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As the sunlight replaced the heat of the fire, Hermione opened her eyes. She gasped as she saw Draco, who was sitting half in darkness, with glinting eyes staring at her with an almost primal hunger. They sat like that as time passed them by slowly, until Hermione closed her eyes, willing the fear that rested in her heart to disappear.

She stood up, and walked over to her bag of supplies. She felt his eyes follow her, and her heart started to beat faster as she thought about being alone with him in the dark forest. He had changed from the childishly malicious boy she once knew, and become a stranger who she couldn't read in the least. The only thought that comforted her was that he hadn't killed Dumbledore, a man who he had hated even more than her. But had his time alone vanquished even that sign of goodness within him?

She took some of the dried food she had found in the cupboard and, using her wand, filled it with water. She felt the pull from the forest that Draco had described as she did it, and dread crawled up her spine once again. How would they survive if even the simplest spell took so much effort to cast?

She heard the soft crunch of leaves behind her, and tensed as she heard Draco's hushed breaths behind her. She turned around, and saw him eying her food greedily. He bent down, and picked up some of it, copying her preparation.

"Will you be ready soon to leave?" Her voice was steady, but as he turned his icy eyes on her, and she saw the fear in them, she felt her fingers begin to shake.

"I'll be ready when I say I am, Mudblood." He quickly gulped down his food, and before Hermione could unleash her anger on him, he had retreated to the other end of the clearing with her bag.

She kept her eye on him, afraid that he might just take off with everything she had to survive with. She watched as he took out her book, and with a roll of his eyes, dropped it carelessly in the dirt. Then, he found the scissors that she had collected for cutting bandages for the patients in the Colony. A small grin appeared on his face, and he grabbed the hair that was tangled down his back. Swiftly, he cut most of it off, until it was reminiscent of his old hairstyle, with tendrils hanging in his face.

He continued using her supplies, and she continued watching, only moving toward him to save her book. Finally, he appeared to be done, and shrunk the bag with a flick of his wand, only closing his eyes for a moment to recover from the dizziness the use of magic came with. Then, he stashed it in his robes. Hermione saw the triumphant gleam in his eyes. He knew that whoever carried the supplies would have the upper hand.

"Give me back my things, Malfoy."

"I don't think so. I'm ready now." His voice was calm and sure of itself, compared to Hermione's, which was laced with anger at the theft of her provisions.

She advanced towards him, her wand out. As she got closer, she had to tilt her head up to not break her gaze with the silver eyes, and his overwhelming height was making her resolve crumble only slightly. She held her wand to his chest, so that it was touching it slightly.

A growl rose in Draco's throat at the threat, and he lashed out, grabbing Hermione's wrist painfully. He twisted her around, and shoved her against the tree behind her.

"Don't try anything, Mudblood. I called you here; I have control over this situation. Your magic isn't going to be enough to save you. Got it?"

Hermione's eyes were narrowed, and she was about to retort, but her words caught in her throat at what she saw out of the corner of her eye. It was a faded Dark Mark, forever emblazed on Draco's pale forearm. Suddenly, what he might be capable of was brought to the front of her mind, and she only nodded mutely. He turned around, and Hermione clenched her fists. This wasn't over.

He hesitated at the edge of the clearing, and Hermione bit her lip at the obvious fear coursing through his posture. He pushed back the leaves, and looked at the girl behind him.

"We have to rotate lighting our wands. Once one of us gets too tired, the other one will take over. I'll start. Hopefully we'll find another cleared area before nighttime where we can build a fire. Not that we'll know when night even comes."

Hermione nodded, and Draco murmured, "Lumos". Bright light erupted from his wand, and Hermione heard the scurrying sounds of Creatures trying to escape the light. It was a sound that would haunt them throughout their journey.

Draco stepped into the engulfing shadows, and Hermione followed closely behind him, afraid to be out of the glow of his wand for even a moment. She felt hundreds of eyes staring at her from the hidden branches and bushes, and tried only to concentrate on the sound of Draco's feet making a path through the rotting leaves beneath them.

