Well, here's chapter two, on with the fun people! Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I must assure you people that all the characters, places and content of this story do not belong to me. Most, if not all of this belongs to J.K. Rowling who creatively thought up our friend Harry Potter and his world of magic. She's the genius, not me!
Draco looked around the Great Hall that morning, searching for one person more than anything else. With a sigh of relief, he spotted her talking with her beloved friends, Weasel and Potty. As he watched Hermione laughed at something the stupid little red-head said and Weasley blushed. It was apparent to Draco what he really thought of Hermione.
She seemed to notice too because almost at once she looked away, toward another table. Draco laughed. She didn't like him back! Maybe this girl does have her brain in the right place besides studying.
Hermione sat with Ron and Harry, like always. And, like always, Ron tried to impress her with a funny story about when he had accidentally tried to use his mom's old broom to race and discovered that it was just a regular muggle broom that couldn't fly. She laughed, like always and they began their normal routine.
"Hermione, can I ask you something?"
Oh boy, here it comes she thought to herself. Instead of voicing her complaint, however, she smiled at him and said "Sure Ron. What's up?"
"Hermione, you still don't like me do you? I mean, as a friend you like me, but I'm talking about, you know, more than friends. You still think it wouldn't work, don't you?"
Hermione sighed. Every day he asks me this stupid question and every day I have to tell him the same answer. What is wrong with this kid? She looked at him and said in the sincerest voice possible, "No, Ron, I still don't think it's a good idea for us to start dating. I like you and all, but, you're like a brother to me, you know? I think we're better off as friends."
She turned away and Harry, after finishing a mouthful of toast and eggs, said loudly to both of them, "Yeah Ron. Besides, you can't have 'Mione because she's mine. She is like my wife or something."
They all burst into peals of laughter and didn't stop until they reached the dungeons for potions class. Then, they were doing anything but laughing.
The day passed by, like normal, and it wasn't until they were in the common room doing homework that it happened. There was a blinding light in the sky outside. Seconds later a boom shook the castle. Several screams followed and the trio soon knew what was happening. Voldemort had finally crossed the line and was attacking Hogwarts.
They ran outside, trying to think of a place to go where no one would find them. Being the famous trio they were, however, they were among the first to be spotted, even though they were running through the forbidden forest. Harry grabbed Hermione by the arm and pushed her towards the Quidditch field. He yelled to both her and Ron, "Separate and run, you two. Now, get moving!"
Hermione ran as fast as she could, dodging trees and jumping rocks that seemed to spring up and surprise her. Behind her she could hear the continued stream of shouts, mingling in the air with the cruel and bone- chilling laughter of many death eaters. She refused to let herself cry and she refused to look back over her shoulder for Harry. She knew neither choice would make her happy or, help her any for that matter.
She reached the Quidditch pitch and her eyes began to betray her. Through the blur of tears, she could make out a figure running towards her with a billowing cloth in it's' hands. Without uttering a sound, she swerved to the left, hoping that whoever it was hadn't seen her. They had and were in fact now chasing her across the field. Hermione tripped over the long ends of her robes. She fell flat on her face and the attacker stood over her, panting slightly from the chase.
"What do you want?!" Hermione screamed out. She might as well be heard before she died.
The shadowed person didn't speak. He (at least, she assumed it was a he due to his muscular build) simply bent down and easily lifted her to her feet by grabbing her by the arm. After she screamed and kicked for a minute, he could no longer keep quiet. "Granger, will you just shut up?! They'll hear you, that is, if they haven't already, and then we'll both be fried!"
"Malfoy, is that you?" She kicked and fought back harder. Without difficulty, he picked her up. "No, put me down! Let me go, you're just going to take me to them."
Malfoy stopped walking for a moment. He turned and peered at her by the light of the full moon overhead. She was frightened and as his eyes met hers, she stopped squirming. So he asked, "Huh? Now why would I go and do a thing like that, Hermione? Honestly, I don't know what those teachers see in you. Sometimes, you can be pretty thick."
"I am not!" She kicked at him again, but he merely held her tighter up against his chest. If the situation wasn't so bad, she would've said it was pretty comfortable. She inspected his face, and it held no lies. "So, you're really not going to take me to them, right? I mean, you wouldn't lie about that, right? Right, Draco?"
