(A/N: I'll be honest with everyone here. For some reason, about halfway through this chapter I stopped writing completely, my mind was on overdrive with other personal matters and I couldn't for the life of me think of how to begin the next paragraph. Once I was reassured for the sixth time that my friend was okay, I sat down last night to try again and wrote about five or six more pages. So in my opinion, this chapter isn't my best and is about 5 pages shorter than last chapter but it was the best I could do at the time. It really flies by so it feels even shorter, but this means that next chapter should be that much easier to write. So I apologize about the update but there was no way I could have written any more after Wednesday. I really appreciate the reviews, they sincerely brighten up my day! So thank you again, to all of you who ever so faithfully put up with me and my updates and continue to provide such wonderful and enthusiastic reviews. It's kind of hard to say how much more of this story will be left, but I think it's fair to say that it will a while: probably more than 9 chapters. So here is Chapter Twenty-Five, hope you all enjoy it, and I will have Chapter Twenty-Six out very soon! Thank you all so much! Haystack)

To my wonderful reviewers…I'm sorry but the responses must be shorter than normal! ;(

Bhekie: Thanks so much for reviewing! Things are really heating up aren't they?

Legofiance: I hope your computer gets better! Lol your review made me laugh! Thanks so much!

cumbacksirius: I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten about Ginny. And neither have I. But unfortunately it'll be several chapters till we find out about her. Sorry! Thanks for reviewing!

Alicia-B: lol you know we well. I was considering making Lav. & Seamus Death Eaters but liked this better. Yup, escape will not be easy for them! Thanks for reviewing!

Ron'n'Hermione: I agree, Lavender used to bother me, so I thought to shed some light on her character & make her more real. Sorry you're getting antsy about Voldie but I'm afraid that it's not planned for that info to be reveled for a long time, try to hold on for me! Thanks for reviewing!

dancerrdw: Glad you're enjoying it! Thank you soo much for reviewing!

doublelily: haha glad to see that I've got you stumped. I'm honored that you would stay up till 230 for moi! Hehee…Thanks for reviewing!

Princess Storm: I must say you're the one who probed this dreaded chapter along! So thanks for that! I'm ever so happy you're liking everything! Thanks again for reviewing my other stories too! You're so sweet!

RedRose013: Glad you liked the way things are turning out! It was a spontaneous decision to set them free, but it's really for the better. They deserve a little happiness, poor kids! Lol Thanks for reviewing!

EvelyneJ: haha I'm glad you liked the ending! I'm so used to ending a chapter with sadness or drama that this was a refresher for me! Lol Gotta love Ron! Yes, the two have much in store for them! Thanks for reviewing!

suckr4romance81789: Aw drat! I had to re-write your response because I accidentally included something that is not yet public (hehee). I want to tell you guys so much, it's so hard not to! Phew! Okay I'm okay now, sorry bout that! Lol Yup…Bulgaria. This will actually be very interesting to see how it turns out. Thanks for reviewing!

AmyChris: Yes I rather like this new mature Lavender and Hermione as friends. Though I still like Hermione and Ginny as best friends, I just think it'll be nice and refreshing, something new! Thanks so much for your sweet review! So glad you're liking the story!

ShimmeringEvil: Glad you liked the ending! Lol Ron is a kick…gosh I love him! Thank you sooo much for reviewing!

vacant xpressi0ns: haha yes…Bulgaria. Though who's to say we'll make it there? Oooh dramatic music Lol, something to mediate on. Thanks for letting me know you switched pen names, and I love this new one, very original! Thanks so much for reviewing!

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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: THE RACE BEGINS

No matter what they said, Ron and Hermione couldn't seem to convince Seamus to go to bed. They both offered, proclaiming it their duty to be on watch as a small token to say thank you, but he was firm in his decision. Secretly, Hermione thanked Merlin he had resisted so fiercely, she wasn't sure she would have been able to stay awake a moment longer.

Agreeing to wake up in about an hour or two, Hermione, after kissing Seamus on the cheek, settled on the ground, more comfortable than she'd been in two days, despite the fact that the rock floor was much harder than the soft dirt of the prison cell.

