Sorry folks Harry potter's grand finale captured my attention so completely that I pretty much locked myself in my room for three days.

So with great apology I present you the next chapter, a little late, but I assure you the next chapter will be out tomorrow night at 8:30 (normally they will be out every 2 days but I will be busy on Wednesday so better early than late right!

Sitting in their cottage white cupboards was piles and piles of sweets. Chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's every flavor beans (though there was a conspicuously smaller number of this particular sweet), and so many other bright boxes and bags of sweets that 'Mione could hardly believe the cupboards fit them all! The most noticeable of all the candies of course was the cabinet full of sunshine colored boxes, each smiling out at her with its own little oddly shaped face. Lemon drops, a full cupboard of lemon drops and laying on top of them a creature that rather resembled a picnic blanket.

The red and white checkered little being, Hermione realized, was actually a small house elf. Almost immediately her eyes narrowed and she straightened up. How dare Dumbledore give us a house elf! After all I went through to liberate them at Hogwart's… he knows how I feel about using them.

The house elf by this time had noted the disturbance in her cupboard, and promptly popped her head up and looked Hermione square in the eyes, Chocolate brown meeting an oddly bright green. Within seconds the house elf was positively beaming, she bounced out of the cabinet and plopped down onto the marble counter, legs dangling playfully over the edge.

"Hello! Mipsy was sent by the master to take care of you Ms. Hermione!" Mipsy squeaked, still smiling happily.

'Mione took a good look at the elf, assessing how she had been treated. Mipsy was wearing what 'Mione strongly suspected was a clean picnic blanket, it was help up on her little body with a rather odd looking tie that featured fire hydrants and her disproportionately large feet were bear, but clean. Overall Mipsy looked as though she had been looked after quite well, though her master had rather odd taste. "Master? You mean Professor Dumbledore.

In a rather exaggerated way Mipsy nodded, one of her ears which was bent at a rather uncomfortable looking angle flapped back and forth.

"Well thank you Mipsy, really thank you very much. But er… I'd rather you didn't take care of me you see it just doesn't seem fair tha…" Hermione trailed off as Mipsy's smile fell quickly into a nasty glare.

"Master said Ms. Hermione would say that." Mipsy's nose turned up into the air, and she folded her tiny arms across her checkered chest. "Master said Mipsy should tell Ms. Granger that he made sure Mipsy wanted to help. Mipsy wants to help the Master." Her large, lime green eyes were back on Hermione simply oozing contempt.

If looks could kill 'Mione stifled a giggle as she looked down at Mipsy. House elves simply weren't capable of looking threatening. "Alright then," It was obvious this argument could not be won and quite honestly she just did not have the energy to try and convince Mipsy that she should take a break. "Where can a girl find some real food in this place?"

Mipsy was smiling so widely now that it looked like her whole face might be consumed by her mouth. "Mipsy makes it! Mipsy is a good cook! What does Ms. Hermione want?!" Bouncing about on the counter Mipsy started running around the kitchen pulling ingredients out of what seemed to be air.

With a heavy sigh 'Mione muttered grudgingly, "Whatever's easiest Mipsy."

Twenty minutes later a slice of shepherd's pie sat on a plate in front of her. The smell rising off of it was absolutely delightful and woke 'Mione's sleeping stomach so that it might start its grumbling anew. Mipsy had also made a fruit salad filled with grapes, golden apples, tinyy orange slices, blueberries, strawberries and a few fruits 'Mione couldn't recognize. A glass of pumpkin juice waited for her next to her plate and a French silk pie sat tantalizingly on the counter.

"Thank you Mipsy this looks absolutely amazing!" 'Mione picked up her fork and happily moved in on the layers of mashed potatoes, corn and roast that sat in front of her. Mipsy sat on the counter again, positively glowing with the compliment.

After her meal, 'Mione's eyes were heavy with sleep. She thanked Mipsy once again for the meal and made her way to her trunk for her bedclothes. Upon opening it however it wasn't her pajamas sitting at the top of her trunk, but something that looked rather like liquid silver. On top of Harry's invisibility cloak sat a note, written in his messy scrawl.

'Mione,

I've asked Dumbledore to slip this into your trunk

for me.I thought I might lend it to you for your own

little (not really) adventure. Stay safe, don't do

anything I wouldn't do (really that's giving you

license to do a lot isn't it?) I'll see you back at

Hogwart's in a week!

Your dear friend,

Harry

p.s.- Don't worry I'll speak with Ron.

Tears crept into the corners of her eyes as 'Mione finished the note. Oh Harry, Thank you. I can't thank you enough. She read it once more, picked up the cloak and marveled at the light almost water-like feel of it. Sleep had crept in with her contentment however, and soon she could barely keep her eyes open. Slowly she shuffled off to her bed which much to her delight reminded her of sleeping on a particular fluffy cloud.

The days passed slowly at Blaise and Hermione's safe house. Neither of them were allowed out and under the watchful gaze of the black cat from their dorm portrait (it seems she has a second portrait here for an occasional vacation), she observed them quietly from her portrait over the mantle. At the moment she was sprawled across a sunny rock ledge that sat over the pond that took up most of her frame.