He sighed and continued walking towards the forest area again. "My word Hermione, are you that thick?! why on earth would I have to lie about something like that in a situation like this? I've got you right here, you're obviously not going anywhere, and it's not like you could get away if you tried."
"And you can?" She said the words as though they were a challenge to him. When he looked down at her, his eyes were sparkling brightly, with hidden amusement. At, Hermione knew he had a plan or something that he wasn't telling.
"Of course I can, woman. I'm a Malfoy, aren't I?" Then, to shut her up as she began to protest about being called woman, he did something he never would've done under better circumstances. He lowered her to the ground and trapped her mouth with his.
As the sparks from many wands soared above their heads, Hermione clung to him and allowed him, even if it was only this one time, to kiss her. Time seemed to slow down and the sounds of screams and laughter seemed to die into a soft roar, like the ocean. She breathed in his smell, his hypnotic cologne seemed to state it was worth more money than her life. Suddenly, the haze lifted as he stepped away and draped the cloth over both of them. It was an invisibility cloak. His eyes never left her face and he seemed relieved that his little stunt worked. She had not uttered a word yet. Ah, the charm of a Malfoy.
Without saying anything about what had just happened, he grabbed her arm and began to run. Overhead, two brooms flew by, the occupants talking loudly. One could be heard, clearly yelling about his traitor of a son. Draco smiled up at his father's form, imagining his face if he knew exactly what Draco had been up to this evening. Helping and kissing a muggle-born wouldn't look to good in his fathers eyes. He tried to shake his mind of the thought of kissing her again.
After all, it was only to shut her up so we could escape unnoticed. I don't love her or anything stupid like that. She's Potters little angel. Not mine...not that I want her to be, or anything. She is, after all, just a filthy little mudblood. He thought bitterly. Still, it was kind of nice kissing her. Her shook himself again, and continued running, dragging her with him.
A flash of silver caught their eyes before vanishing behind a small door in the side of the castle. They instinctively ran to it and followed. Inside was a small group of people in the shadows. They had been whispering but stopped when the door had opened. One stepped forward. In the light of the moon, streaming in from the open door, Dumbledore stood with his wand pointing at the invisible intruders and called out in a whisper, "Show yourself."
Draco yanked the cloak off immediately and called out, "Professor Dumbledore, it's us!"
As Dumbledore lowered his wand the others surged forward calling out Hermione's name. As he watched, she was hugged by Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Luna Lovegood. He watched feeling a slight stab of jealousy, which was quickly washed away by his remembrance of kissing her out there in the light of the moon. Weasley hadn't got that far. Dumbledore however was observing him with a mixture of interest and caution.
"I would've thought you, of all people Mr. Malfoy, would be out there terrorizing my students with your father. That is to say, your father is out there with Voldemort?" Dumbledore spoke calmly and sternly, his eyes never leaving his face. Hermione and the others watched in suspense as the two stared at each other. Finally, Malfoy spoke.
"Yes sir, my father is out there and no sir, I have no desire to join him anytime soon."
"Very well then, Draco, You will be joining the others. As I was saying before you two thankfully arrived, I will be sending you students to America in pairs. You will be going to different areas to keep you safe. You are to remain in America until further notice. Your schooling will be continued by an adult witch or wizard in the area. Now, how shall I do this... alright, listen up. Ron, you and Harry will be sent together. Ginny, you will be paired with Luna. Hermione, you and Draco will be a pair. Sound alright?"
"Sir, I don't think Hermione should be stuck with Malfoy." Ron piped up at once. He looked upset and kept glancing at Draco as if he was already hatching up a scheme.
"Do you wish to be paired with Mr. Malfoy? I believe they are civil enough to put up with each other under the circumstances, am I right?"
Draco and Hermione looked at each other, then they mumbled "yes sir" in unison. Dumbledore seemed happy with this. After very short farewells and one more round of hugging Draco didn't participate in, the groups prepared to leave and grabbed a portkey each. In a matter of moments, they were all in different areas of the United States and the friends were split.
Hermione opened her eyes and looked around. She was on the ground of a small apartment building, the kitchen apparently. She was lying on something squishy and when she moved and it groaned, she realized it was a person. She sat up quickly and said, "I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to. Are you ok..."
