermione heard Harry defend them, and most surprisingly, defend Draco himself.
"I don't expect anyone to trust him, but I do. He's been a git most of his life, but he has also saved our asses and Hermione loves him. That's enough for me and it should be enough for everyone else" Harry said out loud to the group.
"Its true, they're disgustingly in love" Ron added with an eyeroll.
"And you trust him, Ron?" came the voice of Seamus from among the crowd.
Ron looked from Hermione to Draco and back to the group before nodding. "I do. I hate him, I can't forgive what he's done, but I trust him. He is one of us" Ron said.
"He also took a vow. He can't lie. Not to me" Hermione said.
"Look, this is all well and good, these three standing up for me, but I don't expect any of you to trust me. Not now and not for a long time. I've done things I regret and the only way I expect anyone to believe me when I say I'm not that person anymore is by my actions. So I suppose, if you will let me, I would like to stay and prove myself in time" he said. Hermione gushed at his speech, knowing how difficult this must be for him to do; to stand up in front of a room full of people who despise him and ask for their trust. It wasn't easy.
Hermione smiled up at Draco and held tighter to his side. She loved him now more than she thought she possibly could. The fear from seeing him in his Death Eater peak was drowned out by the way he had captivated the entire room. He had convinced most of them in a matter of minutes.
Out of the commotion, a flash of red hair came rushing towards them, followed by a voice that Hermione instantly recognised.
"I thought I heard someone say Harry was here. What's…?" Ginny's voice trailed off at the sight of Harry. She stopped in her tracks, looked him up and down, then ran full speed ahead into his open arms. It was the reunion people would see in movies. Time felt like it stood still, and Hermione knew then that Tonks was right. Harry and Ginny had a bond.
When they released each other, Ginny stepped away and pushed him hard in the chest, making him step backwards.
"You absolute git Harry Potter. How dare you think you can break it off with me and then disappear like that for months, without so much as a word regarding your safety? How dare you think that just because I'm underage that you can…" she ranted, but stopped mid-sentence when Harry pulled from the pocket of his jacket, a small velvet box.
"Ginny…" he began quietly.
"Ok folks, I think these two need some space" Draco said, urging Hermione to retreat.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked.
"What is this?" Ron asked as Harry knelt down on one knee.
"Potter's way of apologising" Draco said with a smile, "mind you he's chosen the most inconvenient moment" he added.
Hermione registered that Harry was speaking, but the shock of seeing him on one knee and produce a ring made all the sounds around her vanish.
"Oh my…" Hermione said, words having escaped her. She stepped back against Draco, and he wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Ginny Weasley, will you do me the honour of agreeing to marry me?" Harry finished, holding out the small box that was now open. In the box shone a ring that Hermione recognised from the Potter vault.
"Draco…" she whispered, trying to get his attention. "Did you know this was going to happen?" she asked when he didn't respond. She felt him laugh and she turned to face him.
"I'm serious, did you know?" she asked.
"I saw him pick it up in the vault, so I guessed, but I didn't think he'd do it as soon as he laid eyes on her" he said.
"You should have told me, I'm so unprepared for this" she said, watching on as Ginny squealed yes with an added "don't you think that this lets you off the hook" before planting her lips on his, where they remained for several minutes.
The crowd of people were cheering and congratulating the two, who clearly only had eyes and arms for each other. Hermione knew the feeling. If she were to be parted from Draco now, their reunification would be just as frantic.
Harry's face was the picture of relieved, in love, happy and excited, all rolled into one when she was finally able to get near him.
"You realise we're in the middle of something, right? I mean, time and place, Harry" Hermione said as she hugged them both at the same time.
"Right, of course" Harry said, still not letting go of a gushing Ginny, who was staring at the ring on her left hand.
"In the middle of what?" Ginny asked, her face now serious.
"We need everyone out of here" Ron said.
"No way, not going to happen" said Neville, who had been standing at the back of the group. He came forward and Hermione was stunned to see that he had a fresh black eye and a split lip that looked to be a few days old. "This is our safe haven, some of these guys haven't left in weeks. They won't go anywhere" he continued.
Hermione looked around, now noticing for the first time, subtle and not so subtle injuries that most students wore. Most had fading bruises, some had bandages that covered what she could only deduce were burns or cuts and some were sitting down with legs completely bandaged.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, shock now registering on her face.
"The Carrow's. They're dreadful and they've been put in as potions and Dark Arts professors. Corporal punishment is their thing" Lavender Brown said, showing a scar on her cheek that she had been hiding under her hair.
Harry turned to Ginny and held her face in his hands, looking her over. "Did they hurt you?" he asked.
"I'm fine, I've been taking care of myself" she said.
"And the rest of us" said Parvati, causing Harry to turn and look to the crowd.
"It's true, Ginny's been getting into all kinds of trouble just to keep us safe" Padma said.
"I mostly deal with Snape who isn't as bad as the Carrow's but they've caught me a few times" she said, lifting her shirt to reveal a large round healed burn scar on her ribs.
At this, Harry's entire body began to shake. His face turned red and his stance changed from easy going relaxed Harry to Harry on a mission.
"The Carrow's are pretty notorious in the Death Eater ranks for having no care for anyone but themselves and each other. They are cruel and cunning and will take down anyone who gets in their way. I've seen them in action. The fact that you're standing here, that anyone is standing here after facing them is truly remarkable" Draco said.
Harry turned to Draco and Hermione knew the look on his face.
"I know what you're thinking Potter" Draco said.
"They need to pay" Harry said.
"And they will. I'll make sure of it" Draco said, with a look of sincerity on his face.
"We need a plan. We need to get into the room of hidden things" Hermione said.
"Why?" Asked Lavender.
"There's something there, an object that will help to defeat You-Know-Who" Harry said, distracting himself.
"He's coming for it himself. If we don't get it, he'll be here within hours himself to get it" Hermione said.
"How do you know this? How do you have this information? Why are you here? You're just teenagers, like us. Why aren't there adults fighting this fight?" Neville asked.
"Nev, those are all great questions, which I'm sure we will answer in time. But time is something we don't have. McGonagall is calling an emergency breakfast meeting and I need everyone to go to it" Harry said, looking around the room.
"Ok" said a voice from the back.
"I'll go" came another.
"We'll do it, for you Harry", said Seamus.
At this, Harry nodded and led the way out the door. Hermione and Draco stayed till the last person left and the followed them out. They stood in the hall while Harry walked back and forth past the place where the door had just vanished and another door, slightly different, appeared.
AN- Thanks for the great reviews. Thanks for the crap reviews. I do this because I enjoy it. I am not a professional writer, I write from my head and my heart, using random things I dream up. I don't pretend to be a fantastic author, I don't pretend to be the greatest. Shit, I read things that I could only dream of writing (debt of time, manacled, isolation, just to name a few). The fact is, if those authors critiqued my work I would place significant value on it because they know what they're talking about. What I don't place value on, is an "avid reader, rubbish writer" giving me vague feedback about plot holes that don't exist (PLEASE prove me wrong and I'll fix whatever it is). Again, I find myself defending my story, but this is a small fraction of my life. I have a job, I have kids, I have a life. We're in the midst of another COVID lockdown and yet I continue to write because I want to. If you're one of the few who feel that this isn't perfect then move on. PM me if you find something significant that I have overlooked. Otherwise, kindly fuck... off...
Next chapter is a doosy.