After three days of waiting, 'Mione had gone through all the spells that controlled free will in her stacks and piles of books. She had also learned multiple spells that would disguise her appearance and a few new defensive spells. Still she had no idea what enchantment had Draco in its grip, he seemed to have periods where he was himself before lapsing back into his father's control and no spell she could locate would allow these breaks in control.

Now, with nothing to do 'Mione found herself becoming uncomfortably restless. Draco was in this city, somewhere, right this instant. He needed her help and she sat safe and warm, twiddling her thumbs. She threw herself onto her bed, nearly growling with frustration, she stared at her ceiling and burned with the need to get out. It seems Harry's rubbed off on me. A laugh burst from her lips, but warped into a twisted cry of pain.

Draco was writhing on the floor, the cruciatus curse still ripping him apart from the inside out. Above him his father leaned casually against the dough white walls. With a quick flip of his wrist he removed the curse from his son and walked slowly towards the boy that lay on the floor like a broken doll.

Draco felt the pain ease out of his body, taking its time. Every inch of his skin felt raw, stretched and as though he lay n a bed of pins and needles. Slowly he focused on his breathing.

Lucius rolled his son onto his back with an impeccably shiny black dress shoe. "Have we learned our lesson about helping mudbloods now Draco? Hmm?" He placed a foot squarely on his son's chest and placing his weight on Draco leaned down for his answer.

Breathing came a little harder now and Draco stayed silent as he struggled to slow his heart. It's was almost funny really, Draco thought to himself, He tries to make me obey him with pain, but its when I'm being hurt that I am most myself. And it was true, it was as if the oblivion fled from pain, leaving him to take the full brunt of the curses thrown at him but also allowing him to think for himself. To think of Hermione… He laughed one breathless laugh at his father's own foolishness, at the irony of it all.

Lucius's lip curled up into a disdainful sneer. So that's the way Draco wanted to play it eh? Lucius moved his wand just above Draco's heart, where the pain would be swiftest and the most … effective. "Crucio!"

Hermione felt as though a bullet had just blown through her chest, she screamed in agony, one long shrill note that could've carried all the way back to Hogwart's had a silencing charm had not been placed on the flat. A very startled and terrified Blaise crashed awkwardly into her room, wand drawn and ready to take on the attacker. But he found nothing but Hermione shrinking in obvious pain on the floor. He looked around for the cause, but saw nothing that could have inflicted this kind of agony.

Hermione was barely aware of Blaise's presence in her room. She wanted desperately to curl up, make herself smaller. But it felt as if a heavy weight sat square on her chest, holding her on her back. Her body was consumed with pain now, it obliterated all her thoughts and held her hostage within the confines of her own overwhelmed, body.

Blaise was kneeling next to her now, hands hovering over Hermione, frozen in their spot. He wanted to help, it was maddening to watch Hermione suffer so, but he wasn't even sure what was wrong. He would not touch her in fear of making things worse. His eyes started to sting with unshed tears. It was Ginny all over again, he was forced to sit back and watch as someone he cared for suffered. He could only hope Hermione, his new friend, wouldn't leave him the way Ginny had.

Some agonizing minutes later, Draco felt the curse release. It was as though a swarm of stinging wasps had been trapped beneath his skin, and only now had found a way out. Draco lay there staring blankly up at the ceiling feeling the oblivion move in swiftly to take the pain's place. He savored his last seconds of his own thoughts bouncing about in his head as his father took his foot from his chest and started moving to the door. All Draco could hear was the swish of his fathers robes and his thudding heart.

"Oh and Draco," Lucius stopped halfway to the door, "Tonight you will be visiting several local clubs primarily le chat noir, it is my understanding that this girl enjoys such places. If you see her there, you are to bring her to me immediately. Be ready at eleven." And he was out the door.

Draco hadn't moved, he lay on the floor, chest heaving, wrapped up in the transition from pain to non-being. He rather thought he liked pain better. Slowly his heart found its normal pace and his mind emptied.

The thought slipped into the now recovering Hermione. It felt strange, foreign in fact she almost thought she could hear Draco's voice speaking the words. She sat shivering on the floor at the end of her bed as Blaise went to ask Mipsy to make Hermione some tea.

'Mione found a sudden impulse had trailed the thought. She had to- no needed to go to this place. Draco would be there, she could feel it like lightning in her bones. Draco would be there and she needed to be there too. 'Mione's eyes slid to her trunk, where the invisibility cloak lay, hidden beneath A Hogwarts, A History.

Blaise walked softly back into the room, the tea cup shaking in his hand. He cautiously kneeled next to Hermione, and held out the cup for her.

Hermione took a deep steadying breath and reached for the cup with both hands. She breathed in the rich smell of mint and jasmine before taking a sip. The need to move, to go to where Draco would be was undeniable now, it spiked her blood and pumped through her heart into the whole of her body. Following it she felt her delicious sense of recklessness taking hold on her mind, enticing her into action. Why should you stay here? It will be fine. You have the invisibility cloak too, you could slip out the window without the cat ever knowing…

Hermione looked up from her tea cup and stared at Blaise, a new fire burning in her amber eyes.

"Blaise, we're going out tonight."

Alrighty that's it for this chapter. Remember tomorrow night at or shortly after 8:30 there will be a new chapter!

Questions? Liked it? Hated it? Ideas? I'll take any of them!

Ange