Author's Note: Thanks to Athene Saile for the great review – I love knowing that people are reading my fic. There are more explanations in this chapter, so hopefully things will get clearer for you. Any questions – you know which button to hit. Enjoy.

Chapter Five

When Harry emerged from the kitchen half an hour later, he paid close attention to his two Protectors. Of course, he thought, of course they're in love. How is it possible that I didn't see that in the first place?

The way Malfoy watched her, all the time. Even if she was right next to him, he watched her. When she got up to do the tiniest, most trivial thing, his eyes followed her all the way. And the look in them never changed. It was the look of someone who has found something, something so wonderful that even now, they cannot believe it is true. And all they want to do is hold on tight because they fear that if they let go, they'll never find that something again.

Hermione... Hermione was so fond of him. She watched him, too, but in a different way. She watched him with worry in her eyes. A worry that seemed to say, 'I know you care for me now, but will you ever stop?' She smiled at him, every chance she got. And he reveled in it. He took every smile and bathed in it, as though he'd spent his whole life in the darkness and now she was showing him what light was.

And he kept touching her! At first, Harry had been unable to understand why on Earth she would let him touch her so much. But after Dumbledore had explained it, it seemed obvious - the contact with him helped to reassure both of them that the other was still there. Malfoy would lay a gentle hand on her shoulder, or in the small of her back, or sometimes he'd fiddle with her hair. On one occasion, she'd put her feet in his lap, and he'd just put one hand on top of them, not tickling or massaging, just there, and it made both of them happy.

Despite all this closeness, however, one thing was clear - they had not crossed the line. And Harry felt certain that they would not until such a time that all imminent danger had been dealt with. It made him feel sad, but he pushed the feeling aside - they had more pressing things to deal with.

Dumbledore had finally told him everything. Well, as much of 'everything' as he could expect to get at this stage; the Professor did like keeping things back and springing them on him at the oddest of times. The Granger-Malfoy Prophecy, as it was apparently known, was, while quite definitive on the subject of the Protectors, not exactly specific about who they would be Protecting. Which, Harry supposed, was why it had taken Dumbledore a considerable amount of time to connect it to the Potter Prophecy.

Of the ninth, and then the first, two opposites shall arise. Their bond is old and strong; its shroud fortifies it and through adversity it grows, wielding that which will keep safe another, and more. Both are marked, but it is unseen; their feet share this fate. Death for one means the same for the other - such is their bond. Together and combined, they possess a power to challenge the enemies of their charge, but the one true enemy must stand alone, lest the two should fall.

He'd had to read it again in order to fully understand it. "They have something on their feet?"

Dumbledore nodded. "A scar. Almost identical - it was how I finally knew."

"How else did you know?"

"I suspected when they met at this wizard camp. I had, of course, been keeping an eye on all those witches and wizards born in September and the following January. The 'opposites' part was somewhat unclear, but I suspected it meant the opposition of a 'pureblood' to a so-called 'mudblood', although I do despise that term. When they formed a friendship at the camp, which only grew as time went on, I became almost certain that it was them. I reviewed your own prophecy, of course, and it began to make sense. Why else would two Protectors be born in the same year as yourself? I met with Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger, inspected their feet, and all of my doubts were washed away."

Harry felt overwhelmed. Out of the many questions that were plaguing his mind, he picked one. "H-Hermione can Apparate?"

"Ah, I see that particular aspect of the prophecy has been revealed. Both Hermione and Draco can Apparate, and perform various spells without a wand. I taught them myself, so that they might be better equipped to look after you. I am also told that Hermione teaches herself at intervals."

"And... the apartment?"

"For their own safety. I wished them to have a heavily guarded abode for the times that they needed to be together without arousing suspicion. It also makes a good location to practise spells and charms, as I believe they do. It is one of the safest places for a witch or wizard to be, if they want to remain hidden from the world and those who seek them. You think it is inappropriate?"

"No, no," Harry shook his head hastily. "It just surprises me, the idea of them living together without killing each other."

Dumbledore chuckled. "You have only ever known the Draco and Hermione who hate each other with a passion and would like nothing more than to see the other dead. I, however, have had the good fortune to know two very different people. Two people who depend on each other, couldn't live without each other, and if one of them were killed, the other would stop at nothing to get revenge. It is a formidable relationship."

Harry nodded. "I'll say."

They returned to the living room, and Dumbledore took Malfoy and Hermione aside for a few minutes. Harry watched them carefully. Sure enough, Hermione leant against the wall, and Malfoy followed suit, sidling up to her so that their arms had full-length contact. She glanced at him, smiled, and looked away again. And he watched her. Always watched her.