He sat up and chuckled softly at her concern. "I'm fine, Hermione. Really, you're not that heavy. I picked you up easily, remember?"
She nodded as it all came back to her. She stood up to hide her tears from him. The last thing she needed was to be called a baby or something for crying. She looked around, which took a total of two glorious minutes. There were two beds in the bedroom, a small living room, a bathroom, and a small kitchen with a table in it. At the table were two chairs. "Where are we, Draco?"
"We're in a small town, somewhere in Massachusetts." His reply came almost instantly. She looked up to see him looking down at a couple flyers on the table. His frown deepened as he continued to look through them. "We must be stuck in one of the smallest, most unnoticed states in this country! We must be in the smallest town too. This is wonderful."
"Well, it would be harder for the death eaters to find us here, you know. Tomorrow, we should look around and try to find out more about where we are. I am not going to sit around and wait for them to find us or Harry. I'm going to find a way to call them." Hermione said in a daze. How could everything fall apart so fast?
She went back to the small bedroom and looked around again. Beside one of the beds was a shelf crammed with books. She chose that bed, and sat down. When her eyes fell on her bedside table, there were two things she hadn't seen before. A large leather book opened to reveal pictures of Ginny, Harry, Ron, and herself, all smiling and happy. The other book was a small black one with empty pages. It was a journal. She made her first entry, writing about the attack on Hogwarts and their flight to the United States.
When Draco entered, he found Hermione sitting there, crying her eyes out. He sighed and sat on the other bed. He couldn't stand hearing her cry; it would keep him up all night. He decided to say something. "We will see them again, you know. It's not like they're gone for good, Hermione."
She said nothing and turned out her light. There were many things Malfoy didn't know. Malfoy didn't know about the prophesy Harry had been born to fulfill. Now, more than ever, she was certain that prophesy was Harry's. After all, Neville had left the day before to care for his Gram. He had not been there for the attack and he was not meant to be. Harry was.
A/N OK I don't think this chapter was as good as the last one. Well, the ending was kind of dry. I'm sorry! Please read and review. In the next chapter, they look around town, Hermione tries to contact Ginny, and she gets a shock of her own from Malfoy. All I'll say, but you have been warned.
Disclaimer: I must assure you people that all the characters, places and content of this story do not belong to me. Most, if not all of this belongs to J.K. Rowling who creatively thought up our friend Harry Potter and his world of magic. She's the genius, not me!
Draco looked around the Great Hall that morning, searching for one person more than anything else. With a sigh of relief, he spotted her talking with her beloved friends, Weasel and Potty. As he watched Hermione laughed at something the stupid little red-head said and Weasley blushed. It was apparent to Draco what he really thought of Hermione.
She seemed to notice too because almost at once she looked away, toward another table. Draco laughed. She didn't like him back! Maybe this girl does have her brain in the right place besides studying.
Hermione sat with Ron and Harry, like always. And, like always, Ron tried to impress her with a funny story about when he had accidentally tried to use his mom's old broom to race and discovered that it was just a regular muggle broom that couldn't fly. She laughed, like always and they began their normal routine.
"Hermione, can I ask you something?"
Oh boy, here it comes she thought to herself. Instead of voicing her complaint, however, she smiled at him and said "Sure Ron. What's up?"
"Hermione, you still don't like me do you? I mean, as a friend you like me, but I'm talking about, you know, more than friends. You still think it wouldn't work, don't you?"
Hermione sighed. Every day he asks me this stupid question and every day I have to tell him the same answer. What is wrong with this kid? She looked at him and said in the sincerest voice possible, "No, Ron, I still don't think it's a good idea for us to start dating. I like you and all, but, you're like a brother to me, you know? I think we're better off as friends."
She turned away and Harry, after finishing a mouthful of toast and eggs, said loudly to both of them, "Yeah Ron. Besides, you can't have 'Mione because she's mine. She is like my wife or something."
They all burst into peals of laughter and didn't stop until they reached the dungeons for potions class. Then, they were doing anything but laughing.
The day passed by, like normal, and it wasn't until they were in the common room doing homework that it happened. There was a blinding light in the sky outside. Seconds later a boom shook the castle. Several screams followed and the trio soon knew what was happening. Voldemort had finally crossed the line and was attacking Hogwarts.