Sighing contently, she scooted over next to Lavender, thinking of her luck and the narrow escape that would come soon. If they could just get off of Hogwarts grounds without being caught, they would be okay. Not to say that from there on, it would be easy. Someone could easily recognize them on the train. But as Hermione remembered her reflection in the puddle, she found it unlikely. Besides, everyone thought she and Ron had died along with Harry, right?

The thought of what the rest of the Wizarding world knew, struck Hermione, and for a moment she wondered about the Weasley family. No doubt Mr. Weasley had been called in to help fight by either Dumbledore or the Ministry but it was Mrs. Weasley's reaction that Hermione couldn't bear to picture. With Fred and George in Hogsmeade and Ron and Ginny at Hogwarts, she cringed as she thought of what the poor woman's reaction must have been to the news of the war. She wondered if she knew if Harry was dead. Did the world realize that they had lost their hero? That without Harry to stop Voldemort eventually evil would conquer over good?

That was something Hermione couldn't seem to comprehend. She'd never heard of story in where goodness failed and evil won. How could darkness really and truly destroy all? Running to Bulgaria wouldn't help them then. They could only run for so long…it was only a matter of time, whether it was days or years, that Voldemort would find them. Thankful that she at least had the chance to find out how much time was left, her stomach twisted nervously with the thought of the escape. If they made one wrong move, it was all over. Voldemort and his followers wouldn't waste any time, they would kill them on the spot. This was it.

Knowing that she'd need her energy, she closed her eyes, savoring the feel of being squished between Lavender and Ron. Her friends surrounded her, and for the moment, she was safe. With that thought alone to ease her mind, Hermione easily slid into sleep, a smile on her face…

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She was jerked away from a blissful sleep, a pair of foreign hands shaking her back into reality and away from the dream world she favored. Snapping her eyes open, she sat up, rubbing her tired eyes.

"I know, I know." She mumbled. "I'm up"

"Good" Seamus said briskly, "Help me wake Ron while I wake up Lavender"

Nodding, not fully awake yet, she crawled over to where her red haired boyfriend slept on. Smiling, she crawled on top of him and kissed the area she knew he was most sensitive, right below his ear.

"Mmm…I could get used to waking up every morning like this!" Ron exclaimed, eyes still closed

"Oy Hermione!" Seamus cried in horror, a few feet away. "I said wake him up, but I didn't mean like that!"

Hermione giggled, not quite sure why she was so giddy. "Wake up!" She cried, pulling at Ron's arm

"Five more minutes" He mumbled

"No Ron" She whispered sweetly, kissing his lips quickly. "We need to leave, remember?"

"mm…Why can't we just stay here? This is nice" Ron said through his sleep.

"Because we're not safe here you git. Up now!"

"Well enlighten me Miss Granger, where exactly where we will be safe?"

She sighed. "Nowhere Ron. But we'll be safest in Bulgaria. Now up before I have to use your full name in front of Lavender and Seamus!"

Ron's eyes snapped open and he sat up immediately. Hermione smirked "Honestly Ron, your full name isn't that bad is it?"

Eyes darting around rapidly, Ron looked frightened out of his wits. "So you weren't kidding last night when you said we'd stay with Krum?"

Hermione's eyes bulged. Was he serious! Of course she hadn't been kidding! "You did not just ask that Ronald Weasley" She said in an astonished voice that made a sleepy Lavender Brown raise her head in both curiosity and annoyance.

"Hermione you know how I feel about that git!" Ron cried, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Before we were friends you thought he was greatest guy in the world! You were the one pushing to befriend him, you remember that?"

"No" He said stubbornly

Hermione threw her hands up in exasperation. Gritting her teeth she turned around to face Seamus who was desperately trying not to laugh. Irritated, she scowled at him. "It's not funny Seamus!"

Seamus simply burst into a series of chuckles. "You have no idea how bloody funny it is Hermione!"

