Chapter Eight

The next morning I woke to the scent of coffee accompanied by the bright face of Ginny Weasley. "Uh, hi," I said, sitting up and looking around my room in confusion, "How did you get in here?"

"Malfoy let us in. He was already awake." I made a mental note to kick Draco Malfoy the next time I saw him.

"Us?" She shoved the coffee under my nose and I took it from her before she could spill it on my bed. I wasn't quite awake enough to actually drink it yet.

"Harry and Ron are in the common room."

"And why are you here?"

"It's the first Hogsmeade weekend. You've got to get up."

I frowned up at her smiling face. "Why do I have to go? My plan was to study." That wasn't exactly the truth, but I didn't want to go to Hogsmeade. It wasn't exactly a good idea to go traipsing around Hogsmeade with both a murderer and a kidnapper searching for me.

"Because we want you to come with us," she said with a note of finality, like it should have been the most obvious thing in the world.

"If you think I'm going to be a fifth wheel on whatever double date Harry and Ron have planned—"

"It's not a date. Neville, Dean, and Seamus are coming with us too. They're meeting us in the entrance hall. We're celebrating being able to do something normal like going to Hogsmeade with a bunch of friends."

I sighed. If they were all going to Hogsmeade I'd need to be there. If I would have trouble against an assassino, they weren't going to last a second. "Fine. Give me five minutes to get ready."

She nearly skipped out the door. "Hurry," she called before shutting the door behind her. I took a sip of the blessed drink and felt it smooth down my throat. I stumbled out of bed, put a stasis charm on the coffee, and headed into the bathroom. I stared at the reflection in the mirror and groaned. I looked like a hurricane had ripped through my room while I was sleeping.

"Morning." I jumped and spun to face Draco. He was leaning against the doorframe that led to his bedroom and smirking at me. His hair was perfectly messy, and his Queen shirt laid perfectly across his shoulders and showed off his perfect biceps. I still had no idea if he listened to Queen or not. His perfect eyes twinkled at me as his perfect lips twitched, almost going into his perfect smile. Merlin, I was in trouble.

"You let them in?" I asked, choosing to talk rather than throw myself at him. His magic was flowing gently around the room, content.

"If I didn't they would have started yelling."

I frowned. That wasn't nearly a good enough excuse. "They're making me go to Hogsmeade." I started on my hair, using magic to flatten it enough that I could shove it into a ponytail. Draco's smirk fell and he pushed away from the doorframe. His magic swirled so fast I was surprised it didn't knock everything off the counter.

"Is it safe for you to go to Hogsmeade right now?"

"Not really." I used a concealment charm to cover the bags I'd developed under my eyes overnight. Being hunted wasn't doing good things for my sleep.

"Then why go?" I sighed, giving up on trying to look any better. At least I didn't look like I'd been attacked by a blast-ended screwt now.

"Because I couldn't come up with a good enough excuse for all of us to stay behind," I answered as I walked back to my room and started rifling through my clothes to find something decent to wear. Draco and his magic followed me.

"What about the assassin?"

"I'll try to avoid him." I pulled out a tank top, a thin jumper and a pair of jeans.

"Great answer."

"I don't need the sarcasm right now, Draco." I grabbed my coffee and took a big gulp.

"But you do need to see how ridiculous you're being. There's a man trying to kill you out there, and another who wants to kidnap you and turn you against everyone you love." Okay, perfect or not, he was really starting to get annoying.

"And that means my friends aren't safe, either," I said, trying desperately to explain calmly. He didn't know these people like I did.

"How so?"

"The Ministry seems to think the assassino got into Hogwarts files. That means he probably knows exactly what my alias is. He's going to wander around Hogsmeade until he hears the name Hermione Granger and then he's going to kidnap the people that say it."

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"No. Kidnapping is an assassino specialty. It gets them results. And Adriano will do anything to get what he wants."

Draco sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine. I see your point."

"Thank you." He just sent me an unhappy look and left through the bathroom, mumbling under his breath just low enough I couldn't hear what he was saying. I quickly changed and met Ron, Harry, and Ginny downstairs. Draco was already there, doing something in the kitchen.

"Ready?" Harry asked, the three of them standing to meet me.

