Chapter 2 – They Almost Got Me!

Draco,
Mission failed. Most of group arrested.
Be careful.
T.

Draco had this note delivered to his café, with Martin handing it over in a discreet move. It didn't exactly help his mood, and he let out a heavy sigh. Why wasn't it ever easy with Hermione?

"Bad news?"

Draco nodded. "You got some of my personal stack down here?"

"That wizard whisky?"

"Yes," Draco replied, rubbing his temples. "Make it a triple." He needed that drink now to flush down the emerging anger. He couldn't afford getting all emotional, not on a night his café was packed with customers once more. Thank Merlin, the people trusted him enough to keep his place safe, or he could close down for good.

"Voilà, Boss." Martin placed the tumbler with a triple amount of Firewhisky in front of him on the counter without any further comment.

"Thanks. Now go back to work. I want a full till tonight."

"Of course. Yvette and Edith are already doing their best..." With that, Martin returned to his work, taking up orders from the next patron at the bar.

For a while, Draco just watched the patrons in his café, though his mind was stuck on that short note from his contact that their group had been arrested. Merlin yes, that was what Pansy and the others had been talking about heatedly two nights ago—the successful strike of the fascists against the resistance. As good as the resistance was organised these days, someone had to have switched sides and betrayed them.

"Boss?" Martin came back to his corner, nodding towards a couple standing nervously at the bar. "Someone asks for the speciality of the house..."

Draco nodded and took a closer look at the couple—they wore old, slightly torn coats over what looked like clothes that weren't fit for the winter here. They were trying to get away and had been on the run for a while, with only what they had on their body. But above all, they looked weary and run down, a breakdown not too far away. With another nod, he finally got off his bar stool and discreetly joined the couple. "You asked for the speciality of the house?"

The man looked around nervously before he nodded. "A friend said that you help people–"

"We need to get away," the woman added, clinging to the man's arms; Draco assumed from the visible wedding ring that they were married. "We don't... we don't have much, but we pay whatever we have."

Draco eyed them once more. It was clear that they hadn't much left, wearing their only possessions on their bodies; the wedding rings were most probably the only jewellery left, the only thing they could possibly sell to secure their getaway. "Why do you need to get away?"

"We collected information for the resistance, and we were discovered."

Draco knew that a lot of people helped the resistance gather information about the movements of the fascist groups, to find their weak points and help the Allied forces prepare what is rumoured to be an upcoming landing. If those helpers were discovered, they were arrested and then deported into one of those camps the fascists had build throughout the country, or rather throughout Europe.

"Monsieur, we would pay whatever we have to get away..."

His services weren't cheap, as a lot of risk was involved, from getting the right papers to transportation to the next harbour to get them on a ship to safety. Draco shared a look with Martin, who only shrugged with his shoulders while preparing drinks for Yvette to serve at a table. "Come back in two days, and have everything ready you're willing to pay. If you're lucky, you can join a transport to the South."

The woman gasped and placed a hand on her mouth to keep herself from squealing in relief. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me yet," Draco replied and got up again. "Pierre might give you a good price for your wedding rings," he added before retreating to his office. He just hoped that he could place the couple on that transport to the coast, though they hated taking fugitives along.

"Boss, wait!" Yvette came up to him, her usual warm smile on her lips. "I have a note for you. It got delivered it a couple of minutes ago." A brief fumbling around in her blouse produced a small piece of paper that she handed to him. "He said it's urgent."

"Thanks." He hid the note in his sleeve, then he climbed the first steps of the stairs. "Come to the office later when there are less customers around."

"The couple?"

He nodded. "Back to work with you." The note still in his sleeve, he ran up the rest of the stairs.

Draco,
They almost got me!
Your contact never came...
Please, I need your help! (I'm hiding not far from our first time)
Hermione

..

"Draco?" Pansy woke up when he came home, entering their shared bedroom in a hurry. "What's up? Did anything happen?"

He only shook his head and Summoned his only bag to pack the things he might need. Waiting until he could close his café had tested his patience because as soon as he had read the note, he had wanted to leave. "Where's my wool jumper?"

Confused, Pansy sat up. "What's going on here?"

"Where's my wool jumper?" he repeated, going through his clothes stacked in the creaky armoire. He completely ignored her question.

"Draco!" Pansy cried out and climbed off the bed to stop him in his search. Irritated about his behaviour, she grabbed his hands to gain his attention. "What. Is. Going. On?"

"Why didn't you tell me that the group that got arrested was in her area?" He freed one of his hands to pull Hermione's note from his coat pocket to show Pansy.

"I didn't know. You didn't tell me where she was," she replied, reading through the note with furrowed brows, only to sigh heavily. "Merlin, she tells you to jump, and you follow."

