Chapter 3 - Enemies Reunited

The woods were not a friendly place to Hermione, even after months of literally being just in the woods. And camping out with two irritable boys whilst trying to keep the peace was one thing, but trekking alone through unknown territory, her feet getting increasingly wet and muddy no matter how carefully she stepped, was entirely another thing. Oh, she was going to kill Ron if he ever put them in such a situation again! Didn't he know that it was dangerous to apparate in a panic like that, no matter what the situation?! Any one of them might've gotten splinched, or worse! They might have to make some new rules about that.

Anyway, since sending out her Patronus report to Harry and Ron, Hermione hadn't come across any witch or wizard in the area, but she was convinced that she had entered under someone else's protective charms. She had no idea how—either the barrier she had put up around her own body had countered against the charms, or they just weren't cast very well to begin with—but now she was effectively heading directly towards a confrontation, as no way would anyone not have noticed her invading their protected area like that.

Not smart to keep moving forward on your own, Hermione, she warned herself. On the one hand, it might be a friend, a muggleborn on the run or a supporter of the Order of the Phoenix in hiding, but then again, it might be an enemy and then you're putting Harry and Ron in danger too. They'll know you're not travelling alone and it's not a long shot for them to use torture to get Harry and Ron running. You'll have doomed all three of you, never mind what Ron did!

Telling herself to shut up with the pessimism and focus on being alert, Hermione ducked behind another nearby tree, keeping as close to shade and cover as she could, edging forward. It was uncanny how exposed she felt, and for a second she almost forgot that she was a witch as well and had magic to protect her. Besides which, she had learned and mastered hundreds of spells, so she hypothetically was prepared for anything.

Just breathe. Not too loudly, though.

Wand held out in front of her, Hermione made a spontaneous dash, stopping abruptly once she reached the end of the path and almost toppled directly into the edge of the lake! Crikey, so they were where Ron had guessed!

Well, that was great and all, except that she was still in another wizard's protective territory right now. And that wizard had spotted her near-fall and was now pointing his wand right at her.

And that wizard was Draco Malfoy.

To say that he was shocked to see Hermione Granger of all people was a severe understatement. For one thing, he hadn't been looking for Potter and his friends, and yet even the dozens upon dozens of Snatchers that were looking for them hadn't been able to find them. The famous threesome were somehow able to completely evade the Dark Lord's followers at every turn, and Draco had no doubt that clever Granger was the brains behind it all.

How ironic then that she should be the very witch he stumbled upon by chance.

Already, he had her at a disadvantage, a clear high ground and his wand already drawn whereas she had dropped hers after that fall she had almost taken. It was almost too good to believe.

But there she was, staring at up at him with what Draco could only determine as a combination of hatred and fear. Fear from Granger of all people—Granger, who had once punched him in the face and drawn her wand upon him too many times to count. Granger, whom the Dark Lord would like to get his hands on the most other than Potter himself, because she was the greatest asset to Potter. Right in front of him, like a present wrapped with a bow. He could turn her in right now by calling on the Dark Lord using his Mark, and...

And then the war would effectively be over, because once the Dark Lord got Potter, he would get everything he wanted and fulfill the prophecy by killing Potter—'either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives'. Yes, Potter would be dead, Draco would be rewarded by the Dark Lord and secure his place among the Death Eaters, and...

And nothing would change. The wizarding world would still be in turmoil, with muggleborns and supporters of the Order of the Phoenix hunted down, either to be killed or sent to Azkaban at every turn. His parents might be proud of him—his father certainly would be—but the nightmares for Draco wouldn't stop, and fairly soon he would have to perform the Killing Curse himself and partake in everything the Death Eaters did. Then, even his mother wouldn't be able to protect him as she had been doing; he would lose everything of himself that still felt like him, and become a mindless puppet for the Dark Lord much like his Aunt Bellatrix. Completely mad.

Not that he was having this existential crisis just by looking at Granger though. But it had all been inside his head, what the worst case scenario was; and, shockingly, it was the scenario in which the Dark Lord won.

But then, what was he to do now with Granger? Any moment now she might decide to attack, and though his skills had improved greatly (out of necessity) in recent months, Draco wasn't sure that he cared to test himself against Granger. She could out-spell and out-hex most anyone he knew, at least from people his own age. Once, from arrogance, he might easily have challenged her; since then, he had been proven otherwise on just what the capabilities of a mudblood witch were.

However, it was unthinkable to just let her go, for more reasons than one. So, for now, even if he ended up unconscious and regretting it, Draco had to do something while she was still in his power.

"What are you doing here, Granger?" he asked, his voice a low whisper.