"Yeah." I felt Draco's magic pull at me so I turned to face him. He smirked at me for a reason I didn't understand before tossing one of his apples at me. I caught it easily and sent him a small half smile, which only made his smirk widen. He knew how much I loved them.

"Let's go," I said, ignoring the odd looks on my friends' faces. They followed me out, catching up to me halfway down the corridor.

"What was that back there?" Ron asked, motioning back towards my dorm.

"What was what?"

"That thing with the apple," Harry clarified. "How did you know he was going to throw you one right then?"

I shrugged, feeling uncomfortable under their nearly accusatory gazes. "He always does. Every morning. I had just turned to ask him for one when he was probably just about to say my name."

"So you two do that as a morning ritual?" Ginny asked, eyebrows furrowed.

I shrugged again. "It's sort of how our truce has manifested itself."

"So what do you do for him?" Harry asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do for him?"

"He's a Slytherin. He won't do something for you unless you do something for him in return," Harry answered, "So what do you do?"

I frowned. The description did seem rather accurate for most of the Slytherins I'd met, but it was also grossly unfair. "Nothing." The three of them gave me looks of disbelief. "I'm serious. The only thing I can think of is that I'm nice back." Then it suddenly clicked in my still half-asleep brain. It suddenly made sense. "Oh, and I forgave him. That's probably why he started doing it in the first place. To soften me up."

"Back up," Ron said, putting a hand on my arm so I'd stop walking. "You forgave him?"

I nodded, wondering why they were staring at me like I had three heads. "Yes. He asked for forgiveness, we talked about it, and I gave him a clean slate."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Harry asked, sounding dumbfounded.

"Well it only actually happened yesterday."

"Seriously?" Ginny asked.

"Yep."

"Merlin," Ron shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day Malfoy would apologize to anyone, let alone someone he hates as much as you. Or, hated, I guess."

I shrugged, ready to move on from this topic. If they started asking too many more questions about my relationship with Draco we'd get into dangerous territory. "Neither did I." I started walking again and took a big bit of the apple. The flavor burst across my tongue, making me smile. Where he got these, I had no idea, but I was going to miss them after this year.

"So, let's talk about that incredible room of yours," Ginny said, moving to link her arm through mine.

I smiled. This was a much better topic. "It is incredible isn't?"

"What does it look like?" Harry asked, moving to my other side. Ron appeared on the other side of Ginny, waiting for a response too.

"It's huge, bigger than the entire first floor of the Burrow," Ginny answered.

"No, its not." I rolled my eyes, but she ignored me.

"And it's white with beautiful antique furniture. One of the walls is just a bookcase filled to the brim with books. Oh, and there was a balcony."

"It's like the room was made for you, Hermione," Ron said.

"Well it actually was. It was my room back home."

"Sweet Circe, Hermione! How rich are you?" Ginny asked, eyes as big as saucers. I chuckled.

"How did you get your room to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, obviously confused.

"The rooms were spelled to do that. I'm not entirely certain what the purpose of the spell is, though, because Malfoy didn't get his room from back home."

"And you know what Malfoy's bedroom from home looks like how?" Ron asked, a single eyebrow raised.

"You know I don't," I said with a disapproving glance. "He saw my bedroom after I first walked in it and I mentioned it was my room from home. He was surprised because his room was from his family's summer home, or something like that. All I know from times he's left the door open is that it's blue."

"That's not very Slytherin of him," Ron said. We reached Seamus, Dean, Luna, and Neville before I could reply, and the eight of us headed down to the village. We chatted about nothing the whole way down, breaking off into little groups. Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Seamus huddled together to talk about quidditch, Luna and Neville started talking about plants, and Dean and I got into a conversation about muggle transportation verses wizard.

"Well, should we split up so we can go to our shops then meet up at the Three Broomsticks in an hour?" Seamus asked when we got to the edge of the village.

"No," I cried, cutting off everyone else. They all turned to stare at me, confused and surprised.

"No?" Neville asked.

I shook my head. I didn't care if they thought I was being odd or not. I was here to keep them alive, not my reputation. "No. We should stay together." They kept looking at me like I was bonkers. I searched my mind for any plausible excuse, "The whole point of this is to celebrate spending a normal day in Hogsmeade with friends, right? So, let's spend a normal day in Hogsmeade with friends. Together."