They ran outside, trying to think of a place to go where no one would find them. Being the famous trio they were, however, they were among the first to be spotted, even though they were running through the forbidden forest. Harry grabbed Hermione by the arm and pushed her towards the Quidditch field. He yelled to both her and Ron, "Separate and run, you two. Now, get moving!"
Hermione ran as fast as she could, dodging trees and jumping rocks that seemed to spring up and surprise her. Behind her she could hear the continued stream of shouts, mingling in the air with the cruel and bone- chilling laughter of many death eaters. She refused to let herself cry and she refused to look back over her shoulder for Harry. She knew neither choice would make her happy or, help her any for that matter.
She reached the Quidditch pitch and her eyes began to betray her. Through the blur of tears, she could make out a figure running towards her with a billowing cloth in it's' hands. Without uttering a sound, she swerved to the left, hoping that whoever it was hadn't seen her. They had and were in fact now chasing her across the field. Hermione tripped over the long ends of her robes. She fell flat on her face and the attacker stood over her, panting slightly from the chase.
"What do you want?!" Hermione screamed out. She might as well be heard before she died.
The shadowed person didn't speak. He (at least, she assumed it was a he due to his muscular build) simply bent down and easily lifted her to her feet by grabbing her by the arm. After she screamed and kicked for a minute, he could no longer keep quiet. "Granger, will you just shut up?! They'll hear you, that is, if they haven't already, and then we'll both be fried!"
"Malfoy, is that you?" She kicked and fought back harder. Without difficulty, he picked her up. "No, put me down! Let me go, you're just going to take me to them."
Malfoy stopped walking for a moment. He turned and peered at her by the light of the full moon overhead. She was frightened and as his eyes met hers, she stopped squirming. So he asked, "Huh? Now why would I go and do a thing like that, Hermione? Honestly, I don't know what those teachers see in you. Sometimes, you can be pretty thick."
"I am not!" She kicked at him again, but he merely held her tighter up against his chest. If the situation wasn't so bad, she would've said it was pretty comfortable. She inspected his face, and it held no lies. "So, you're really not going to take me to them, right? I mean, you wouldn't lie about that, right? Right, Draco?"
He sighed and continued walking towards the forest area again. "My word Hermione, are you that thick?! why on earth would I have to lie about something like that in a situation like this? I've got you right here, you're obviously not going anywhere, and it's not like you could get away if you tried."
"And you can?" She said the words as though they were a challenge to him. When he looked down at her, his eyes were sparkling brightly, with hidden amusement. At, Hermione knew he had a plan or something that he wasn't telling.
"Of course I can, woman. I'm a Malfoy, aren't I?" Then, to shut her up as she began to protest about being called woman, he did something he never would've done under better circumstances. He lowered her to the ground and trapped her mouth with his.
As the sparks from many wands soared above their heads, Hermione clung to him and allowed him, even if it was only this one time, to kiss her. Time seemed to slow down and the sounds of screams and laughter seemed to die into a soft roar, like the ocean. She breathed in his smell, his hypnotic cologne seemed to state it was worth more money than her life. Suddenly, the haze lifted as he stepped away and draped the cloth over both of them. It was an invisibility cloak. His eyes never left her face and he seemed relieved that his little stunt worked. She had not uttered a word yet. Ah, the charm of a Malfoy.
Without saying anything about what had just happened, he grabbed her arm and began to run. Overhead, two brooms flew by, the occupants talking loudly. One could be heard, clearly yelling about his traitor of a son. Draco smiled up at his father's form, imagining his face if he knew exactly what Draco had been up to this evening. Helping and kissing a muggle-born wouldn't look to good in his fathers eyes. He tried to shake his mind of the thought of kissing her again.
After all, it was only to shut her up so we could escape unnoticed. I don't love her or anything stupid like that. She's Potters little angel. Not mine...not that I want her to be, or anything. She is, after all, just a filthy little mudblood. He thought bitterly. Still, it was kind of nice kissing her. Her shook himself again, and continued running, dragging her with him.
A flash of silver caught their eyes before vanishing behind a small door in the side of the castle. They instinctively ran to it and followed. Inside was a small group of people in the shadows. They had been whispering but stopped when the door had opened. One stepped forward. In the light of the moon, streaming in from the open door, Dumbledore stood with his wand pointing at the invisible intruders and called out in a whisper, "Show yourself."