As time passed, she found herself almost completely pressed up against the slow-moving man in front of her. The light was dimming on his wand, and his eyes stared straight ahead. She touched his shoulder, and he turned toward her, too tired to make a remark about her hands on him. She lit her wand, and he nodded, letting his go out and moving behind her.

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You will know us by the trail of dead.

The voice slithered through Draco's mind as he tried to concentrate on the light moving in front of him.

We will make you strong. We will help you kill.

Hermione was looking back at him periodically, and every time her throat was turned toward him he could almost smell the blood that ran through the veins.

The blood will run down her face in tears.

Images of death were flashing through Draco's mind. Rotting flesh dripping from twisted faces, insects eating through the remaining skin, eyes staring forever at nothing.

We will make you immortal. You will be everything you've ever wanted to be.

The metallic scent of blood grew stronger in the air the deeper they went into the forest, and Hermione was beginning to cringe…her energy was waning.

You will control the light very soon. Join us in the darkness, Draco.

She stopped suddenly, and in Draco's dazed state, he nearly ran into her. She looked back at him, and motioned to him to light his wand. Her eyes were growing dull.

You can taste her blood; just follow our path of death.

Draco lit his wand and stepped into the lead. He felt something drip onto his face, and looked up. White, dead eyes stared back at him from the small animal hung in the tree above him. He looked forward once again, and saw another crushed body hung on a branch to his left. He walked toward it hesitantly.

Smell the sweet smell of demise, Draco, and come to us.

He stepped more assuredly, and he felt as if his body was not his own. Something was drawing him, someone wanted him. He followed the death that lurked along their trail, and the scent of decay hung enticingly around him and the girl following his lead, her footsteps heavy with fatigue. She couldn't hear them.

Let your hate drive you, young one. You will have power at last.

Suddenly, light appeared that wasn't from his wand. Hermione gasped, and they both stepped into a brightly lit clearing. The trees were hung with luscious fruit, and there was a spring flowing through it. Hermione dropped to her knees by the water after grabbing food greedily from the trees, and drank thirstily.

Rest now. Tomorrow we will meet.

Hermione was curled up with sleep by the stream, a half-eaten, bright red apple clutched in her hand. Draco plucked a golden pear from the tree nearest to him. As his teeth sank in, sweet juice flooded his mouth. Eagerly, he ate the rest of the pear. Reality seemed dim, and the sensations that the tender food and crisp water gave him were almost an illusion to his cloudy mind.

Sleep.

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Something was crawling on her hand.

Hermione woke with a start. Her mouth tasted like rot, and slime coated her throat. She gagged, and opened her eyes in horror. They landed on the apple in her hand, and her scream pierced the damp morning air.

Maggots swarmed over the brown, slimy, decaying fruit. She threw it to the ground, and turned to the stream to wash her hand and cleanse her mouth. A stifled sob was the only sound that was able to escape as she began to throw up.

The stream which had looked so clear the night before was dark green and smelled like a sewer. Dead fish floated on the top, their eyes white with death. The thin light that protected them from the other Creatures was dim, but it was enough to show the rotting corpses that littered the clearing.

Hermione heard a sound behind her, and turned around quickly, her eyes wild.

"It's time to move on." Draco's voice was hollow. He had a piece of fruit in his hand, and as Hermione watched with stunned dread, he raised it to his lips and bit it. The pale maggots showed as he chewed, and Hermione's knees buckled once again.

He seemed not to notice her revulsion, and turned his face away from her, lighting his wand once again.

"Draco." Her voice was harsh, and he looked at her again.

Her heart seemed to stop as the light from his wand illuminated his face. His eyes were completely white, and his face had no emotion in it. When she didn't speak, he turned again and started walking into the shadowed darkness.

"No! Please, Draco." She was sobbing as she begged, but he didn't turn again. She scrambled to her feet and ran after him, afraid to be near him, but even more terrified to be left alone with only death as a companion.

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