He grabbed the note back. "You don't understand."

Pansy brushed through her hair and smiled sadly. "I do. More than you think, my dear." She turned around and pulled his wool jumper from another pile. "Shit. I'm going to miss you..."

"Miss me?" Draco asked, his eyes narrowed slightly before he could hide his confusion at her words behind his usual unreadable expression.

"Draco. You're one of my closest friends. The closest, considering we did shag a few times. But this arrangement was never meant to last anyway, was it? We don't love each other except as friends. Doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you..."

"Pans–"

"No." She shook her head. "For once, listen to me, you idiot. Friends is all we're ever going to be. But it was nice to wake up next to you because it made me feel less lonely. I mean, everyone in this goddamn war feels lonely, so it means a lot to me, okay?"

"I..." He sighed, realisation finally sinking in. Pansy let him go. They never had been lovers in the common sense, only friends taking care of each other, but that didn't mean it stung any less. "Pansy, you don't have to leave. Stay. I just want to bring her to safety, nothing more."

"What is safer than this place? Look, I know you still love her; that's why you're like this right now, and I know it would be useless to stand in your way." She pulled a second jumper from the pile behind her. "You'll need that too. It's cold outside..."

"Thanks," he replied, holding the bag up for her to put the jumper in. Then he put the bag on the ground to pull her into an embrace. "I'm going to miss you telling me what an idiot I am for running the café the way I am... or that you keep telling me to keep my feet off your calves–"

"They are always freezing!"

"–or the way you bribed me into helping you. Not that I'm going to stop that, anyway." He rubbed her back before loosening the grip around her shoulders to look at her. "But I mean it, you can stay. There's enough room for everyone. And I want to keep you safe too, okay? As my friend..."

"Ugh. Softie." Smirking, she let go and pretended to smooth her nightgown. "Now, go find her. Her presence might just give everyone the right push to finally defeat those fascists."

"You could do me a favour, however," he said, taking up the bag to shoulder it. "There's a couple who asked for help to get away. Make sure they get on the transport to the South in two days. They probably won't have enough to cover the bribes and other costs, but I've instructed Yvette to give you what is needed."

"I'll make sure they get on it. Now, go, you fool!"

..

The second he left his place, Draco wished he could Apparate to Hermione's location without revealing them both. It took him the eternity of three days to reach the place he assumed she was hiding in. Three days of worrying to be too late to rescue her because he didn't know where she was hiding exactly. Three days of no sleep because he wanted to get there as fast as he could without raising suspicion. Three days full of the bitter taste of that goddamn coffee to keep him awake. No rest, only the urge to get to where she was.

He reached his destination in the late afternoon; it was a small Muggle village just outside of Paris, and a place they had often visited back then for its Sunday market. He remembered the village as a place full of life, filled with the scents and sounds of people bargaining over fruits and vegetables, or just exchanging the latest gossip. Now, as he walked down the main street, the place was empty—neglected buildings that were already crumbling, dirt and garbage littered everywhere; only a couple of people hurriedly passed him with their heads lowered. However, he knew that every step he made was being watched—by both the hidden fascist supporters as well as the resistance. He hoped for the latter to inform the man he needed right now while officially trying to find a new alcohol supplier for the café. The way the fascists went about their business, he constantly needed new suppliers anyway, so the cover story wasn't too far-fetched, at least not in his opinion.

"You're the ferret?" a thin boy asked the moment Draco wanted to sit down at the fountain on the side of the main street; his hungry eyes were fixed on the bite in Draco's hand.

Draco looked at the boy closely, not surprised to find a weary expression. At the first moment, he was surprised that he was asked this, but then he remembered that a few of his oldest contacts used it as a code name for him. "Yes," he said with a nod.

"Follow me," the boy said, nodding towards an empty side street that had seen better days, and Draco got up after another nod to be guided to a door that others seemed to ignore. The boy then gave him a note. "Read this, then you can enter."

Once inside, Draco found himself in a wizarding place, lit by candles floating above him to show a modestly decorated place. He looked around for a moment—it was a habit formed by the war to take note of everything in a room, but especially of ways to get away.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd show up yourself," a familiar voice said, with an amused tone to it.

Surprised, Draco turned around, only to find his old comrade Theo standing in the doorway to another room, looking more haggard and worn than Draco remembered, but otherwise unharmed. "You didn't leave me any other option. Where is she? Here?"

Theo shook his head. "Far too dangerous as those idiots are out for both our heads. I'm stuck here. But I managed to hide her with the last people that I still trust."

"Where?" Draco already turned around to leave the place again to find her. He wasn't here to catch up for old time's sake, only to find her and bring her back to safety.

"Let's eat first, and you look like you could use a decent night's sleep too."