Draco yanked the cloak off immediately and called out, "Professor Dumbledore, it's us!"
As Dumbledore lowered his wand the others surged forward calling out Hermione's name. As he watched, she was hugged by Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Luna Lovegood. He watched feeling a slight stab of jealousy, which was quickly washed away by his remembrance of kissing her out there in the light of the moon. Weasley hadn't got that far. Dumbledore however was observing him with a mixture of interest and caution.
"I would've thought you, of all people Mr. Malfoy, would be out there terrorizing my students with your father. That is to say, your father is out there with Voldemort?" Dumbledore spoke calmly and sternly, his eyes never leaving his face. Hermione and the others watched in suspense as the two stared at each other. Finally, Malfoy spoke.
"Yes sir, my father is out there and no sir, I have no desire to join him anytime soon."
"Very well then, Draco, You will be joining the others. As I was saying before you two thankfully arrived, I will be sending you students to America in pairs. You will be going to different areas to keep you safe. You are to remain in America until further notice. Your schooling will be continued by an adult witch or wizard in the area. Now, how shall I do this... alright, listen up. Ron, you and Harry will be sent together. Ginny, you will be paired with Luna. Hermione, you and Draco will be a pair. Sound alright?"
"Sir, I don't think Hermione should be stuck with Malfoy." Ron piped up at once. He looked upset and kept glancing at Draco as if he was already hatching up a scheme.
"Do you wish to be paired with Mr. Malfoy? I believe they are civil enough to put up with each other under the circumstances, am I right?"
Draco and Hermione looked at each other, then they mumbled "yes sir" in unison. Dumbledore seemed happy with this. After very short farewells and one more round of hugging Draco didn't participate in, the groups prepared to leave and grabbed a portkey each. In a matter of moments, they were all in different areas of the United States and the friends were split.
Hermione opened her eyes and looked around. She was on the ground of a small apartment building, the kitchen apparently. She was lying on something squishy and when she moved and it groaned, she realized it was a person. She sat up quickly and said, "I'm sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to. Are you ok..."
He sat up and chuckled softly at her concern. "I'm fine, Hermione. Really, you're not that heavy. I picked you up easily, remember?"
She nodded as it all came back to her. She stood up to hide her tears from him. The last thing she needed was to be called a baby or something for crying. She looked around, which took a total of two glorious minutes. There were two beds in the bedroom, a small living room, a bathroom, and a small kitchen with a table in it. At the table were two chairs. "Where are we, Draco?"
"We're in a small town, somewhere in Massachusetts." His reply came almost instantly. She looked up to see him looking down at a couple flyers on the table. His frown deepened as he continued to look through them. "We must be stuck in one of the smallest, most unnoticed states in this country! We must be in the smallest town too. This is wonderful."
"Well, it would be harder for the death eaters to find us here, you know. Tomorrow, we should look around and try to find out more about where we are. I am not going to sit around and wait for them to find us or Harry. I'm going to find a way to call them." Hermione said in a daze. How could everything fall apart so fast?
She went back to the small bedroom and looked around again. Beside one of the beds was a shelf crammed with books. She chose that bed, and sat down. When her eyes fell on her bedside table, there were two things she hadn't seen before. A large leather book opened to reveal pictures of Ginny, Harry, Ron, and herself, all smiling and happy. The other book was a small black one with empty pages. It was a journal. She made her first entry, writing about the attack on Hogwarts and their flight to the United States.
When Draco entered, he found Hermione sitting there, crying her eyes out. He sighed and sat on the other bed. He couldn't stand hearing her cry; it would keep him up all night. He decided to say something. "We will see them again, you know. It's not like they're gone for good, Hermione."
She said nothing and turned out her light. There were many things Malfoy didn't know. Malfoy didn't know about the prophesy Harry had been born to fulfill. Now, more than ever, she was certain that prophesy was Harry's. After all, Neville had left the day before to care for his Gram. He had not been there for the attack and he was not meant to be. Harry was.
A/N OK I don't think this chapter was as good as the last one. Well, the ending was kind of dry. I'm sorry! Please read and review. In the next chapter, they look around town, Hermione tries to contact Ginny, and she gets a shock of her own from Malfoy. All I'll say, but you have been warned.