Chapter 20
Hermione had woken up long before the sun rose, but she hadn't moved at all from her position in Seamus and Susan's spare bed at all. Draco was breathing softly and evenly next to her, as serene looking as someone who wasn't living on borrowed time. Her head pounded, no doubt from the whiskey, and felt a stab of shame in her stomach for allowing herself to be so relaxed and causal last night. I doubt very much that Luna, or Neville, or Percy are having a casual drink amoungst friends where ever they are, you selfish git. She scolded herself, feeling guilty. Fleur's face floated into her mind and she felt even more guilty that she hadn't sought her out, to tell her of Bill's capture. Hermione took a deep breath, relaxing the wrinkles that had formed tensely in her forehead, and tried to center herself. She remembered Ron's corpse-like face that had visited her in her nightmares last night, and the wrinkles formed in her forehead again. This wouldn't do at all, she didn't have her wits about her. Draco's harsh words echoed in her head, fostering that familiar feeling of anger that Hermione always had hidden under the surface as of late.
The room started to lighten around her as the sun rose, and she heard the muffled sounds of movement in the house. Do doubt Seamus and Susan's waking up to start their day. Hermione refused to let the jealousy resurface. She wished she'd had a home and job and some sense of normality. She let it go. She was home, running from death and towards death was her home now, and she carried it with her everywhere on her back like a turtle.
Suddenly Hermione heard a pounding of footsteps running up the staircase. The door to the bedroom flung open and Susan jumped in, closing the door behind her. Her face look flushed and her hair was wild around her face.
"Hannah Abott is here, with another woman from the Ministry who regularly keeps tabs on me and checks in on me. You have to be as silent as possible, please," Susan said pleadingly. Draco had sat straight up in the cramped bed when the door had opened, and he was looking at Susan with fear in his tired eyes. She spun on her heel and disappeared through the door, closing it with a snap behind her.
Draco looked at her across the bed, and Hermione saw that he had bags under his eyes, and his eye lids were a bit red and swollen, as if he had been crying late into the night while she had been sleeping.
He inclined his head towards the window to the left of them and Hermione nodded. Should they be found out, they could escape through there. Please don't let us be found out. Hermione wished silently, hoping something in the universe was listening to her.
Draco lay a warm hand on Hermione's thin ankle, as they heard the sounds of footsteps climbing the stairs again. The small gesture sent a little wave of nervousness through her. Just because we are in danger, that's all. She assured herself. Hermione's heart thudded wildly in her chest, and Draco was squeezing her ankle so hard her foot was starting to tingle.
With a creak, the door opened. Seamus popped his head in through the door way and said, "Ay, they've all gone off to work, yea. Coast's clear an' all that," He told them with a smile. Draco released the grip he had on Hermione ankles, and she felt her shoulders relax.
"Come on down to grab some breakfast and we can get to talkin," He finished, dissapearing from the door way.
Hermione started to rise from the bed, and Draco reached for her ankle again. "Granger," He said, eyes examining her face. "Sorry about last night." An apology from a Malfoy in regards to their behavior? I'm dreaming again, Hermione puzzled, her stomach stirring. "I know how hard the truth can be to hear." He finished, face completely serious.
Hermione felt her self losing her patience, again. She had a pounding head ache, her throat was parched, she was alone in the world and now some spoiled fool of a git was apologize to Hermione for her own perceived short comings in her romantic life according to him? Before she could answer, Draco had already risen from the bed and swept out of the room, the end of his robes hitting the door with a flourish.
She was to her own feet in a instant, bounding down the stairs after him. I cannot stand that insufferable oaf! She screamed to her self, as she entered the kitchen angrily. Draco and Seamus were already sitting at the table, serving themselves eggs and bacon off of a platter. The smell stopped Hermione in her tracks, and her mood evened out. It would be so rude to cause a fus in Seamus house. She said to her self, taking her own seat.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Hermione savored every bit, knowing this would probably be the last hot, home cooked meal they would be having for a while. The grease seemed to be helping her hangover, and her throbbing head ache started to lighten.
"Seamus, I need to know as much as I can about how to Ministry and the Death Eaters are watching people." Hermione finally said, having eaten almost everything she had put on her plate.
"Well all floo netwroks are being mointored almost constantly. There is a registration for broom flying in place, and they can only be flown in designated air space, like parks and quidditch feilds. I think they're workin' on a way to track aparating, too but I dunno if it's in affect yet." Seamus answered thoughtfully.
"Do you know anything about the security measures taken around Hogwarts?" She asked.
Seamus seemed to chew the question over before answering. "Dementors swarm the grounds. They have sentries posted around the school, too, at check points. I don't know much else than that." Seamus answered apologetically. Hermione met Draco's gaze, who had pushed his plate away and seemed to be mulling over what Seamus was saying. Hermione realized she wasn't angry at him anymore. It will be better to just be indifferent towards him, anyways. But she didn't feel indifferent...she felt, some how, accepting. If the worst thing Draco Malfoy is doing to me is lecturing me about my love life, than we're ok.
"I've got to go to work soon. I don't expect either of you will be here when I get back. I just want to tell you both good luck. We routinely get looked into by the Ministry and it isn't safe for you two to stay here, and i'm sorry.." Seamus trailed off, face red from regret.
"Please, don't feel bad. Showing us as much compassion and kindness as you have was enough. Was more than I hoped for, actually, and I'm thankful.' Hermione beamed back, meaning every word.
"Yes, thank you." Draco said, extending his hand to shake Seamus's.
"Is there anything I can maybe get you before I go? To help?" He asked, holding his hands out.
Hermione shook her head. The things she needed couldn't be accessed by Seamus or his wife.
She hugged him, tightly. There was no way for her to repay his and Susan's kindness, but she would carry it with her.
After Seamus left the house, she and Draco sat down to make a plan.
"I want to go back to Grimmauld Place. What are our chances of being able to do that without being seen?" She asked him, thinking about Harry's invisibility cloak.
"Not good. I'm sure they're keeping an eye on the place, hoping more Order members will turn up their." He responded, frowning. "I would like to go back, too, though. I would like to be able to...to bury my mother..."
Hermione didn't know how to respond to that. She wanted to just sneak in, as quick as possible, to recover the cloak. Draco was talking about staging a burial, and that would be time consuming and extremely dangerous. But wouldn't she want to do the same, if she were in his shoes? Could she leave her mother to rot in some lonely place, filled with bad energy and loneliness? No, she didn't think she could.
"If we aparate over there, and there are Death Eaters, what will we do? The stakes are high." She said, shrugging her shoulders up.
"We wouldn't stay, we would just aparate to Arundel. We wouldn't have to stay long to bury her, either, I could aparate to Arundel with her and bury her some where there. She...she deserves to be buried." Draco countered.
"And what If we go there and she's gone?" Hermione asked, trying to lay every thing out.
"We get the cloak and we go. There is another area that we left a care package at, we could go there and plan our next move. Why would they take her body, though?" He asked suspiciously.
"I dunno. Some dark macig works well with certain types of death. Who could say, really." Hermione responded.
"Alright. Let's try, than. If they're are Death Eaters there, or ministry members, or any one, we go to Arundel. If not, we will go in and be as quick as possible. Before we leave, is there anything else you think would be useful we could get?" He asked, rising from his seat.
"No, not really. Nothing useful we could carry with us, anyways," Hermione sighed, getting out of her own seat. Two two of them walked through the kitchen door into the back courtyard and she locked the door magically behind her. She was little sad to go. The short stay had been so nice, so comforting.
Merlin, please let my streak of good luck continue, Hermione silently pleaded, reaching out to grab Draco's hand so they could aparate together.