A/N; So sorry this chapter has taken so long. It was so hard to write though. I wanted to get through all this and get back to the good stuff so please excuse it if it seems to be rushed.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, without you lot reading this I dont think I could have continued.
Anyhoo here it is...
Severus paced the space in front of his door for what seemed like hours now. Where the hell had Draco got to, it was simple right? Go to Grimmauld Place, quick check on Hermione and then straight back here no fuss.
For what must have been the third time in ten minutes Severus opened and closed his front door, just to check if Draco had appeared.
He had not.
Perhaps there were more spells on the old Black house now that he didn't know about. He hadn't spoken to Albus in a while, and felt most definitely out of the loop.
He could, of course do a locator spell on Draco, but if he was being held by Albus and the rest of the Order then surely someone would notice.
Rolling his eyes he once again opened the door and took another glace about.
What…the hell…was that?
Just over by the bushes at the far end of the Manor garden was what seemed like a white fuss of hair, and on the ground?
Severus heart began pounding, had he just killed Draco? Well that would be ruddy perfect now wouldn't it? How was he going to explain this to the Dark Lord?
Racing across the lawn, like what he thought must have looked like a crazed madman he reached the spot where Draco lay. And rolled his eyes.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" he said irritably.
Draco, putting down the twigs and grass he was playing with smiled up at Severus.
"It was a fort" Draco told him thoughtfully, "But I can't finish it now".
"Indeed"
Draco let out an exhausted breath, "is that your house?" he asked looking over at the manor, "do you have any food I'm starving".
Severus grabbed Draco by his collar and pulled him to his feet, "I don't suppose you remember anything do you?"
"That's not fair, I know loads" Draco protested.
"Come on" Severus said and dragged the boy towards the house, it seemed finding out what he wanted to know was going to be harder than he thought.
He knew ways of extracting information that could have been perceived as forgotten, but he didn't want to resort to that just yet.
IIIII
Hermione paced back and forth in front of her bedroom door. Harry and Ron had returned home. Should she tell them?
She felt some peculiar urge to, and yet, here she was pacing in her bedroom.
Knowing Harry, he wouldn't be pleased at all with Draco's appearance. Even if, by some miracle he was telling the truth and Severus was just making sure she was ok.
Hermione shook her head; she was a logical person and had no time for such nonsense.
Of course she should tell Harry. He was her best friend, and he did deserve to know. It was him after all that would ultimately fight for the wizarding world. And she was, despite the mark on her arm, on the side of the light.
Yes she would tell Harry.
As Hermione reached out to grasp the door handle she seized up in pain.
The mark had never burnt like that before. A hot, angry, piercing pain. She could almost feel the rage coming from Voldemort himself.
Hermione opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out, as she grinded he teeth with pain she noticed that the mark on her arm was dripping with blood. Just as it had done after it had been scorched into her arm.
Whatever Voldemort wanted, he wasn't going to wait for it.
IIIII
"Drink this" Severus said as he handed Draco a cup of luke warm tea. "It should help with the after taste" he explained.
"What was that you gave me" Draco said taking a sip of the tea and making a face as if it were sour.
"Memento syrup"
Draco looked confused for a moment, "what did I forget?"
"I don't know yet I was hoping you could tell me, you went to number 12 Grimmauld Place earlier, what happened?"
Draco looked straight at Severus as if he were trying to read his lips, "Sorry could you say that again, I went where earlier?"
"Grimmauld Place"
Draco shook his head, "where, speak up I can't hear you"
Severus ran a hand through his hair, "it's no use" he sighed, "you simply cannot be told where Grimmauld place is, you have to be shown. If you don't remember that you won't remember anything"
"Have to be shown what?" Draco asked looking confused.
Severus rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of tea. Just as he tipped the tea pot, it hit him.
Clenching his mouth shut and hissing in pain Severus clasped his arm.
The smash of the bone china to the cold marble floor went unnoticed as Draco too howled out in pain.
With the reactions of a man that had done it one too many times, Severus transformed their robes into their death eater attire and apparated them both away.
IIIII
Hermione felt like her eyes were bleeding, with her nails she scratched her fingers down her face, cutting into her cheeks. Anything to defer the pain.