"Don't curse" She sighed

Lavender smiled and she got up and threw on her cloak, tying it into a perfect bow much like Hermione's. "Glad to see some things never change"

Once everyone was ready and Seamus had transfigured some more pebbles into food, the four simply stared at each other. It looked no different outside, but Seamus assured them that it was early, early morning and that this would be their best time to escape. Unsure exactly how to begin this, everyone turned to Seamus expectantly.

"Right" He mumbled, noticing all the stares. "Okay so basically let me review the plan. We run as far as we can until we reach King's Cross. From there we board a train set to Bulgaria. Then, we follow Hermione to Krum's place. If we get lost, separated, or ambushed, keep on going. Any questions?"

Hermione's stomach suddenly dropped. She hadn't thought about that. What would she do if she and Ron got separated? Would she be able to keep on running? No…there was no way. And yet…if she were the one captured, she would want Ron to run. The future looming in front of her, Hermione closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, trying to calm her nerves; she needed her wits about her if she was going to be able to do this.

The group nodded solemnly. Standing up and crawling towards the entrance, everyone filed in behind Seamus, their hearts beating fast and palms sweating. Hermione followed Lavender out of the "cave", with Ron close behind her.

Carefully, they walked slowly, avoiding twigs at all costs. But it was pretty difficult, as they were in a forest. No one said a word and the eerie silence made the hairs on her neck stand up. Shivering, she inhaled a shaky breath of the cool night air, her eyes scanning over the forest as they walked.

Dodging behind trees when they could, the group desperately tried to blend in with the forestry. Ron even got so into it, he began to press his back against every tree they passed, imitating a kind of spy move Hermione had seen once in a movie. She fought back a smile, and shook her head at herself, now was not the time.

So caught up in her thoughts, she barely comprehended that Seamus had stopped. Bumping into Lavender, she shot her an apologetic glance, looking behind her at Ron who raised his eyebrows at her and smirked.

Looking ahead of Seamus to see why they had stopped, her breath fell short. There was nothing there…but she could hear voices. Panicking, she made eye contact with Lavender, whose eyes were bulged out. Seamus bit his lips nervously and finally, with the sound of footsteps, motioned for them to hide in the nearby bushes.

Diving into the bushes, Hermione gasped with pain as the branches scratched at her skin, creating new cuts of all sorts along her arms and face. She wanted to cry out in pain, her skin now bleeding, but instead bit her tongue as hard as she could until she felt the taste of blood well up in mouth.

Rubbing at the scratches, she froze with the sound of someone approaching. The snaps of twigs were getting closer, and the heavy breathing of what seemed like a large man grew louder. Frantic, Hermione looked around her for Ron. He wasn't there.

Fear suddenly consuming her, she finally spotted a spot of red hair in the bushes opposite her. Lavender too, was looking for Seamus. Neither of them could find him.

Grabbing each other's hands, the girls huddled together, trying to hold their breaths in order not to be heard.

"Did you hear!" An extremely loud and upset male voice shouted over their heads

"No. What happened?" Another voice asked, brimming with curiosity and excitement.

"They escaped!" The voice exclaimed in disbelief

"Who?" The same voice responded

"Weasley and Granger"

Lavender shot Hermione a look that clearly said, 'I told you so'

"No! No way! B-but how?"

"No one knows"

Hermione crossed her fingers. This was good…if they couldn't trace their escape to anyone else alive, then maybe it would be easier to get away. After all, they would be expecting two people to escape, not four.

The Death Eater sighed. "Merlin…" He breathed, "This isn't going to be pretty."

"You're telling me! Malfoy's people were in charge of guarding them!"

"Bloody Hell! So you think Malfoy will get it as well?"

"You know our Master. If one makes a mistake, everyone related to it pays in blood"

Though it seemed a strange sensation, for one fleeting moment, Hermione felt bad for Malfoy. It was her escape that would bring the death of his father, and though in no way was she sorry for Lucius Malfoy, she could relate to the horrors that would soon come to pass for him. But in instant, the feeling was gone, and worry for herself and her friends took up the rest of her mind.

"Do we have any leads as to where they might be?"

Hermione held her breath.

"No. The best we can assume is that they're in the forest. Seems like the most logical place to hide."

That wasn't that bad. They'd soon be out of the forest anyways.