"Okay," Ginny said slowly, blinking at me.

"Where to first then?" Luna asked, moving on from my weirdness. I breathed a sigh of relief as they started throwing out suggestions. I could tell they still thought I was being odd, but they went with it and that's what mattered. I didn't give an opinion. I didn't particularly care.

"Zonkos it is," Harry said once they'd decided. I kept a close eye on everyone as they perused the isles of the joke shop. I kept tabs on their magic, which was a load more difficult than it would have been if I was trying this with Draco. Dean's magic even shied away from mine, as if it was afraid of me.

I did the same thing in the clothes shop, the stationary shop, and the Three Broom Sticks. It wasn't until we were about to go in Honey Dukes that I felt it. The alert I'd set up went off, sounding a loud alarm to my mind. Someone had broken my wards. The question was whether it was the assassino or Adriano.

I whirled around, instantly doing a head count. All of my friends were still behind me, giving me funny looks. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. We had to get out here. Now.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to leave." I grabbed Ginny and Neville, who were the two closest to me, and started pushing them back toward the castle.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" Harry asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't have time to explain. Just trust me. Go. We have to go." I reached out and shoved them with my magic, making them all stumble. They stared at me, eyes wide and tinged with fear. Good. They should be afraid. Suddenly, Draco's magic enveloped me. I looked to my right to see him heading straight for me, leaving behind his own friends.

"What's wrong? I saw you push them," he said the second he reached me. I looked into his eyes and knew I didn't need to answer. He cursed loudly, making passersby give him disapproving looks.

"I told you not to come here today. I told you."

"Too late for that."

"Is it the assassin?"

I ignored the gasps and questions coming from my friends. "I don't know, but I suppose that's most likely."

"Where is he?" I started looking at faces in the crowd, but none of them stuck out to me.

"No idea. I just felt a break in my wards."

"Does whoever it is know you know?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We've got to get people out of here."

"What's going on, Hermione?" Ron stepped forward, looking between Draco and me. And that's when she screamed. Everyone in the village stopped and turned toward the sound. My blood chilled at the sight.

A man I didn't know was standing in the middle of the street and he was holding a knife to the throat of a young Slytherin girl. The sleeves were cut off his shirt to reveal the sign of the Lupo on his left bicep. The assassino.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" he called in a wickedly playful voice. It sent a shiver down my body. I sent a message to Leonardo, informing him what was happening and hoped against hope that it he would get here fast. I felt Draco's hand grasp mine.

"Don't do it," he murmured just loud enough for me to hear.

"He's going to kill that girl."

"I know you're here!" the assassino yelled in singsong voice that made my skin crawl. Before I could do anything, though, Harry pushed his way out of the crowd.

"Let the girl go," he called, his wand out. Stupid, stupid boy. The assassino cocked his head at Harry.

"You're not who I want." His accent was thick, obvious. He wanted people to know who he was, hoping that would help lead him to me. Luckily, the only person in this crowd that knew my nationality was gripping my hand like a lifeline.

"Let go of the girl and I'll help you find who you want."

"No need. She's here. I walked through her wards before I even realized they were there. Cleverly done, Sacerdotessa." I swallowed, squeezing Draco's hand in mine. He'd felt my wards. He was powerful. "But the time for trickery is over. Show yourself or she's dead." To prove his point, he pushed the knife closer to the girl's neck. She gasped as a prick of blood ran down her neck. I saw red.

"Enough!" I yelled, breaking through the crowd. I felt Draco's hands on my back, trying to stop me, but I couldn't just stand back and watch this happen. I stood next to Harry. The assassino's face split in a sickly-sweet smile.

"Hermione, get back." Harry said, glaring at me. I didn't take my eyes from the assassino.

"Hermione is it?" he asked, giving a short bark of laughter. "Hermione Granger, perhaps? I wondered if that might be your file I found at the Ministry."

I ignored that. "Let her go. She's not part of this," I ordered, letting my arms hang loosely by my sides and ready to perform magic in a moment. The assassino looked down at the Slytherin, eyeing her with a gleam in his eyes that disgusted me.