Ron came over. "What did Dumbledore say?"

"A bunch of stuff," Harry said vaguely, intent on watching the events that were unfolding on the opposite side of the room.

Ron realised this, and did the same. "How can she stand being around him so much?"

Harry glanced at him, and remembered that Ron didn't know. No-one knew. And he realised with a sinking feeling that they would probably need it pointing out to them. "Ron... you know how Malfoy and Hermione have been friends for ages? Well, I think they feel-"

But he didn't get a chance to tell Ron how he thought Malfoy and Hermione felt, because Dumbledore turned around, clapped his hands together and said, "Let's get down to business, then." All twelve of them found themselves a seat, and watched Dumbledore as he paced up and down. "Mr Malfoy tells me that he has told you all he knows about what happened last night. Well, I have some new information for you, although I doubt very much that you will like it. Voldemort intended to kill not two but three birds with one stone last night."

Harry's eyes flicked over towards Malfoy and Hermione, but their faces were deliberately blank. He returned his gaze to Dumbledore.

"Voldemort wished to kidnap you again, Harry, probably to kill you. He would also have intended to kill the Weasley family, because as purebloods they were expected to side with him, but they did not, and so he wants them dead."

Ginny gave a faint whimper, and clung to her pale mother's arm.

"However, he would have waited to do both of these things, for you see, his ultimate goal in kidnapping you all was not to kill you, but to use you to lure other people to him. Namely, Mr Malfoy and Miss Granger. He does not know it is them, of course - he knows Harry has two Protectors, but like most people, he doesn't know who they are."

"So," said Harry, "he was going to use us all as bait, so that Malfoy and Hermione-"

"You know," Malfoy cut in, "it wouldn't kill you to use my first name." Hermione elbowed him in the ribs; he returned the favour. One short scuffle later, and Hermione was looking very smug, watching Malfoy as he nursed a bruised rib cage.

"As I was saying," Harry continued, unable to keep a small smile off his face, "Voldemort was going to use us as bait, and wait for Hermione and Mal- Draco, to come and save us. Um... not to sound like an imbecile, or anything-"

"Too late," Malfoy whispered, but he was promptly silenced by another jab from Hermione.

"-but why? I mean, if he wanted to kill them because they're my Protectors, and by killing them he could get to me more easily, then why bother kidnapping us at all? Why not just kill us? He broke the wards on the Burrow, for crying out loud, and got access to me and the Weasleys, so why go through all of the rigmarole of drawing Mal- Draco and Hermione in to kill them just so he could kill me when he already had me to kill in the first place!" He stopped - his head was aching like hell, and he was certain that continuing with that vein of thought would most likely have ended up driving him insane.

"Not everything is about you, Potter," Draco drawled, looking slightly irritated.

"Oh, so we're back to last names, are we?" Harry snapped. "Why don't you just shut up for once in your life?"

"You know what your problem is? You're too damn self-centred, that's what. You swan in here, all ready to assume that this whole thing is all about you, and you don't even stop to consider the possibility that-"

"Self-centred?! I've never met anyone more self-centred, egotistical and conceited than you, Draco bloody Malfoy, and don't for one minute think that the whole 'Kiss-me-I'm-an-arsehole' image actually works-"

"If you two don't shut up right now," said Hermione quietly, "I will put the Full Body-Bind on you, wrap you up in brown paper and sellotape, and personally send you, via air mail, to Voldemort himself, and don't think I won't. Now, if I hear so much as a peep out of you in the next ten minutes, I'll carry out my threat, OK?"

Both boys nodded mutely.

Dumbledore had the good grace to look impressed before continuing with his explanation. "As I was saying, Voldemort wants Draco and Hermione. Why? Well, he does indeed want to kill them, as they are well aware, but not for the reasons you might think. It has recently come to light that Voldemort has gained access to the Malfoy-Granger Prophecy. However, he now has the full version."

Harry, forgetting his promise, said, "Full version? But I thought-"

"Full Body Bind, Harry," said Hermione in a sing-song voice, and Harry shut up.

"It appears that my own copy of Trelawney's prophecy had one very small but vital part missing. It reads as follows: Should the bond be broken by death's curse at the same moment in time, the resulting force will-."

"Will what?" asked Ron, speaking in Harry's place.

Dumbledore shook his head. "There is not a copy in the world which can answer that question. Professor Trelawney was interrupted by her sister, who believed that she was ill and needed to be woken up. It is unlikely that we will ever know what came after that. Voldemort's belief, however, is that Draco and Hermione's bond will, if broken by killing them at the same time, result in a shockwave of power which will flatten all buildings and trees, and kill all people within a certain distance-"

"A bomb," said Hermione tonelessly. "He thinks we're a bomb."