"I still can't believe it. I mean they're just a bunch of kids. All three of them were. How they managed to live like this, I'll never know. Faced a whole bunch of horrors in their lifetimes didn't they? Not many 17 year olds could escape from such a heavily guarded place."

Hermione's mouth open in surprise. Who would have guessed that even her enemies understood some of what her life was like? Even slightly admired her for it?

"Better keep that kind of admiration to yourself. If anyone hears you saying that, you'll be the one to deliver the news to our Lord. I wouldn't fancy the bloke who has that job. Near death sentence that is."

"Very true." The man yawned "Well I suppose I'll go switch posts with Baker. I'll probably join you in an hour or so to help you search the forest. Good luck, and thanks for filling me in, I'll let you know if I see anything."

"Sure thing. See you later then. Bye"

Hermione pressed her fingernails into her palm. This was it, if the man could walk by them without suspicion, they would be okay for now. The four of them could easily slip past one Death Eater. But if they got caught…it would all be over. Closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on holding her breath in, she made her body go rigid, never moving.

The footsteps were coming closer…there! They were right in front of her. She couldn't breathe! Why wasn't he moving? He was supposed to walk onwards! Why had he stopped? She hadn't heard anything. What was wrong?

Tempted to peek at what was going on, she felt as though someone had punched her in the good when she heard the sudden rush of feet and a strangled cry. NO!

She closed her eyes desperately and bit her lip as hard as she could to try to block out the cry.

"GOTCHA!" The Death Eater exclaimed "HEY NOTT! NOTT COME QUICK! I GOT ONE OF THEM!"

"Ahh!" The voice of Seamus Finnegan cried

Hermione sat up. What were they supposed to do? They couldn't sit here and watch this happen! But at the same time, she couldn't reveal herself! The inner turmoil was mixing around in her stomach, and she grabbed it painfully. Peeking through the branches, she saw Seamus trying to twist his body around as the Death Eater held him tightly by his long hair. She felt sick. She couldn't take this. Reaching into her back pocket for her wand, she remembered suddenly with horror that she no longer had it.

Panic seizing her, she looked once again at Seamus. The Death Eater was turned away, calling for backup when suddenly in a flash of brilliance, Seamus managed to tear away to him.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" His clear voice rang out through the forest, echoing a bit.

The body hit the dirt floor with a thud as shouts of more Death Eaters became audible.

Looking up with horror smitten across his face, he shouted, "RUN!"

Springing up immediately, Hermione grabbed Lavender's hand as they jumped over the bush and ran as fast as they could, Ron meeting them and grabbing a hold of Hermione's other hand.

From holding her breath in for so long, and now this sudden sprint, Hermione's lungs felt as if they were about to explode, the stress on them was so high. Concentrating solely on breathing in and out in a rhythmic pattern, desperately trying to tune out to beating of her frightened heart, she gained more strength and pushed herself forwards.

There was a mob behind them, that much she could tell. They were shouting curses she knew as random colors of light lit the way for them through the dark forest, but they were still too far away to have any effect on them. Preferring to keep it that way, she somehow managed to make her legs go even faster, a strength she never knew she possessed taking control of her. The race towards freedom had really begun now.

There had been times in the past two days where she ran as fast as she could, each time beating her previous record. But now…this beat all other records. Not the sprint to get to Harry, the sprint to get to Ron, or even the sprint to rush into a burning Hogwarts, beat this run. It was at a speed she never knew existed, something that surprised her greatly. After all, she'd had many good runs in her lifetime.

They'd exited the forest now and were on open ground, no trees surrounded them, helping to shield curses from their backs, they were now on their own.

This was the part they needed to run faster at, but energy quickly drained out of Hermione. She was exhausted, her heart ready to burst, the sudden exercise in her weak condition simply too much to handle. The others were slowing down as well.

But the mob was gaining momentum, feeding off each other and slowly closing in the distance between the two groups. Panicking, she tried to make her legs take longer strides but they were too sore, she must have pulled a muscle in them earlier on.

By now, she could feel the heat being radiated as curses were sent flying into the air. "Weave around!" Ron shouted to the group, "We'll be harder to hit."

