To Get Back Life

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londonmalfoy - thank you for being my only reviewer to the last chapter!

A/N so seeing as how harldy anyone is reading this I might remove it. What do think? Let me know if you're reading this and liking it please!


Chapter 3
Dementors

Hermione was at the doors before they even opened as it pulled up at the station just an hour later. She was the first one onto the platform and had slipped out the doors before most people were getting ready to greet the loved ones that had come to meet them. There was no one there for her, of course, she knew there wouldn't be. That would be stupid, for someone to meet her, the less muggle borns that were out in the open, the less chance the Deatheaters would have to catch them.

She pulled out the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket; thankful that it hadn't burrowed into one of the holes and dropped out onto one of the seats and was now trundling away from her. Although, from the amount of times she had looked at it, she was sure that she knew it off by heart. It was directions to the next place she would be staying in. just the names of the roads that she would have to take and then a number. The number of the house that she would go to and ask for Rory Bennett, the person there would take her to him.

She walked slowly, looking around at everything she passed, but not too closely as she had learnt not to draw attention to herself. Still she tried to take everything in, sadly, she thought, that when she did she was just seeing ways of possible escape. When once she would have seen a heavily leaved tree as something beautiful, she now saw it as a good place to hide from pursuers.

It made her sad that she should think like this at just nineteen years of age but it was the reality if she wanted to stay alive. It was something she had trained herself to do, to be completely aware of her surroundings at all times, even when it seemed like she was focused on one thing she could be checking out everything else in the room also. She couldn't remember the last time she had walked into a room without finding all possible exits before settling and casting a safety check over everyone who was surrounding her. She couldn't remember the last time she had relaxed and let her mind rest if only for a second.

--

Twenty minutes after she had left the train station she arrived at the house with the number 26, the one written down on the paper. With her heart beating nervously she knocked on the door. A young woman opened the door to her and looked at her warily.

"I'm here to see Rory Bennett?" Hermione voiced her statement as more of a question as she was so nervous.

The woman still did not speak but stepped to one side so Hermione could enter the house. The woman led her into a living room and pointed her wand at the fireplace. Flames sprung up inside and she tossed in some Floo powder and they turned green. She didn't step inside, however, she just reached into it and when her arm emerged she was holding an old book. She handed the book to Hermione and walked to the door. She paused briefly and turned back to face the middle of the room where Hermione was holding the book with a puzzled expression.

"Good luck." She muttered and seconds later Hermione felt a tug at her navel and the world around her blurred as she was taken to a different destination.

--

As she landed her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor. A few seconds later she sprung back up onto her feet and was looking around. She sensed she was not alone before she actually saw the man sat in the corner.

"You must be Hermione Granger; I was told you'd be coming today." He said as he stood up and walked over to her. He picked up the book and placed it into the empty slot on the bookcase. "I'm Rory Bennett. Now come with me."

As she had done with Margaret she put her trust in that man as he led her into the unknown. It could have been anywhere. It ended up being a room hidden behind a bookcase. There were three others in the room. An old woman, a young girl who looked to be about ten and a woman probably a few years older than herself, Hermione concluded.

The room was small and bare but it was warm and safe so she didn't mind very much. The other looked at her with brief interest before returning to whatever they had been doing previously.

"You will stay in here, it will be safe, my wife or I shall be the only ones to enter here; we will bring you food or fresh cloths if we can." He explained to her before walking from the room, leaving her alone with these strangers she had so much in common with.

--

Hermione was there for two days before she got to know the three women. The old woman, Peggy, had arrived just three days before Hermione; this was her fourth safe house since leaving her home in Cornwall, she was planning to go to Spain to stay with her sister. Then there was Susie, the ten year old; her parents had left her in the care of the Bennett's as they had gone back to their home to collect some items, Hermione didn't have any doubts that they would not return, but Susie would stay there until they came for her. The woman, Isabel, was twenty five and had been dating a pureblood before he was found out and killed, she had been captured but managed to escape. She was hoping to go all the way to America where her boyfriend's family was. She would stay with them for a while.

They all have real plans Hermione thought sadly, places to go, people to meet up with, lives to live. All Hermione had was the basic idea to leave the country, from there she had no clue as to what to do, where to go. It seemed that she would just take things one day at a time.

--

After two weeks she was getting restless. Peggy and Isabel had both moved on but there was still no sign of a place opening up for Hermione. There was still no news from Susie's parents; dead or alive.

In her time there she had learnt many things; the portkey she had taken had transported her just a streets distance away and the house she had travelled from was a pure-blooded family's, as was the Bennett's. But the house she had travelled from, the Dewitt family, the man of the house was a Deatheater and he had no idea that his wife was helping the people he tried to kill to freedom.

But life was like that now; everyone kept secrets from everyone.

--

By the middle of her third week Hermione was about to explode, or so she felt, she needed to get out, to get fresh air, to see something other than the four walls that she now felt trapped her. So one night she pulled on a thick, black robe and headed for the door. As silently as she could manage she navigated along the pitch black halls until she found the front door and was able to slip outside.

The cool air hit her face and she smiled as she breathed it in, the icy feeling filling her lungs. She began to walk, having no idea where she was going but needing to just move around.