"I believe that is an accurate assessment, yes," said Dumbledore carefully.

Draco looked to Hermione for permission to speak, but she just sighed, so he turned back to Dumbledore and said, "What does he plan to do, then? Kill us and find out? That doesn't exactly sound very wise, does it? I mean, anything could happen. We could... I don't know... implode, or something, or become a black hole and suck everything into it. He'd never put himself at risk, would he? Not without just cause."

Moody broke in, gruffly. "We hear he's consulting everyone he can get his hands on; trying to see what he can find out."

"In the meantime," said Dumbledore, "you all need to stay here. If just one of you were seen, you could potentially lead Voldemort to everyone else. I realise you and Miss Weasley went out this morning, Miss Granger, but you did take the necessary precautions, did you not?"

"If you mean Concealment Charms, then yes."

"Good. But I'd rather that everyone stays inside, from now on. I believe you have methods of getting any supplies you might need?"

"Something called the 'Internet', apparently," said Moody, with no small amount of suspicion.

Hermione cracked a small smile, and nodded.

"Very well; I will leave you now, but I will be back very soon. In the meantime, Alastor, you should get back to Headquarters. I will send a replacement very soon. Put the word out that the Weasleys and Harry have gone to ground in Wales."

Moody nodded, and with a crack he had Apparated away. Dumbledore turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger - could I have a word, please?"

The two of them disappeared into the kitchen. Harry glanced across at Draco and saw him not-so-subtly craning his neck to try and see what was going on. Then he saw Harry watching him. "What?" he snapped.

Harry leaned forward. "You might try being a little less conspicuous. I should warn you, Ron's had a bit of a thing for Hermione for the last couple of years."

Draco sneered at him. "And why should that concern me? Other than being useful taunting fodder, of course."

"You know," said Harry, exasperated, "everyone's saying that the real Draco Malfoy is totally different from the total sod I've known for the last five years. But so far, I've seen no evidence of that at all. I'm trying to help you here. Do you know how obvious you're making it?"

"Making what?"

"The fact that you're in love with my best friend!" Harry hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

Draco blinked. Several times. "I have no interest in that red-headed oaf whatsoever."

Harry had to tamp down the urge to wring Draco's neck. "I am not," he said through gritted teeth, "talking about Ron. I am talking about Hermione. You can deny it all you want, but you clearly love her, and I just thought that you might want to make it a little less obvious because you see all these red-heads here? If they thought you might hurt her, they'd kill you. And believe me, as far as they're concerned, you've done nothing but hurt her for the last five bloody years."

Draco looked stunned. "But... I haven't. She knows I was only pretending. And I never would hurt her, OK? Never..."

Harry was silent for a moment. Then, "I know. And the Weasleys wouldn't kill you, either. Maim, yes. Kill, no. Besides, if you get killed, Hermione dies too, right?"

Draco looked at him, bewildered. "What?"

"You know! In the prophecy. If one dies, the other will too, blah blah, their bond, blah blah blah..."

"Potter," said Draco, looking slightly amused now, "if all you heard was 'blah blah' then perhaps you should read the thing again. It says, 'Death for one means the same for the other - such is their bond.' But it doesn't literally mean that if one of us dies, the other does too. Listen to it carefully: Death for one means the same for the other. If one dies, it means the same for the other. So, basically, if Hermione died, it would mean a death, of sorts, for me too. But I would die inside, if you get my meaning."

Harry stared at him. "You... you really have that kind of bond?"

"Yes," said Draco simply.

Harry was about to say something when the door to the kitchen opened, and Hermione came out, followed by Dumbledore. Her face, as usual, was expressionless. Dumbledore bid them farewell, and was just about to Disapparate, when Harry remembered something, "Professor!"

Dumbledore looked at him curiously; indeed, everyone did, and Harry felt a little self-conscious. "Um... Hermione was saying that they're not allowed to Protect me if I go into battle with Voldemort. I was just wondering... why?"

"Recall, if you can, your own prophecy, Harry. You remember what it said about you and Voldemort, and what must happen between you?" Harry nodded. "Well, if your Protectors were to intervene, then they might end up interfering with the prophecy, and what it predicts. That cannot be allowed to happen. Thus, if you ever come face to face with Voldemort, it must be you and you alone who takes him on. Do you understand?" Harry nodded again, and Dumbledore smiled, and Disapparated.

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OK, abrupt ending, I know, but it just felt like the right place to end this chapter. Feedback would be good round about now, since I haven't yet finished chapter six and I want to know if I should carry on with this.