Obeying orders, Hermione weaved to the left, and back to the right. It required more energy though, something she was short of at the moment. Her pace slowing down considerably, she tried her hardest to remain up to speed but it was physically impossible. She needed rest, she needed food, she needed water!

"GET EM BOYS!" A shout rang through her ear. The mob was upon them…she had to keep running, she couldn't get caught…not after everything…not now.

But it was no use. As she was hit with a curse she didn't know and fell to the ground, she looked up just in time to see both Ron and Seamus fall down as well.

An intense pain seared in her stomach, as if it'd been sliced open. Screaming out in pain, she clutched it as she kneeled over. Examining her hands, and noticing their red color, she immediately looked down at her abdomen. Blood was soaking through her robes.

"HERMIONE!" Lavender's voice suddenly screamed, as the girl realized that Hermione hadn't followed her.

Death Eaters continued to approach Lavender as Hermione watched her look about wildly. Noticing that both Ron and Seamus were down, all color drained from the beautiful girl's face. "ACCIO WAND!" She suddenly screamed as Seamus's wand flew into her hand. Killing off Death Eaters as she went, Lavender struggled to get to Hermione.

As a rough hand grabbed her shoulder, pushing her to ground, Hermione had enough time to see Lavender make her way towards her. Praying she got there in time, she grimaced as the man smacked her head, her face getting smeared with dirt in the process. When she heard a grunt and the pressure on her back was lifted, she knew he was dead.

Gingerly sitting up, she looked into Lavender's petrified face. "COME ON!" She cried, grabbing Hermione's arm and helping her onto her feet.

"What about Ron and Seamus?" She asked, looking around for the two boys.

"Over there!" Lavender pointed to Seamus who was looking around, punching a Death Eater in the process. Ron was lying on the ground.

"RON!" She screamed, desperately trying to make her way over to him.

"Hermione no, we need to go" Lavender shouted, pulling on her arm.

"NO! I can't leave him!" She protested, trying to fight Lavender back

"LAVENDER!" Seamus cried "WAND!"

"Right!" Lavender said, throwing the stick over her head. It fell to the ground, but Seamus summoned it with accio.

"YOU BOTH GO ON!" He shouted "I'LL GET RON!"

"NO!' Hermione exclaimed, breaking free of Lavender's grip and running over to where Ron lay. He was clutching his chest and using his free arm to try to propel himself forwards. Kneeling down next to Ron's body she grabbed his hand. "Ron! Ron!"

He looked at her with wide eyes. "Go 'Mione! I'll be fine! Hurry!"

"Are you mental? Ron you know I'll never leave you!"

Ron sighed in what appeared to be annoyance. Most of the Death Eaters were dead, and the others had retreated…but they would be back; the four knew that much. There wasn't much time left until they would come again.

"Hermione this is no time to be"

"What are you talking about!" She asked, horrified, realizing what he was saying. "You haven't been able to get rid of me for seven years, you think I'm just going to abandon you now!"

"Hermione!" Ron said sternly, "Look at me. This isn't time to get emotional. Seamus and I will meet up with you two soon. He's just going to need to help me along. I'm not mortally wounded or anything. We have a wand anyways. Just go"

Hermione bit her lip. She couldn't leave him. Yet…deep down she knew she had to.

"HERMIONE COME ON! MORE OF THEM ARE COMING!" Lavender shrieked suddenly, pulling at her.

"Please 'Mione" Ron said, his eyes begging. "Please go!"

A tear slipped out of her eyes without knowledge. Bending down and placing a quick kiss on his lips she squeezed his hand. "I love you," She whispered

"I love you too," He said, "Now go!"

As Hermione grabbed onto Lavender and began to run, more tears somehow found their way onto her face. They were running past the remains of Hogwarts. Knowing it could be the last time she ever saw the school she'd loved so much, she stole a quick glance at it before stealing a glance at the other thing she was leaving behind. And as she spun around, saw the massive group of Death Eaters, and heard the scream, suddenly the pain she was feeling in her stomach, was little compared to the wound in her heart.

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