She ended up in a small town, the shops all closed for the night although it was not deserted. She knew there was someone else around, she could sense them. It was not a Dementor, she could tell, as her mind was still sharp, still focused on the present not drifting off to her painful past, she was not slowing down feeling as though she had lost all momentum, she was still perfectly in tune.

Although she knew it was human, whoever was roaming the dark streets she could not tell if they were a Deatheater; were they were friend or foe? She eventually buried her curiosity and decided that she didn't want to find out.

Turning around she started on her way back to the Bennett house. This time she did not sense them as they started to swarm around the dark alleys. By the time she realised they were there she was already lost in the tears of her parents' murder. They started to surround her then as they fed of her painful thoughts. Without an amulet to repel them they were free to give her The Kiss, to suck away her sole and leave but a shell of a human behind.

--

It was no Deatheater roaming the streets. It was Draco, fuming after yet another row with his parents, which had resulted in his storming out of the house. He too, had not sensed the Dementors, it was only when his silvery protector leapt from his amulet and formed the shape of an eagle that flapped slowly beside him as he walked, did he see their dark hooded figures in the shadows.

It took his a further few minutes to realise that they were all headed in the very same direction. That could mean only one thing; he thought as he followed them, they've found a target.

Looking up at his Patronus he changed his path to follow the Dementors instead. They made slow progress alone the streets until they turned into an alley.

"What do they always run to the dead ends?" he wondered to himself.

He slipped between the figures until he reached the front of the crowd. A small group were huddled tightly around the person who was curled up in a small ball in the corner of the dark alley. Every couple of minutes there would be a burst of silver mist that was the feeble attempt at protection against the Dementors, but it barely even caused one to draw back so there was little chance of it actually saving her.

As the wind picked up the cloaks of the Dementors started to move out if the way and Draco was able to see the person who under threat. A girl, long brown hair covered most of her pale face but he could see the look of concentration on her face, which he knew was the attempt to hold a happy memory in her head.

The eagle had already started circling him as a way to ward off any attackers eager to get his soul. He quickly made his way through the gaps that were made from the Dementors backing away.

He was quickly able to get to her side and throw the long chain of his amulet around her neck as well. Draco pulled the girl into him and she collapsed against him, giving up the fight now that she knew that she wasn't going to be Kissed.

The eagle rushed forward and began circling the pair and the Dementors backed away slowly. Soon the alley was completely empty of them. Draco let out a sigh of relief and lent back against the wall. With the girl still connected to his neck by the chain he wasn't able to move, but he could take it off as he feared the Dementors may come back.

--

It was ten minutes before Hermione opened her eyes again. She looked up at the person who had saved her, a boy. He was wearing a robe over what looked like Muggle clothing. As he leant forward to remove the chain for both of their necks she saw the label and it was, sure enough a Muggle brand.

He must be Muggle-born or at least Half-blood she thought, no Pureblood would ever be allowed to wear those types of clothes. It was frowned upon for them to even wear the Wizard versions. Wait a minute! It can't be, that can't be right can it?

"Malfoy?" She whispered in confusion.

"How do you know my name?" He jumped at the sound of her voice, not having realised that she was awake. He then became suspicious, how did this girl know him name? Was it a trap?

"I'm Hermione Granger." She told him as she pulled herself out of the chain.

"Granger?" He asked in wonder.

The girl stood in front of him looked nothing like the Hermione Granger he had known at school. The girl in front of him had short, layered hair falling to about chin length, her face was thinner and she was taller than she had been, her body was a completely different shape, the lack of food made her bones jut out and her completion pale.

"Why did you save me Malfoy, you of all people would want me dead?" Hermione asked, feeling all the anger she used to have for him built up inside of her. She reached into her pocket and gripped her wand tightly, awaiting attack.

"Not anymore Granger, I'm on your side now, look." He said and held out his arm where the mark of the deatheater should have been but his arm was still completely bare.

"You Malfoy? But you were supported Voldemort so strongly in school." Hermione accused.

"You're right," He admitted, "But that was before he was actually in power and I could see what he was doing first hand. My father used to bias the stories he told me to make them sound appealing but know I know the truth and I could never do that to another human being."

"How do I know that this isn't a trap and you're just here to kill me?" She asked although feeling less wary of her old enemy.

"If I wanted you dead why would I have saved you from the Dementors they could have taken your soul easily? Or why did I not just kill you while you were passes out, it would have been easy. But if you still don't believe me I'll show you."

He took his wand and threw it to the floor; he spread his arms wide and said. "If you still don't believe me do what you wish. Kill me or knock me out and escape, whatever you want."

Hermione stayed still, "No Malfoy I believe you, pick up your wand, you don't know who might be lurking about."

They spent the night sitting in the small space between the two buildings where Hermione had been so close to loosing her soul and spent the time learning what the other had been doing for the past two years.

Draco told her all about Cassandra and Hermione told him about loosing Harry. They were able to reach a common ground sharing in the pain they both felt for loosing a best friend. They had a new understanding that they could never have made in Hogwarts, they did not consider themselves friends straight away but in the weeks that followed they met up more and more and soon became each others replacement for the best friend they had sadly lost.

As Draco walked her home one evening she stopped before entering the safe house that he know knew all about. "Thank you for saving my life Draco." She said sweetly and hugged him quickly before running inside.