"What if I want to play with her?" I glared at him. I would not allow that. I sent a blast of heat straight into the knife and he let go, gasping. The Slytherin girl ran for a group of Ravenclaws that were closest to her.

"Zuia!" The assassino whipped out his wand and suddenly people were screaming and running everywhere. I threw up a shield that completely blocked him off from my half of the village. The assassino glared at me, knowing full well what I was doing. Through the crowd appeared Leonardo, followed by a very grim McGonagal.

"Ms. Granger! Step back this instant!"

"She's the only thing keeping us safe, Minerva," Leonardo said without even glancing at her. "How long will you be able to keep it up?"

"He's not fighting so probably a good few hours."

"You're doing this shield, Ms. Granger?" McGonagall asked, looking me over with raised eyebrows. I didn't have time to answer.

"Let down the shield, girl!" The assassino yelled, his eyes filled with calm fury.

"As far as I'm concerned," I yelled back, enjoying the release of anger and frustration, "you're going to be standing there until Adriano comes." The assassino paled ever so slightly. Good. That meant he was just as afraid of Adriano as a normal person would be.

"Why should he come here?"

"Apparently, he wants me alive. And you know how he treats the people that cross him." At that the assassino lost all color. He gripped his wand tightly and looked over his shoulder as if he expected the evil man to be standing behind him. He looked back at me, set his jaw and gave me a hard glare.

"I will be back for you, Sacerdotessa. Prometto." And with that, he turned and disapparted away. I reached out for his magic, but I only managed to grab the last bit of it before it followed him through the hole.

"Where did he go?" Leonardo asked.

"Somewhere south of here. That's all I got."

Leonardo shook his head. "Everything is south of here."

I whirled to glare at him. "I'm sorry, Leo. Do you want me to bring him back so we can try again?" I snapped. My frustration and anger were about to reach their boiling point.

"Calm down. I wasn't—"

"Calm down?" I demanded, "Calm down? An assassino just tried to kill me, nearly killing an innocent girl along the way, and you're telling me to calm down?" I knew Leonardo was trying to apologize, but I was passed the point of caring. "Non posso credere che tu! Avrebbe potuto uccidere. Avrebbe potuto uccidere tutti! Come stai non preoccupati per—"

"Ms. Granger!" McGonagall's shrill voice broke me out of my tantrum.

"What?" I snapped before I realized I wasn't supposed to talk that way to her. I swallowed as she leveled me with a look that made me want to crawl under the earth.

"My office. Now. All of you." I glanced over my shoulder to see Ginny, Ron, Luna, Harry, and Draco standing there, staring at me with wide eyes. I sighed. Perfetto. We made the trudge up to the castle, McGonagall in the lead with my friends behind her and Leo and I taking up the back. When we got to the castle, Draco hung back until he was even with us.

"What do you think she's going to do?" he asked.

"Ask a million questions," Leonardo said, sounding very unenthused about it. I wasn't all that thrilled at the idea either.

"Maybe it won't be so bad," Draco said, obviously trying to make it sound better than it was. I just looked at him. I mean, honestly. He sighed and wrapped his fingers around mine, pulling me ever so slightly closer to him. And despite having a million other things to worry about, that lightning strike still hit me the second he did. I was going to have to have a talk with myself sometime soon. Fancy or no fancy, this was not the time.

"Who knew Slytherins were so optimistic," I said because I needed to say something.

He smirked and shrugged. "Maybe I'm just glad Maggie didn't die."

"Is that her name?" Draco nodded. "I didn't know."

"She's a second year. Her parents weren't all that involved with the war. She's a good kid."

"I'm glad she didn't die, too."

"Why did he drop the knife?" Leonardo asked from my other side.

"I heated it up. I only did it to the handle so Maggie wouldn't get hurt, but it seemed to make him angry enough." I felt Draco's fingers briefly squeeze mine, and ignored the tingly feeling.

"You saved everyone."

"Try telling McGonagall that."

"Well now's your chance," Leonardo murmured as we approached the gargoyle and McGonagall gave the password. I gripped Draco's hand tighter, butterflies bursting in my stomach at the thought of telling all these people that I'd lied to them for the last three years.

"It'll be fine," Draco whispered, returning the pressure on my hand. I nodded and fixed my face into a confident mask. I had a feeling this was going to be an incredibly long night.