Voldemort was a genius, an evil coward as well, but he was still a very clever wizard.
Just the right amount of pain Hermione thought, not enough to knock me out cold but enough to burn. Only someone completely insane in the head could have come up with such a thing.
Wiping blood off her face Hermione got to her feet, Harry was in the house and she needed to see him now more than ever.
She reached out for the door, but something stopped her turning the handle. She had the most uncontrollable urge to go to him.
The pain was getting to her it must be, but something told her that is she just apparated away then everything would be fine.
No.
With all the will she had left at that moment Hermione opened her mouth and let out all that she had left in her.
It was barely a wail, but Ron heard. That was enough.
IIIII
The next few days passed Hermione by in a blur. Once the pain in her arm had subsided she had, of course, told Harry and the rest of the order when they had returned about Draco visiting the house.
Dumbledore seemed most concerned by this, and accompanied by the pain Hermione experienced earlier his face set a grave expression.
Harry was infuriated, with Draco, with Severus, with Voldemort, but most of all and perhaps most surprisingly with Dumbledore.
Harry wanted action; he wanted to storm into wherever the death eaters were gathering and put an end to it once and for all.
He didn't have to wait long for his wish, the next day Remus announced that he had heard of Voldemort's plans to attack. He was sending a troop to Hogwarts as what was to be thought as his primary launch, a diversion whilst the rest and more lethal of his Death Eaters headed once again for the ministry.
The plan it seemed was to take them down, with the idea that without a ministry to reign over Britain chaos would break loose.
The only plan the order could come up with was to fight.
It was inevitable that the final battle was nearing. Hermione along with McGonagall and Molly Weasley would work tirelessly day in day out preparing potions and medical supplies for whenever the day would come.
Ginny refused to help, she insisted that she would fight alongside Harry; no one could change her mind.
So when the final day did arrive Hermione hugged each of her friends and wished them good luck, not that they would need it hopefully. Hermione had been experimenting with muggle and magical medicines. She had found, and just in time, a way to combine painkillers, energy stimulants and blood replenishing potion along with Felix Felicis. She had given it to them before they left. Time would only tell if it actually helped.
It felt like days passed without word, when in fact it had only been mere hours. No one spoke in Grimmauld place, even the portraits were quiet and anticipating the return of the order.
So when that fateful hour arrived and the door creaked open. Hermione felt her world go into slow motion.
Remus and Tonks were among the first to arrive home, blood stained but on the whole looking very much alive.
Following, another crowd of Aurors entered the house. Harry and Ron soon followed, on sight of them Hermione let out a sigh of relief.
Harry walked through the door and fell into her embrace; although he was alive he was badly hurt, before she could help heal him though she had to wait for the rest of the order to come in.
To the relief of almost everyone there Ginny finally arrived and wordlessly she and Harry acknowledged their love as they threw themselves into each others arms. Ginny holding on so tight it looked as if she may never let go.
Finally when almost all normality had resumed and it seemed everyone was well and alive, Hermione began to notice the absences. Hagrid was no where to be seen or heard, and neither, she noticed was Dumbledore.
As if sensing her looking around Ron cam over and gave a slight nod. It was all she needed to know who had lost their lives. Who had sacrificed themselves so Harry could achieve what he was meant to do.
No two people seemed more likely to sacrifice themselves for Harry then those two.
Hermione looked over to where he and Ginny sat together, she wondered if he even knew yet. Did any of them really know who was alive and who was not?
She noticed, but it seemed not to fall upon Ron's attention the lack of presence by his two brothers. Perhaps he didn't want to talk about it, or perhaps they were just late getting back.
As the night went on more and more order members arrived in the safety and celebrations of Grimmauld Place, still there were the absences.
Hermione wondered if they would ever return, she wondered if the world outside these four walls would ever be the same again. But most of all, and against her better judgement she wondered about a particular tall, dark stranger who used to teach her potions. Was he alive, did she want to even know the answer, and if she did, what answer was she looking for?
A/N; Like I said I am sorry if that seemed rushed. The "War" is not that important to this story so I didn't want to spend ages on that.
Coming next...Finally some interaction between our fave characters...hmmmmmm
Please review :D