A/N: Why is it that I always end up writing my stories at 1:30 A.M. and keep writing until like three and I don't realize until I'm wondering why my eyes hurt so bad and I look at the little digital clock on the computer and click save and shut down? I guess my ideas come to me when there's nothing on the television and I'm listening to some old Mandy Moore CD and praying it doesn't wake up my parents. lol. Does any one else do that? I mean not with the Mandy Moore thing but the writing at really late thing. I don't know what it is but my thoughts flow easier at night. Boy am I glad my Mom and Dad spoil me, and put the comp in my room cuz I'm the only one who uses it. Because if they knew I was on the comp this late they would slaughter me. But I guess it's ok as long as I'm not on the internet. For once I'm writing this A/N before I write the story, so I'm not on the internet right now. hehehehe. Well I better get to the story and I promise no more interruptions in the middle of the story. I'm really sorry about that. And if you're an adult don't get mad at me because sometimes I think some of the words I'm using are all big and stuff, I'm only fourteen! But I do know one big word. Pneumoultramicroscopicsilicovolcaniconiosis, it's a disease coal miners get from breathing in the under ground fumes. Sorry I had to get that out, so I don't interrupt the story. Here it is, Chapter Four:
Hermione could see the sunlight through her eyelids as she awoke slowly, she moaned a bit and rolled over in her sleeping bag. The gray walls of the tent let to much sunlight in for her to fall back asleep. Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she glanced at the watch on her wrist, which she hadn't taken off. Quarter to eight. 'Shoot', she thought, they had to leave soon. She changed really fast while the guys were still sleeping, into a white ribbed spaghetti strap shirt and denim shorts. She heard someone stirring and looked behind her. Draco was beginning to wake. In a moments time his gray eyes fluttered open, glancing around the tent. She locked eyes with him for a moment and looked away.
"Harry, Ron, get up." she said to their sleeping forms.
"Five more minutes, Mum." Ron mumbled. Hermione crawled over to him.
"Honey, a girl named Fluer Delacour is here to see you, Ronnikins." she said immitating his mothers voice. Ron's eyes flew open and he sat up.
"Where?!" said Ron looking around wildly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Get Harry up for me, will you? We need to leave soon." she told him. Ron slouched looking disappointed and turned, shaking Harry awake. Hermione walked out of the tent, grabbed a piece of meat of the stick, which was still hanging over the long burnt out fire. She unzipped up her backpack which she had taken out of the tent with her, and took the map out. She traced the path they would take to the little red 'X' which marked where they needed to be in Austria to get the Dragon scales, with her finger. She heard the three boys come out of tent yawning. She mumbled a few words and the tent disappeared.
"Let's go, we have to hurry if we wanna get there within the next day or two." Hermione hopped on the broom behind Harry and all of them rose up as high as they could go without getting hit by planes, or people seeing them on the ground. They rode for what seemed like an eternity until lunch and then they rose back up into the sky for another long ride. Hermione kept catching Draco looking at her out of the corner of her eye but just shrugged and disregarded it.
The sky was completely darkened and Hermione was wondering when they would land, when she heard Harry, who she had given the map to said they were where they needed to be. 'Gee', Hermione thought, 'Broom fly fast these days.' She felt them hit the ground softly and she stepped off the broom. Hermione looked up and saw three tall slender men in wizard's robes standing near them. She wondered who they could be, and a bit to her horror they approached.
"Are you three the ones Dumbledore sent from Hogwarts." said the tallest wizard. They all nodded nervously. The shortest one then spoke.
"Good, Dumbledore told us to be espectin' yous." he said in a very heavy Brooklyn accent. His voice reminded Hermione of a man on a muggle show she watched once called 'All In The Family'. He held out a bag which had two small, almost transparent, orange disks in it, which were unmistakably dragon's scales.
"Wow, and we didn't even have to do much to get them." said Ron taking the bag and handing it to Hermione, who put it in her bag. "Thanks."
"Now if you wouldn't mind followin' us we have a cabin that Dumbledore had set up for you." said another American wizard who hadn't spoken yet. The three wizards led them to a rather large wooden cabin with a front porch, four bedrooms, a bathroom, a small kitchen, and a living room.
"Wow." Hermione said. "Thank you so very much."
"No problem." said the tallest wizard once again. "I'm Abraham," he said. "This is Arnie," he gestured to the shortest wizard with the Brooklyn accent "And this is Raymond." he pointed to the other American wizard. "It was a pleasure meeting you all, but unfortunately we must be going."
"Thanks again." Harry said.
"Your very welcome. Your Harry Potter aren't you?" said Abraham. Harry merely nodded, looking a bit put off.
"Yeah thanks." Draco said.
"Are you a Malfoy?" asked Raymond. Draco nodded, and Hermione could of sworn Raymond gave Draco a bit of a dirty look.
"Well we really must be going." said Abraham once again. "Good luck." and with that they disapparated. Hermione sighed as she looked around.
"Wow. I can't believe Dumbledore did this for us." Ron said.
"Oh come on Ron, you know Dumbledore would do anything to help us. But we're probably getting the last items without help." Harry said.
"I get the big room!" Ron shouted and ran down the hall, Harry followed him quickly. Hermione rolled her eyes and walked a short way down the hall and turned into a medium sized bedroom. She dropped her bag on a chair, and flopped down on the bed. After a few minutes she got up and walked to the kitchen. Where she found Ron, Harry, and Draco.
