Draco's got back at Ron and he's kissed Hermione, so what will happen now? Read on, my fellow fans, read on

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Hermione's POV

After that eventful episode between Ron and Malfoy had played down, I returned to my tent, cursing myself for even going to Malfoy in the first place. Why did I go? I only wanted to ask why he had come back, but he had kissed me. Kiss ME, Hermione Granger, the person he's hated for the last six years! Was it true that people could change? I've seen Harry grew up from a little, lost boy to the teenager with a heavy weight on his shoulders. And Ron, well, Ron's just been the same, the only different is he grew two more brain cells and about eleven inches taller or more

I touched two fingers to my lips, feeling how soft they were, remembering how soft and sweet his lips were. Wait, I'm thinking about Malfoy like this! It was crazy. And yet, the way his lips captured me, wrapped me up, it was something I couldn't describe. How could I feel like that, after kissing my worst enemy? Ron did have a right to blow up. But now as I think about it, did he have a right? Does he? Can he dictate who I kiss or who not I can kiss? He was like this in fourth grade, when Viktor Krum took me to the Yule Ball. Viktor and I only shared one small kiss, but it was one of friendship

CRAASH!

I jumped, snapping out of my thoughts, grabbed my wand and raced out of the tent. The shield charm had gone off, while several Quintapeds were trying to get through. I looked around and saw Malfoy staring at the beasts with defiance, a glittering sword in his left hand, wand in right hand. Harry doused the flames, as Fred and George were setting off other jinxes and spells. I looked around again and saw a flash of red in the darkness, retreating from us

"Is that Ron?" I called

Harry's head whipped and I saw his eyes widened

"He's not running away, he's just putting some distance between him and the spiders"

"That counts as running away," said Malfoy

BANG!

"They're here," shouted Fred

I spun around and saw a massive mouth descend towards me. I screamed and fell back

THOCK!

A sword appeared in its flank. The Quintaped howled, as Malfoy rushed over, firing jinxes, until he was close enough to remove the sword. The Quintaped focused on him, but Malfoy drew his sword arm back and thrusted. The blade disappeared deep into its mouth

"Aargh!" Malfoy cried out

He withdrew his hand and I saw it was lacerated, blood running down his wrist. I used the Stupefy spell, knocking the beast down (hey, it was weak). Malfoy removed the sword, as I grabbed his injured hand and checked it

"Its okay, Hermione, I'll be fine"

He turned away and ran towards Harry. I ran after him, watching as Harry sliced a leg off and cast a jinx into the monster's mouth. It fell onto its side and didn't move

"We have to run," yelled Malfoy, "There will be more coming and we can't fight them all. I know where the Horcrux is"

"Fred, George, let's bail," called Harry

The twins broke away from their beast and joined us in running away. We caught up with Ron, who had currently fallen over in his haste. Harry helped him to his feet, and with Malfoy in the lead, we continued running

"Aaaaahh!" Malfoy yelled

He fell onto his butt, sliding along in the dirt, coming to a rest just before the new Quintaped. It roared and leaned forward to bite Malfoy, but Harry got there fire

"Stupefy"

The stunning spell struck the beast in the mouth. It stumbled back, as Malfoy swung his sword, slicing a clubfoot off

"Check this out," said George

He threw a small lolly into its mouth. I recognized it as a Ton-Tongue Toffee. The Quintaped choked, as its tongue began to swell, growing larger and larger, filling its mouth. The Quintaped continued to choke, stumbling away from Malfoy, who got up and looked at George

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it"

"Now let's go"

CRAASH!

Malfoy took the lead again and we followed. I looked back and saw at least three or four of the monsters giving chase

"I knew this was a bad idea to come here," shouted Ron over the crashing

"When did you come up with that idea?" called Malfoy

"Malfoy, there's a cliff coming right at us!" yelled Harry

"I know"

"What! I'm not running over a cliff!" I yelled

"Trust me!"

"Are you insane?" called Fred

"When I say, jump"

"What!"

"Just do it!"

THUMP!

A massive tree landed in our way. I skidded to a stop, as a large Quintaped lunged out in front of us, blocking our escape. Ron, Fred and George stopped next to me, while Malfoy, closet to the beast, swung his sword. The Quintaped lifted a leg and struck Malfoy with its foot. Malfoy flew back, his sword and wand falling away. I cast a jinx, as Harry stabbed at the giant spider. It hissed from the pain and kicked him aside

"What do we do now?" I asked

"Run," whimpered Ron

"We can't leave Harry and Malfoy behind"

"No, we can take Harry, but we'll leave Malfoy behind"

"Ron!"

"Stop arguing and run," said George

I looked up and saw the Quintaped charging at us. I dived aside, turned around and raised my wand, as the Quintaped killed its speed, turned around and came charging at me. I saw out of the corner of my eye, Ron standing up, his wand raised, but he wasn't doing anything

"Come on, Ron!"

A flash of blonde and silver from the moonlight. Malfoy sliced upwards, cutting into the monster's stomach. The beast screeched, its legs flailing, as Malfoy struck again, imbedding the sword deep into its flesh. It stumbled towards me, but Malfoy grabbed my arm and pulled me aside, out of the Quintaped's resting place

"Thank you," I said shakily

"You'll be fine"

"Let's go," cried Harry, "the ones behind us haven't given up"

He ran towards the cliff and waited

"Go, just jump, you'll be fine," said Malfoy

Harry leapt over the edge, followed by the Weasleys and it was a few seconds before I heard a splash, or at least a few

"We're diving into the ocean?" I asked

"Yep, now let's go"

Together, we ran towards the cliff. Malfoy slid his right arm around my waist. He sheathed his sword and clutched my left arm

"Jump!"

I pushed off, held into the air by Malfoy, as we fell towards the ocean, joining Fred, George, Ron and Harry

"About time you two joined us," grinned Fred

Malfoy let go of me. I wish he didn't, because while I could swim well, I was in deep water and I couldn't stop myself from going under. His arms came around me again and I stopped floundering

"Where's the Horcrux?" asked Harry

"Right over there"

I twisted around in Malfoy's arms and saw a large rock face jutting out. It looked dark and uninviting. I didn't want to go over. Something about it gave me the chills

"It's in a cave?" asked Ron

"No, there is no cave," answered Malfoy, "It's under the water, in a small cavern. The only problem is you can't just go in and get it. You'll run out of breath and there's something in there that protects it"

The small chills I was getting just maximised

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