"I can sleep when I've found her," Draco retorted, narrowing his eyes at Theo.

"Draco, you look like a wreck. She is safe where she is at the moment, please trust me." Theo turned around and motioned him to follow.

Draco was led into a kitchen, similar to his—the furniture looked worn, hastily put together to create a useful space. Smelling a stew simmering on the stove, he realised that he was indeed hungry. With a sigh, he sat down, putting his bag on the ground next to him; Theo meanwhile pulled out a couple of bowls and spoons.

"Ever the dramatic one," Theo said with a smirk, placing the dishes on the table in front of Draco. "The stew is mostly vegetables anyway, but they were able to come by a small piece of meat today."

"Thanks," Draco said, nodding briefly. Sat quite comfortably in this kitchen, he suddenly felt the exhaustion come over him, and he yawned violently. "We heard about the arrests..."

"You did?" Theo looked at him in surprise after testing the stew for taste.

"You remember Pansy? Her group was discussing it about a week ago..."

"Pansy? Yeah, I remember her. She was always blunt and headstrong. She has her own group?" Theo brought the pot to the table and sat down before he filled the bowls. "It's not the best, but it fills the stomach."

"Better than the crumbs I had over the last few days." Draco carefully blew over the first spoon of stew before he slurped it in, surprised at the decent taste of it all. "How were you discovered?" he asked after a few more hungrily slurped spoons, straightening a bit.

Theo lowered the spoon he was about to put into his mouth, a sad smile showing briefly on his lips. "The fascists control everything here, except for a few people who keep up. I don't know who, but someone has reported everything about us to them—our hiding place, who we were, what our next plan of attack was. I barely got away when they came for us. I've been hiding here ever since... Besides you, only two more people know about this, and they bring me everything I need."

Draco noticed the restlessness in Theo—the way he was shaking with his legs, or the way he was sighing more often than necessary. "I'm glad they didn't get you."

"Yeah, me too. Once they get their hands on you, you're dead." Theo took in the spoon, momentarily closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't get her out of here."

Draco nodded in response, he didn't hold it against his old comrade; war complicated everything, and people risked their lives more often than they should. At least she seemed in a safer place than he could have hoped for, which eased his conscience ever so slightly.

The rest of the meal was shared in silence, only broken by the occasional yawn or sigh from both.

..

Late that night, Draco woke up from people walking around in the place, talking in a hurried voice. He was immediately up, trying to figure out what was going on outside the small room he stayed in for the night. Hurried voices were never a good sign these days. It only took him two steps further to the door, and he found Theo in a whispered argument with another man when he opened it. "What's going on?"

With a look between surprise and embarrassment, Theo looked up. "It's just a rumour about a group connected to the fascists. Nothing to–"

"Nothing to worry?" Draco replied with a sneer, leaning against the frame with crossed arms. "This is war, Theo–"

"Seven hells, I know that. I saw friends die a few days ago!" Theo rubbed his face and then inhaled deeply. "Look, so far, it's just a rumour about the possibility of an attack. We don't even know if it's true. And even if it is, we don't even know yet where they plan to strike."

The other man cleared his throat, glancing at Draco with a look of recognition. "I think I know where they plan to strike–"

Theo turned around to the man, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't."

"Boss, don't waste any more time by arguing. The ferret is here for only one reason–"

"I said, don't, Chevalier." Now, there was a low growl audible in Theo's voice.

Chevalier barely flinched at Theo's implied threat. "Oh come on, you know they are trying to find her. They've already killed her husband, for Merlin's sake! I'm pretty sure they already know where she is located, at least the building."

"Theo, where is she?" Draco asked, his tone not accepting any evasive answers any longer. He even stepped closer until he was hovering over his old comrade, using his height for intimidation as he sometimes did to get what he wanted. What Chevalier had said so far wasn't something Draco wanted to hear—Theo had assured him that she was safe for the night, and now the fascists knew where she was hiding. "You know why I am here..."

After a few seconds of glancing at the other two, Theo finally gave in with a heavy sigh. "All right, then. Get Dupont and Christine. No need to raise suspicion."

Soon after, the five of them set out in the safety of the dark night for the building Hermione was hiding in. They had been cautious and used both Disillusionment Charms and Repelling Charms on themselves. However, it was quiet, apart from them sneaking through the side streets, nothing disturbed the peace.

For Draco, it was too quiet. His inner alarm kept going off at every shadow, even if it was just a piece of clothing hanging forgotten on a window sill, or a rat running past them. He didn't like it.

And then the person in front, Draco thought it was the woman Theo called Christine, stopped them all. "They are here," she whispered and pointed to a barely visible building on the other side of the street they've been passing through.