Hermione, for her part, was confused and wary. She had expected the first thing Draco demanded to be the whereabouts of Harry and Ron—he could definitely guess that they were nearby. But for him to ask her what she was doing of all things? It was definitely a trap to get her to say more and give something away. Good thing they weren't friends and so she didn't feel tempted to be chatty.

"What about you? Are you alone, Malfoy?" she baited. At least once she knew that, she could analyze her odds better. He got the draw on her as far as wands went, she'd give him that, but in a pinch she'd risk a stinging hex to reach down and just grab her wand. Dropping it was a blunder she prayed never to repeat, especially it got her into more trouble than she bargained for after one time. She could Accio it into her hand of course, but in the time it took her to do that Malfoy could disarm her anyway, so there was no point. Besides which, if he wasn't alone, she wouldn't even get that far...

"I could ask the same of you, Granger, but I already know you're not." Draco looked away for a second, but kept his wand firmly trained on her. Hermione's first instinct was to attack, but she knew there wasn't time to get a spell off before Malfoy retaliated. "Where are Potter and Weasley, anyway? What have the three of you been doing since your leave of absence?" He paused. "Rumor has it you infiltrated the ministry a few weeks back, though I can't imagine what idiotic scheme you thought you were going to pull off."

Hermione blinked, keeping her face neutral but storing away that information for later. So he doesn't know about the Horcruxes...I thought so. None of Voldemort's followers know anything about them, and he's been keeping them hidden for a reason...

"What, Granger, have you gone deaf now?" Draco stepped forward, too close for Hermione to move a muscle in hopes of dodging a spell, once the stupid prat made up his mind to just hex her already. What was he waiting for? Any halfwit would know that one tiny scream from her, no matter how hard she tried to hold it in, would signal Harry and Ron and bring them running. Or were they too far from her by now? In any case, Hermione wished that he'd just get on with it so she could bear the brunt of one hex and then send back a few once she reached her wand! Falling down might literally be the best thing for her right now, and a hex was the only non-suspicious excuse she could find!

Or...wait, does he plan on just killing me instead? Hermione remembered Harry telling her that it was Snape who had killed Dumbledore back in June, but since then there was no telling what happened to Malfoy, how deeply ingrained he was in Voldemort's inner circle. Harry had been telling her all of their sixth year that Malfoy was up to no good, and he had been right!

To her shock though, instead of attacking her, Draco accioed her wand into his hand, making a smarter move than any she would have given him credit for. There went her chances of attack. If only she had just—

But then, to her further shock and outright befuddlement, Draco tucked his own wand away, and held hers in his hand lightly, making no moves to turn it on her. Stepping back, he sat down on a nearby log, still looking down at her from his slightly higher ground, but now looking more tired rather than offensive.

It's a trick, he's trying to get you off your guard, Hermione thought. But...what was the point of that when he already had her wand?

Hermione was more suspicious than ever, and tried not to be obvious about scanning the area behind Draco, wondering if another Death Eater was lurking nearby. She was virtually helpless now, so why wasn't Draco or anyone else attacking?

As for Draco himself, he couldn't account for it, but he was curious as to what the heck Potter and his friends were actually doing. For weeks, ever since Potter's flight to the Burrow, there had been no word of them, and then suddenly they turned up at the Ministry of Magic and escaped without a trace. They had definitely been after something there, but what, and what was important enough that they'd risk exposing themselves like that? Weasley might be an idiot, but for all that Draco didn't like him, he knew that Potter wasn't, and, mudblood or not, Granger wasn't either. The three of them were up to something, and Draco wanted to know what.

"You know where you are right now, Granger? Near my family's summer lakehouse. I know for a fact there's no one around for miles, unless of course you want to pinpoint the direction of Potter and Weasley. My point is that there's no better place for a confession, Granger. And you're going to tell me just what you and Potter are up to."

Oh, so it was an interrogation then, was it? Well, two could play at that game...

"Can't ever ask for anything nicely, can you, Malfoy?" Hermione said with a glare. "Besides which, obviously I'm not telling you anything. You'd sooner have to kill me than make me tell you anything about Harry." What are you doing, stupid? He's got your wand right now and has more of a chance of torturing you before he kills you, so egging him on isn't getting you anywhere! Just shut up and wait for Ron and Harry to actually come, hope they have good enough sense to catch him by surprise and knock him out before he can give you away!

