Author's Note: Thanks so much to Angel for some of these great ideas in this chapter! She helped me so much with my writer's block! Everyone thank her!
Chapter Ten: The Plan
The next morning, well at least they assumed it was morning, Narcissa opened their door and came in quietly. She took out two small vials for Hermione and four for herself. "I found some strengthened potions that Severus had been secretly keeping, so they should last for at least two hours and probably more." Draco watched from the corner where he was standing as they mixed their hair into the potions.
"Now if they come looking for you, I'll be in the room you were in last. I don't think they've visited that room since you left. Now you're both aware of the plan, right?" Hermione and Draco both nodded. "Good. Let's do this. Draco can take the invisibility cloak." She and Hermione drained their vials. The women had to lean against the walls to steady themselves because the potion was so disgusting and it was painful.
Once they recovered from it, they looked exactly like each other. "Now if you start to notice any changes that mean the potion is wearing off, take the second potion immediately. It won't be as bad as this time because there's a lot less to change." Hermione's body smiled at Draco and the real Hermione. She hugged each of them. "Now follow me." Draco put on the cloak and both did as she said. They walked up a long flights of stairs and stopped at the end of the last one.
"Now turn to your left and I'll got to the right." Mrs. Malfoy instructed them. "You'll find another split in the corridor and turn to the left again. That should lead you to the exit. There is a guard there and he will let Hermione pass. When you exit, there will be a forest surrounding you. Try to walk in a straight line through it and when you find a tree wider than the others, try to reach your hand inside the trunk. I have stored a broomstick for each of you, there. It's around half a day's walk there and please be careful." Tears were in her eyes and she went on her way. "Good luck!"
Hermione sighed and nodded. "Stay close to me." She felt awkward talking to someone she couldn't see, but turned left as Draco's mother had ordered. She couldn't tell if he was following her or not, because his footsteps were silent. So she had nothing to rely on that he was following. They went left again and soon reached the end. As Narcissa had said, there was a guard standing in front of the door. "Good day." Greeted Hermione. The guard gave her a mere nod. He didn't budge. "Um, do you mind if I pass through?"
He stared at her for a moment as if he could see through her disguise. But he stood aside and opened the door for her. "Thank you." Hermione stepped outside, taking her time and moving near the frame so Draco had room to pass her if needed. She heard the door close and they both headed into the forest. "You can take the cloak off when we walk a good distance away from here." She wasn't sure if Draco had heard her or not because she spoke in a whisper.
About ten minutes passed by and they traveled a good distance away from their prison. "Draco, are you there?" Called Hermione, unsure if he was or not. "Yeah." Draco reappeared just beside her. "Did you know that it gets warm under the cloak after you wear it for a while?" He said as they walked.
Sure enough, there were beats of sweat on his forehead and some of his hair clung to his face. She reddened at noticing this because it made him considerably more attractive. She merely nodded and continued walking in silence. Her feet were getting sore now, but she dared not stop. Any moment now, Mrs. Malfoy could be found out and killed. The Death Eaters could be looking for them at this very minute.
It was a long time before they spoke. It was Draco who broke the silence, "Mother was always kind to me. Unlike Lucius, she actually cared for my well-being. It was she who sometimes managed to convince my father into letting me have my way or to not hurt me." He spoke quietly and it made Hermione feel sorry for him. "But I think this is what she would have wanted. For me to be free and at least a little happy." He smiled weakly and stole a glance at Hermione. "She would've wanted to die like this. Helping me." He seemed to have taken it for granted that Narcissa would die doing this. Although Hermione knew that the likelihood was that she was going to, she couldn't help but feel that it was a little wrong of him to be so sure.
She was at a loss of words so she didn't say anything. But she took the vial and drank it all in one gulp. This time, she barely felt anything. Another hour passed by without a word. The pair finally reached a fat tree jutting out of the earth. It had gnarled, twisted roots that rose up through the ground and dug down into the soil. It was as if it were a monster that was reaching for the core of the earth. Doing as Mrs. Malfoy said, Hermione climbed on the roots and lightly trailed her fingers along the trunk. She began walking around the tree with her fingers still touching the bark.
All of a sudden, a pair of hands grabbed at her wrists. Frightened, Hermione looked up and saw the face of Senior Malfoy glaring at her. "You filthy mudblood…" He started in a dangerously low voice. "How dare you disguise yourself as my wife. Your dirty blood isn't good enough for you to pretend to be a pureblood." He sneered and threw her to the ground. She let out a small shriek and fell on the hard roots.