"We're close," Theo said, pointing discreetly to a two-story house next to the building Christine had singled out, "but we need to move fast now. Dupont, Chevalier, you secure the first floor. Christine, you guard the second floor. Me and Draco, we go in. You can shoot to kill if you have to, but use it sparingly."

Moments later, they reached the house and sneaked inside after a silently placed Alohomora. "Come with me, Draco," Theo said with a short wave. "If they are already this close, we need to hurry."

Draco nodded and followed him wordlessly while the other two men took up their positions, facing the door. Upstairs, everything was just as silent as outside, as most people were still asleep. Only the occasional wood board in the floor creaked when one of them stepped on it as carefully as they could. The sound wasn't loud per se, but in the deadly silence of the first floor, it seemed to echo off the walls.

"Christine, you keep an eye on the stairs. Shoot to kill if you have to," Theo said, knocking a signal on the door at the other end of the corridor; the sound letting them all flinch momentarily and stare at the other doors in fear of being discovered.

The door opened seconds later and revealed a bleary looking woman, who rubbed her eyes; they had apparently woken her from whatever sleep she might have gotten. Her eyes widened when she recognised Theo. "I thought... I thought you were hiding," she said and opened the door to let the two men in.

"Situation has changed," Theo replied grimly. "They plan to take her tonight."

"What?"

As was his habit, Draco had a look around the place. It seemed to consist of a main room that served as both the living room and bedroom, with two doors leading into, as he guessed, the kitchen and a bathroom. He could make out some furniture, and it looked like it had been assembled in a hurry, scavenged from other places that were no longer used. "Where is she?"

Now the woman looked in confusion at Theo, briefly throwing a side-glance at Draco. "Who's he?"

"An old friend; he's come to bring her to proper safety," Theo explained with an impatient sigh, then signalled Draco to follow him to an old wardrobe. Once they've both climbed inside the empty piece of furniture, Theo briefly smirked at Draco. "Without me, they would have had to tear down the building..."

"Fidelius?"

Theo shook his head. "Didn't have enough time for it. But the entrance is protected by spells." After another brief smirk, he murmured the words of a spell, and a door appeared. He knocked in a certain rhythm on the back of the wardrobe, repeating it over and over until they could hear a faint sound from the other side.

"Theo?" a female voice asked in surprise that Draco immediately recognised, even causing a small shiver to run down his spine.

"Yes, it's me. I brought someone along you might recog–"

"Draco!" A gasp escaped Hermione's lips before she clasped her hand on it, her eyes wide in shock while she looked at him. "You-You... You're here!"

He nodded and climbed through the hole into the small room she had been hiding in. "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier."

"You're here now." With a small sob, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. "They... They just shot him. And I've been scared they'd kill me too ever since."

"It's okay," he whispered, holding her tightly. He was beyond relief to have found her alive and reasonably well. It had been years since he had last held her like he did now, trying to protect her, and only now, in this single moment, did he realise how much he had actually missed it. "How long have you been in this... this cell?"

She lifted her head, a sad smile on her lips. "Days, but it feels like months. Thank you so much for coming..."

Theo turned his head back; he had seemingly heard something outside. "We need to move now," he said, his lips pressed together and urging them on to get on the move. "They are inside the house. We haven't got much time."

They made it out of the flat within seconds, all of them with their wands ready to cast jinxes. Downstairs, they heard the sound of fighting, of spells being cast and missing their targets by inches.

"Ready?" Draco asked, squeezing Hermione's hand one last time, and smiled softly when she nodded. "You remember what to do?"

"Do you?" she asked, raising her eyebrow mockingly, but then stepped behind him for cover. His height gave them a slight advantage, as their opponents might not see what's coming for the first couple of spells cast; besides that, they both weren't afraid to cast the deadliest curses and spells in a fight to save their own lives.

"Left," he whispered as they climbed down the first steps, right into the fight, with Theo in front of them. "Right," she replied automatically, and seconds later, they cast the Killing Curse in the given directions, missing their opponents only by an inch.

The move, however, gave Dupont and Chevalier the advantage over their slightly distracted opponents and they knocked them either dead or unconscious. "They were waiting for us," Dupont said, panting heavily, but looking fine. "I can only presume there might be more outside."

Hermione threw Theo a disapproving glance when she saw he was about to say something with a sneer. "Just. Don't... No I told you so!" she hissed. "Let's just get out of here."

"Both of you, stubborn as hell," Theo replied with a short laugh, shaking his head, but then, he fumbled something out of his coat pocket; it looked like an unremarkable pebble. "If we fail, Apparate to the village church and then press this little thing as tightly as you can; it'll transport you to my place without setting off the taboo alarms," he said, handing the pebble to Hermione, who accepted it with a grim nod.

"Let's go," Draco said impatiently and made a move towards the door.