But was that was she was reduced to when she was disarmed—waiting for Harry or Ron to save her? Back in their fifth year, at the Ministry of Magic when they had gone after the prophecy, once she was disarmed that was essentially what she had done until the right moment: wait. Whether Harry and Ron came or not, all she needed to do was wait for one second for Malfoy to let his guard down, and then she'd physically attack him if need be to get her wand back. Right now, he was lounging back and seemed casual enough, but Hermione was convinced that he was just baiting her and she wasn't about to fall for it. For now, she would stall and go along with this conversation until just the right moment and then flee as quickly as possible, apparate by herself if she had to. At least she knew where they were now and she could always send a Patronus to Harry and Ron later on.

"Would it help if I said 'please'?" Draco asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Hermione sniffed. "I doubt you've ever said 'please' for anything in your life."

Again, Draco looked away, but it was too obvious a move for Hermione to fall for. "You have no idea about me," he muttered, his voice so low that Hermione almost didn't catch it.

"What? You think I don't know what I need to know about you? You're a bloody Death Eater, Malfoy! You serve Voldemort and you watched as Albus Dumbledore, your Headmaster, died! You just watched and did nothing, and that makes you one of them! What the hell else is there to know?!"

She had lashed out because of rage at his seeming nonchalance about everything. She had been holding in a lot of negativity, same as Harry and Ron, but now to lash out at Malfoy of all people, just because he was there, was completely mental! She fully expected for a hex to be oncoming because she had dared insult him, but again she was left stunned by his non-reaction.

"If I were you, I'd stop saying his name out loud after this," Draco said. "He's working on a finder's spell so that anyone who speaks his name will be instantly transported into the hands of the nearest Snatchers. If you want to keep Potter safe, you'd better tell him to shut his mouth too."

The hell?! It could just as easily be an offhanded comment or a trap to trick her in some way, but...how? It sounded exactly like something that Voldemort would do, and Hermione was peeved that she herself didn't think of it and take precautions earlier in suggesting it to Harry. Strained or not, she had to be sharper now than ever, and yet here she was getting a warning from a Death Eater, which, if she didn't know any better, would count as a betrayal to Voldemort, wouldn't it?

If it was literally anyone else from Voldemort's side who was talking to her now and telling her this, Hermione wouldn't believe them; but, enemies or not, she had grown up at Hogwarts with Draco Malfoy, watched him change from an arrogant, elitist little boy to a coldhearted, bloodthirsty Death Eater. But then, it was always Harry who had been more obsessed with Draco's actions, who had actually seen what went on that night in the Astronomy Tower...

Hermione could throw accusations left and right for what little good it did her, but the fact was that now, after months since the last time she saw Malfoy, even in passing, he looked and seemed extremely different from what she remembered, and not in the ways she would have expected—had she given any thought to him at all, that is. He looked...thinner than she remembered, and sickly as well—and that was saying something, since he had hardly been a sight for sore eyes in their sixth year, from what little Hermione had seen of him when he wasn't skipping class.

But in any case, she could see none of the power-hungry, bloodthirsty-ness that was ever-present in Death Eaters like Bellatrix or even Lucius Malfoy—Draco's father, for Merlin's sake! Instead, tiredness was the only thing that radiated from Draco, and though he could just as easily be faking it, Hermione doubted that he could turn into that good an actor in just a few months.

Don't go into excuses or 'what-ifs', Hermione, she warned herself, stopping that train of thought. You don't know anything about Draco Malfoy except for who he obviously supports, and no matter that he hasn't attacked you yet, he still might, and you can't trust him at face value, same as with the rest of them. Although, even in thinking that, she inwardly winced at the identification of a "them" category, especially as it was one in which she couldn't consider them all to even be human; Death Eaters went beyond that, and whether it was through their own fault or not, it took something out of Hermione's own humanity to be so cold-hearted in her own reasoning, no matter how logical it was. It made all of them the enemy, and not just Voldemort alone.

It's too us OR them, and things won't end well that way no matter what we do.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Hermione asked, after a few moments had gone by in complete silence, with neither her nor Draco making any moves.

In truth, Draco himself wasn't sure what his next move was going to be. Heck, he wasn't even sure why he had given Granger that bit of information about the finder's spell, especially since the Dark Lord had concocted it with Potter specifically in mind, knowing how the rash Gryffindor openly spoke his name without fear. Telling Granger was as good as helping Potter escape the Dark Lord, however indirectly, and it was a move that would definitely get him in trouble if anyone was witness to it. But Potter evading the Dark Lord was hardly Draco's fault, and besides which no amount of help that Potter got could ever be traced back to him; he had too many friends not to tap into some of them for resources and aid.

