January 26th

It was well after one in the morning before every member of the Jordan family was finally settled in bed. Sarah kept late hours preparing for the next day. Hermione could relate. She was often the last one to bed in her own home and the first one up. After she heard the door to the master bedroom down the corridor shut, she listened for the sounds of the lady of the house settling in to bed. Once she was convinced that everyone was in for the night, she waited almost half an hour before sneaking out the back door in the kitchen.

Lee made it clear from the very beginning that she wasn't a prisoner. She was welcome to stay in their home for as long as she wished. It had been comforting in a small way to know that she wasn't completely alone in the great big world. For too long she had been suspicious of everyone and leery of trusting anyone. Perhaps it was best that she have the reminders that evening that she shouldn't linger.

There were no security spells on the back door to Hermione's disgust. Were the Jordans really that trusting of their fellow man? How could they not be aware that they were just asking for trouble leaving their home so exposed and vulnerable? They had two young daughters to think of. It was just foolish and naive of them to ignore the dangers in their world. Especially considering who their houseguest for the last few days had been.

Malfoy's presence in the back garden wasn't a surprise. She knew to expect him to find her again sooner rather than later. Whatever his reasoning behind seeking her out, he was determined to find her on his own terms. It should have bothered her more that she was less afraid of him and more curious than before. He represented all that she was running away from. Why would she bother trying to understand his greater purpose?

He was easy to locate in the darkest corner of the outdoor space the Jordan girls hadn't been able to use for months. Seated in a chair hidden from the view of the house, Malfoy was perfectly at ease when she approached him. All at once Hermione had the urge to apologize for keeping him waiting for so long, but she bit her tongue before the words came tumbling out. There was no place for polite pleasantries in their society any longer.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

Far from being bothered by her rudeness, the wizard smiled and chuckled softly. She amused him. Hermione felt insulted for half a second until she remembered she had long ago stopped caring what that man thought of her. Their paths might have crossed several times, but they were in completely different spheres. He had always done what he could to stay on the outside of things, to be away from the Dark Lord as much as possible. She had always done what she could to stay on the inside of things, to be as close to the Dark Lord as much as possible.

Neither option was a guarantee of complete safety and security. Outliers and associates of the Death Eaters were punished just as frequently as members of the Inner Circle. It was long whispered amongst the higher level of Death Eaters that the Malfoys would never again retain the same level of influence they enjoyed before their betrayal in the last war. Narcissa was left alive by the Dark Lord even after she lied about Harry Potter being dead in the Forbidden Forest, but only for an example of how far a respected family could fall. Lucius was still a member of the Inner Circle. His ranking, however, was quite low. Even cowardly Peter Pettigrew would have outranked him if he had managed to survive.

Draco seemed content to be far from the seat of power. Many spoke in hushed voices that he had his fill of being near the Dark Lord when he was still in Hogwarts. He'd proven himself to be a useful tracker. If he hadn't, there was no question he would have long ago been eradicated. As it was, no respectable family would allow their daughters to enter into an alliance with the Malfoys. Unless he was willing to lower himself to find a bride within the Halfblood families or even a Muggle-born, the Malfoy family was set to become one more extinct Sacred Twenty-Eight family.

"I thought you would get rid of that coat the first chance you got."

He gestured to the garment she still had wrapped tightly around her body. A flicker of amusement shone in his eyes for half a second before the mask of indifference he usually wore returned. Hermione had known all along that it was foolish to keep the coat. She should have left it in that Muggle cellar. There had been other coats in the house she could have stolen to replace it. Likely it would be yet one more mistake she made that she would come to regret.

"Sentimental attachment to it. Answer my question."

More than a flicker crossed his face as his lips morphed into a wide smile. He looked younger, almost like she remembered him from school. There was a time when he would move through the castle as if he owned the place with a grin she longed to curse off. Other girls thought he was attractive, but Hermione could never see past the cruel eleven year old she knew from first year. Even years later, as damaged and disillusioned adults, she felt the urge to remove that smile. What right did he have to be happy? Or amused?

"Your presence has been noted in Wales. Thought you would be interested to know that."

"You came all this way to warn me?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders. There was an elegance to even the simplest of his gestures. Instantly, she chastised herself internally for thinking any charitable thoughts about him at all. They were not friends. They were merely acquaintances who appeared to have forged some sort of strange arrangement where he followed her around but didn't turn her in… yet. There was still opportunity for him to show his true colors.

"Antonin is very angry with you. You know he doesn't ever let anyone else know his plans, but I imagine they're not going to be pleasant."

Once upon a time Antonin trusted her enough to tell her everything. She provided an excellent sounding board for him, a confidant he could vent to when his frustrations grew too heavy. Her role as his favorite student allowed her a number of liberties no one else enjoyed. When their friendship shifted to something else, something she couldn't quite label, he stopped sharing his secrets. Perhaps he was paranoid with grand delusions that she would one day betray him. Of course, to his credit, there was some truth to his concerns. She did stab him in the eye with her fork before running away from her home, her family, her Dark Lord, her entire life. It wasn't unreasonable to imagine that she would come back one day to finish the job she started.

"Antonin knows I'm here?"

She worried what would happen to the Jordan family if she was discovered living there with them even for a short time. Even in neutral Wales they would be considered enemies. Antonin followed the laws of the various treaties when it suited him. He wasn't one to be overly concerned about what was legal or not.

"In the city, but not this house. Shouldn't take him long to figure it out though. Did you really get arrested by the Muggles?"

The shrug of her shoulders was nowhere near as elegant as his had been. A quiet chuckle from him filled the night air. He actually seemed to be enjoying her company. What bizarre world had she landed in?

"He's probably already been to the Muggle police station you were held at demanding answers. No doubt the Ministry of Magic is about to have an incident on their hands."

"Yes, well, my former teacher has never cared much for bureaucrats."

"No, your… teacher never has. It would not surprise me in the slightest if he killed a couple of the Muggles."

Hermione wished that he was exaggerating, but she knew better. Antonin never worried about getting his hands dirty with Muggle blood. And, as he proved the night they first encountered one another in the Department of Mysteries, he had never had an issue with killing children. She had to get away from the Jordans. Every second she lingered she put them in even more danger. It would be wrong to repay their kindness with violence.

"Do you really think that you can keep outrunning him, Granger? That he will ever give up?"

She sighed, the weight of his words settling on her slim shoulders. Of course Antonin would never stop. When he set his mind to something, he did not give up. He would want to punish her for her insolence.

"No, but I have to try. I can't go back, Malfoy. I can't… I can't do it anymore."

"I understand. All too well."

The soft touch of the wizard's hand on her arm startled Hermione. She stared down at the gloved hand and didn't know what to do, what to say. Was he actually attempting to comfort her? With wide eyes and unable to speak, she wrenched her arm from his gentle grasp. She ran from the garden, not stopping until she was gasping for air far from the Jordan family's home.