"Hey this is great!" exclaimed Ron. "They left us food!"
"Is that all guys ever think about?" Hermione asked. "Quidditch and food?"
"No, we think about girls too." Ron stated, biting off a chicken leg. Hermione shook her head.
"Why did I ask?" she asked no one.
"What time is it? I don't have my watch" Ron asked. Harry glanced at his watch.
"Eleven thirty." Harry replied.
"We better get to bed." Ron said.
"Wow, that's the first time I've ever heard you say we needed to go to bed, Ron." Hermione said playfully.
"Well I am kinda tired and I just figured it would be best." he said to her.
"Reckon so." Harry said.
"Yeah." said Draco who was sitting at the table. Everyone looked at him. "What?"
"Nothing." They said at once. They all went off into their seperate bedrooms, Ron carrying a chicken leg, Harry a chicken wing, Draco another chicken leg, and Hermione a glass of iced tea (with lemon) and a apple.
Hermione lay in her bed still in her clothes reading late into the night. When she finally checked her watch it was 2:38 A.M. For once in her life she was tired of reading a set her book down intending to go get more iced tea. Hermione got up out of her bed and walked to the kitchen. She looked out the window and saw a familiar blonde head leaning against the wooden porch railing. Draco. Hermione set her glass down near the sink and walked outside.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked him.
"Just thinking. Is that a crime?" he said looking out at the stars.
"No. It's just that is late and I was just wondering." she said, leaning against the rail next to him.
"Well now you know." he said coolly.
"Are you even going to try and be nice?" Hermione asked looking at him.
"No." said Draco shortly.
"Why not?" Draco turned to her, looking straight into her deep brown eyes.
"Do you realize how hard that is for me?" he asked. Hermione shook her head, no. "I figured. Listen, Hermione, you were brought up to be nice and treat people well. I was brought up to worship Voldemort and hate Muggles and mudbloods. And unfortunately it's a hard thing to forget."
"But Muggles and Muggle-borns never did anything to you. If it weren't for them there wouldn't be any wizards. No matter how much of a pureblood you think you are, somewhere along the line there was a halfblood or a muggle-born. Lord Voldemort himself was a halfblood. And you said you didn't want to worship Voldmemort...didn't you?" Hermione said staring back into his eyes.
"Hermione, go to bed." he said.
"What?"
"You heard me, go to bed."
"No. Make me."
"Do you really want me to?"
"Oh what are you going to curse me?"
"Maybe."
"Listen, Draco." the name rolled of her tongue before she could stop it. "I was just trying to help. If we are going to work together we can't be at each other's throats all of the time."
"Hermione, you don't want to get mixed up with me in my mind. You'll just get hurt or something." Draco looked in her eyes and he was caught. Dazed.
"I don't care." Hermione said, not thinking.
"Why is it that you have taken an interest in what goes on in my mind and helping me make friends?"
"I-I-I...I don't know." Draco was still looking down into her eyes and saw something there he hadn't seen before...well for him at least. Caring.
"Hermione....I don't want you to get hurt." God did he just say that?
"Y-you don't?"
"No." Before she could say anything Draco felt himself leaning down to her and brushing a strand of hair aside. In a moments time he had caught her soft lips with his own. Hermione's mind was screaming, but her eyes fluttered closed and she could feel herself kissing back very gently. After a few moments they pulled away.
"I-I'm sorry I don't know what possessed me to do that." Draco said appologetically.
"It's ok...really. Uh...Um...I think I better go." she said turning away, towards the door.
"No, Hermione, don't go." Hermione put her hand on the door knob and as she was about to look back to him she felt a jerk behind her navel and a swirl of colors.
"Hermione!!" Draco yelled as she disappeared. "Potter, Weasley!" he yelled into the house. A minute later he heard footsteps and Harry and Ron emerged looking wide awake.
"What? What's wrong?" Harry asked.
"It's Hermione, she's gone. We were talking and she went to go inside and she disappeared. I think the door handle was a portkey." He said quickly.
"What!!!?" Harry and Ron yelled.
Hermione awoke hours later. Every bone in her body was aching and her vision was cloudy. She blinked a few times and everything came into view. A cold, damp, and dirty dungeon surrounded her. She turned her gaze upwards, she was shackled to one of the walls in the dungeon. Her small wrists were raw from the steel shackle which was bound tightly around her wrist, blood had dried on her arm which had trickled from her wrist. Hermione tried to struggle but it only caused her more pain. She had a feeling her wrists weren't the only part of her which was injured. She ran her tongue across her dry lips and tasted blood, her lip was swollen. Hermione looked down and saw a few new bruises on her legs and her white shirt was splattered with dirt and blood. She moaned in agony, wondering where she was. Suddenly she heard a door creak open and standing 10 feet in front of her was a dark figure.
"Hello mudblood." it said, and stepped forward. Hermione saw a pale snakelike face which had red eyes and and slits for a nose. Then it hit her, she knew exactly who this was. Hermione screamed louder than she ever had in her life.
A/N: Did you like it?? I don't care if you did or not just REVIEW!! See no author's note interruptions in the story. Are you guys happy now? I have a feeling that chapter was better than the third although it was pretty short. Chapter five will be longer. I promise. Wow I wrote that pretty quick. Gee, I guess I'll go work on chapter 5 now. Please review that little box isn't there for nothing. Now I will leave you with five small words: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!