"Think I'll let you go, Granger," Draco ended up saying, the words out of his mouth before he had thought them through. And yet, it was true: he was going to let Granger go and pretend he had never seen her, since the only other alternative was to turn her in and then in all likelihood watch as she was tortured for information. In herself, Hermione Granger was a prize; even if Draco didn't find out about Potter or Weasley now, she was a useful hostage to keep until later. And Draco had no intention of taking her as a hostage or turning her in, he might as well admit it.

The disbelief was plain to see on Hermione's face as she stared back at him. To her, this was as tense a situation as any; for all she knew, Draco might actually be serious in letting her go, but would then follow her just so that she would lead him to Harry and Ron. There might be others watching them even now, waiting for her to make a move, for all that she didn't sense anyone else nearby. As it was, the longer she stayed put without doing anything, the more panicked Harry and Ron would become, and soon they'd come after her regardless.

"If you're serious," she said slowly, considering, "then give me back my wand."

"And have you attack me Granger? Not likely." Draco himself had no use for the wand, and quite frankly didn't want it on him since it was a dead giveaway to what had just transpired; but if he was planning on returning it, he would do it when he himself was far away from Hermione's presence and her ability to hex him faster than he could say "Merlin's beard".

Hermione gritted her teeth. "I won't attack you unless you attack me first."

Now it was Draco's turn to be incredulous. "We have a history that says otherwise, Granger," he said. For once, there was no smugness or even cockiness in his tone. He just looked as wary of her as she was of him.

Hermione couldn't help it—she crossed her arms, shifting her weight into what was a casual stance, not at all ideal for if she wanted to dash forward and attempt grabbing her wand. "If you're so hung up about the past, then why haven't you attacked me yet? A stinging hex or even paralysis, something easy that will make me much easier to cart along."

"I was being serious about letting you go, Granger!" Draco snapped, getting annoyed.

"And I'm serious in speaking for both of us in saying that I don't trust that!" Hermione snapped back. This exchange was going on for way too long. Her wand might be in his hand, but if he was getting riled up, he might just as easily make a mistake. The best thing he could do would be to try attacking her with her own wand, as she had placed a charm long ago that would have any attempted spell backfire on the witch or wizard who had stolen it from her. If he did that, he might incapacitate himself and she could grab her wand and go.

"Fine!" Standing up to his full height, Draco was more imposing than Hermione would have thought, actually causing her to take a step back. It turned out to be the wrong step though as, after all, the steep bank leading directly into the lake was the only thing behind her. Hermione slipped and fell back into the shallows of the water, muddy and wet from the waist down. Draco stood gaping at her with wide eyes, but, strangely enough, there was no smirk or even an amused look on his face; he just looked exasperated, and in the next moment tossed Hermione's wand into the mud right in front of her.

"Take it as a token in good faith, Granger," he hissed. "Pay me back for it later."

And then, before Hermione could make a grab for her wand, the Slytherin had disapparated on the spot.

A/N: Okay, longer chapter here (already!), but I hope that that's a good thing for you readers! As it is, I wanted to communicate little-by-little progress and developing personalities in this chapter, but of course that meant having to keep a lot of the animosity and distrust intact between Draco and Hermione, since obviously I can't have them start off liking each other and, presto, that's the beginning of our story! So, slow-moving and l-o-n-g details on the back-and-forth banter and thought processes, I know, but I hope that for realism's sake (with regards to the characters, I mean), it was acceptable.

ALSO, looking back and re-reading this before I published it, I also realized that some people might comment on that aspect about Hermione dropping her wand and how that might not be the most realistic thing to have happen, but it was kind of necessary and I'll explain why.

So, first of all, to be honest, I don't believably think that Draco could disarm Hermione, not even with how I've written in that he's improved in his magic since his sixth year out of necessity. Improving his abilities won't bring him up quite up to par with Hermione just yet, especially not when she's so much more proficient after years of obsessing over studying magic; and so, having him just "Expelliarmus!" her wand didn't feel realistic to their characters. However and second of all, there was no way any conversation would take place between them as long as Hermione was still armed with her wand, as she would simply hex Draco and get the heck out of there, so leaving her with it wasn't an option.

As such, I tried to emphasize a few things about their situation, such as how Hermione was completely caught off guard and almost fell into the lake, and also how part of the reason she didn't pick up her wand before Draco accioed it was because she didn't want to risk a hex or worse with Draco pointing his wand right at her, and also how she's full of distrust as to whether he's alone or not. Therefore, I hope the entire situation is still acceptable to readers who are questioning it, but please feel free to comment and mention if there's any other way you think it could have played out or whether it's still kind of acceptable, all things considered.

As always, please review, follow, and favourite if you like the story so far!