Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any other character. Neither do I own the places. All I own is the plot. The rest belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter eight: Flight from the manor

Lucius snapped his fingers. His son. There was something odd. A handfull of powder in the fireplace brought a greenish light into the room.

"Mulciber. Now."

The figure of a hunching man appeared in the fire and a second later it unfolded into the room.

"Yes. I am here. What would you have me do."

"I have a few questions regarding the little 'incident' last night."

The man nodded. Lucius took his seat and leaned back.

"Tell me," he said, "everything you saw when you came to our 'guest's quartes' last night."

The man, Mulciber, squinted as he tried to remember.

"There...there was the body...Rookwood was on the ground. He had been hexed and tied up." He hesitated.

"Continue." Lucius' voice sounded cold.

Mulciber traced back his memory.

"Then...I tried to wake him so he could tell us what happened. He woke up and started yelling: 'Potter is here! Quick, Dolohov is on his way down to the prison.' So we ran down the shortcut. When we came down...we saw a body. Dolohov was lying, face down, infront of the prison door. It was not empty. But when we searched it we noticed there was something odd about the girl. She walked around normally but when she spoke....she said things funny. 'Sirs! I is not that girl! Please don't hurts me sirs. I is only doing my job.' So we figured she was not the real prisoner."

Lucius coughed in a bored fashion.

"You've told me this before. Tell me things that I don't already know." He said in a drawling voice.

"Oh...yes sir. Sorry. Well, er, well she turned out to be a House Elf, transfigured to represent our prisoner. She wouldn't say who had put her there. She wouldn't say anything. So we searched the prison."

"And?"

"And...we found only one thing."

Mulciber handed something over to Lucius. Lucius studied the little piece of cloth closely. It was black. One edge of it was carefully embroidered with a silver patern, representing the coils of a snake. The patern on it's back was designed with an elegant 'M' every few inches. No mistake about it. This was the Malfoy family crest.

"Draco..."
"But I don't understand" Hermione gasped, trying to catch her breath.

Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her further down the corridor.

"Listen, Hermione, there's not much time. Father knows something's wrong. It will not take long before he finds out."

They ran further. The corridor was damp. Puddles of water were on the floor.

"Where are we going?" she asked as she followed Draco's pase.

"This underground passage will lead you into the forest behind the manor. A little cottage has been made ready."

They reached the end of the passage. The moon was shining high in the sky. They looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say.

"...Here. I managed to steal this from my father's office." He said as he handed her her wand.

She pocketed it and looked at his face again. Draco smiled.

"Listen. Go to the cottage. Stay there and wait for me. I'll join you there tonight, this place is not safe for me anymore."

"I will...Draco? I...thank you." She said softly. "Thank you for taking care of me."

She stepped forward and hugged him. He blushed slightly, but hugged her back. She drew her head back and gave him a peck on his cheek.

He looked at her with a mixture of embaressement and surprise on his face. But then he moved his head closer and brushed his lips against hers. Her eyes met his and suddenly he pressed his mouth against hers a bit more roughly and his tongue begged for entrance in her mouth.

She sighed into the kiss and closed her eyes. When they broke apart they looked at each other. Hermione sighed again. Draco blinked once.

"Oh...Oh my god, I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to..."

"It- It's...okay...I..."

"Shh..." he leaned in for another kiss.

A singing bird broke them apart.

"I- I'd better go."

"Yes."

"I'll wait...for you. At the cottage." She gave him one last smile before running out of sight and into the forest.

Draco watched her silhouette disapear.

'What just...did I...did she...wow.'

And with a smile on his face he walked back into the passage. He had kissed Hermione Granger. And he had really liked it. He started humming a little tune.

"Draco."

A voice out of the darkness startled him.

"Who's there?" he said, his smile fading.

A figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Your father would like to have a word with you."
Well hello there lovely readers. My, what a fine day this is, don't you agree? I know I told you I'd update soon...and I didn't actually mean THIS soon, but I figured 'what the hell!' and I've got something to celebrate!!! I just had my english oral exam today and I got 10 points in fluency, 10 points in vocabulary and 10 points in depth!!!!!!!!! So that gives me a 10 for my oral exam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO HAPPY, I'M DOING A LITTLE VITORY DANCE LIKE A MADMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (for those of you who're used to a different grading system, a 10 means an A) So, I figured this called for a celebration by updating with a new chapter.

Dark Angels: this time you didn't have to wait long for an update, but is there still some suspense left? I'm glad I'm forgiven and...YAY FOR THE SUMMER!!!!!!!

Pixieballerina: Well, I updated...and soon too. Thanks for the review

...Okay, Did I just come across as if I'm sugarhappy? I guess I did. Anyway, what's wrong with sugarhappy? ...Sometimes I feel like a real Selphie.........sighes.........Till the next chapter, my friends!
- Raven55