"Now you will be sorry that you ever did this." Lucius growled and took out his wand. "You deserve to live in the dirt that is your blood." He opened his mouth to speak and Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. "Avada Kedavra!" A voice shouted. Hermione was prepared to face death. She waited, but it never came. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found that Lucius was lying lifeless on the ground and she saw Blaise walking toward her. Scrambling to her feet, Hermione clutched her aching side. "Where's Malfoy?" He growled, clutching her arm tightly. His eyes bore into hers and she found herself stuttering. "I-I d-d-don't know." She looked away.
"Liar." He dragged her along with him around the tree and looked around. Draco was nowhere to be seen, although this was the area that she had left him. Blaise suddenly crashed to the ground and Draco's body appeared, the invisibility cloak sliding off of him. He pinned the Dark Lord to the ground and stuck his wand at his throat. "You have no business here, Zabini."
"Okay, okay." Zabini eyed the wand and held up his hands as a sign of surrender. "You win. I'll leave you two alone." Draco stayed still for a moment, but then got off of him. "Alright. Go." He turned and rushed to Hermione. Hermione's eyes widened when she say Blaise stand and point his wand at Draco. "Look out!" She whispered. "Avada Kedavra!" A desperate-sounding female voice cried and Blaise crumpled to the ground. "Mother?" Draco spun around and sure enough, Narcissa Malfoy staggered out from behind the trees. She looked terribly weak and exhausted.
There was a small smile on her face as she stumbled forward. She looked like Narcissa again and not Hermione, so the potion must have faded. There were still brown streaks in her blonde hair, and her eyes were still brown. "Draco I'm so glad you're okay!" Her voice was barely a whisper, and tears were streaming down her face.
Draco ran to his mother and embraced her tightly. She returned the hug. Hermione smiled sweetly at the scene. It was so beautiful. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she watched them. When they pulled back, Mrs. Malfoy's legs gave away and she dropped to the floor. "Draco… Promise me you'll take care of yourself." He nodded and bent down. Within a minute, the woman's breathing gradually stopped. She had died.
Hermione walked over to them and squatted next to Draco. "I'm sorry." She said. "Your mother was a great person." They both gazed at the late Mrs. Malfoy for another minute or so. "I suppose we should bury her." Draco suggested and took out his wand. He flicked it and a hole as well as an elegantly carved wood coffin appeared. He gently placed his mother in the coffin and gave her a last kiss before closing it. With another wave of his wand, it transferred itself into the hole. Draco closed his eyes and took the time to silently say his prayers. Hermione followed suit. "What about your father and Zabini?" Hermione asked when they were finished.
"We'll just put Lucius's body in here, too. Despite their differences, they were married." He walked around the tree and reappeared with the body of his father. He carelessly threw it down into the hole and closed his eyes. He thought a short prayer and then sealed the hole with his wand. It was as if it was never there. Hermione used her wand to conjure a beautiful flower and set it down in the middle of the dirt.
"May they rest in peace." She whispered. Draco nodded and walked over to Blaise. "He doesn't deserve a very nice funeral. Or at least a grave. We'll just bury him in the dirt to decompose." He used his wand to bury the body and looked at Hermione. "It's best if you and I go." He said solemnly. "We'll use the brooms that my mother hid in the trunk." Hermione agreed and they went to find it.
.-'THE END'-.
Author's Note: Hey, thanks for reading and sorry for taking so long to update. Stupid writer's block… I think that this is the appropriate time to end the story. I decided that at the last paragraph. XD Don't you think so, too? And don't fret! I will be writing a sequel very soon. As soon as I think of a good plot, though… Thanks so much for the reviews and I totally appreciate all of them. Don't forget to review for this chapter, too! Whether it's comments, compliments, critisicm, or suggestions for my sequel, they're all welcome. And thanks again to Angel!
Just to clarify things, here were her ideas:
...When Draco and Hermione escape, they think that Narcissa is dead.
...Lucius finds them and tries to kill Hermione.
...Blaise enters the scene and uses the Killing Curse on Lucius because he tried to murder Hermione.
...He then prepares to destroy Draco, but Narcissa shows up and kills Blaise, in turn. (Partially my idea. Her original one was that Narcissa would kill Lucius instead of Blaise, but that was unlikely to ever happen.)
A HUGE thanks to slytherinsess, DudettRin101 and Wrinkles the Troll who stayed with me from beginning to end. Love you!
And thanks to my other reviewers, too! You all rock! Without you, there wouldn't be stories for me to write.
Ariesbaby, Queenofhell, Kristen, gilmoregirl450, forbiddenlight, Jaina Solo Potter, runaway mental patient, Dead Red Head, Samantha Grimmet, anwen, Hermione Charlotte Granger, iliketosleep, xoKaSsIeox, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, Hazelocean, malfoyXgrangerXsnape, beachbabe33, stbgt, myseriouscharm, anna, Ciara, retarted monkey, Anonymous and Arwen12323, you are all great!