I've made a few small adjustments to the previous chapters. Nothing major. Just be aware, in case one or two things don't quite line up here.

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Disclaimer: Ponder this: if I owned Harry Potter, would I be writing fanfiction?

Chapter 4: Back to the Manor

After Malfoy had finished, the three friends sat in silence for a while. Finally, Harry spoke, slowly. "You – you're a not a bad bloke, Malfoy. Much better than I ever gave you credit for."

Malfoy scoffed. "Everything I do is for me. Me and my own." He stared at his hands. Finally he sighed, getting to his feet. Brushing off his robes, he looked out into the trees. "We need to get further away. Let's go."

"Where are we?" Hermione asked, rising.

"Hmm?" Malfoy looked confused.

"We could be in France, for all I know."

"Oh... we're in south Wiltshire. Or maybe we made it to New Forest... I don't know how much ground we covered there." He drummed his fingers. "Probably still in Wiltshire." he concluded.

"But we need to get to Tinworth!" Ron cried.

"Can you apparate?" Harry asked Malfoy, standing up. Malfoy nodded slowly. "Perfect!" Harry grinned. "Why didn't I think of it before? We'll just go along side you!"

"Do I – do we all need to be in contact for that to work?" Malfoy asked carefully.

"Well, yeah." Harry said. "Is that a problem?"

"Uh, no, just... um..." He bit his lip. "It wouldn't work anyway." He took a breath before quickly spitting out, "I don't have an apparation license 'cause I was too young last year so they could track me and it wouldn't work." He concluded, giving his head a stiff, decisive shake.

"I don't have a license either." Harry argued. "I've apparated. No one's gotten me yet."

"Maybe you shouldn't." Malfoy sniffed.

"Here," Hermione sighed. "I've got an idea. Malfoy, you apparate to Bill and Fleur's, and find someone to come back and get us."

Malfoy smiled gratefully. "Sound's good." Hermione laughed to herself, knowing that his weak excuse from before had not been solved by her plan. She, however, was pretty sure that she knew why he had refused side-by-side apparation. If Harry or Ron noticed Malfoy's inconsistency, they said nothing.

Malfoy turned, ready to go, then paused. "Where should I go? Tinworth, you said?"

Ron nodded. "The place is called Shell Cottage. It's Bill and Fleur's place. It's by the cliffs on the outskirts of Tinworth, I think."

Malfoy nodded. "That should be enough." He thought for a moment, then frowned. "Wait. How do I tell them where you guys are? I mean, 'near some trees in southeastern Wiltshire' isn't exactly enough information."

Hermione bit her lip. She hadn't thought of that. "Perhaps if you have them apparate to Malfoy Manor, you could lead them out here, to us."

"I couldn't find this exact spot again."

There was a brief pause. "Alright, we'll have to go back to the manor, then." She frowned. "They don't know we left the grounds – how could they? – so we should be pretty safe, if we stay hidden."

"Um, Hermione?" Ron started. "Don't you think there's some other place we could use, some other landmark – "

"Afraid not." Malfoy said flatly, drumming his fingers. "When the manor was built, they made sure that it was... well away from any commotion. You know." He sighed. "Trees to one side, fields to another. No good landmarks."

Harry got to his feet, sighing. "Then I guess we're going back." He frowned thoughtfully, and added, "You know the way, right?"

Malfoy gave a soft snort. "Of course. I do live here, you know." He waited as Ron and Hermione rose.

Hermione glanced at Ron, who was scrutinizing Malfoy carefully. She could tell that he was skeptical, but had no better plans. Finally he asked, "Are you sure that you can't do a side-by-side apparation? That would be the safest, you know." He sounded flat, defeated; he knew the answer already. It was good that he did, for Malfoy did not respond, instead turning away and beginning to walk back to the mansion. The mansion that they had all fought so hard to escape.

They traveled in silence. Though they went rather slowly, Ron lagged behind a bit, as if unsure of the decision that they had made. Hermione couldn't blame him, she was nervous, too.

As they walked, she frequently found herself glancing backward at him. She didn't know why, but she kept getting the feeling that he would suddenly be gone, leaving her and Harry – and Malfoy, she supposed – to finish Dumbledore's mission without him. She knew that it was ridiculous, this feeling, but... it was there, stuck under her skin, planted firmly in her mind. He had left before. It didn't matter that the horcrux had manipulated his feelings, that he had tried to come back almost immediately, that he had found them again at last... He had left, and now she couldn't stop looking back at him, checking to see if he was there, or if he had run off again, disappearing from sight as she cried out and the rain fell...

She shook her head. He wasn't going to leave them, not again. She had to trust him. And yet, she couldn't stop herself from glancing back once more.

She was briefly tempted to fall back and walk with him, maybe even attempt conversation. She shook it off quickly. It was silly; she had nothing to say, and they had to be quiet. They couldn't attract any attention to themselves. She tried to block her friend from her mind.

Her footsteps fell upon the dry earth with a dull thud. She felt the sandy soil beneath her feet shift and crunch. She concentrated on this, on the rhythm and texture of her walking, allowing that to fill her mind, to drown out the images of the redhead behind her.

Crunch, crunch. The sound filled her up.

Crunch, soil in a thin forest in Wiltshire. Crunch. The loose gravel by the lake at Hogwarts. Crunch. Dry brush snapping beneath her feet in the Forbidden Forest. Crunch. Walking through a corridor, back from a Hogsmeade trip, shoe soles coated in drying mud and twigs. Crunch, crunch. While walking toward the common room, seeing a pale boy, eyes sunken, blankly sitting by himself. Crunch. Wondering why he hadn't been at Hogsmeade. Coming to a stop beside him.

Suddenly Ron was gone from her mind, as was the dry noise of her footfalls. She was lost in a memory from the year before...

And then she walked into Harry, who had stopped, causing him to stumble with a soft gasp. She looked around wildly, suddenly aware of her surroundings... no longer in the middle of nowhere, but in view of the manor. Malfoy looked back at them, eyes narrowed in annoyance. He lifted a finger to his lips, glanced around, and cautiously approached them. "Stay here. I saw some people leaving the grounds... keep quiet." He whispered, before vanishing.

After he left, the other three remained deathly silent. A soft wind blew from the manor, carrying the sound of voices. Lucius Malfoy. Fenrir Greyback. Bellatrix Lestrange. No words were clear, but the low mumble of their voices, particularly Bellatrix's, made Hermione tense up, made her heart beat a little bit faster. She tore her eyes off of the dark fence around the manor to glance back at her friends. Ron was biting his lip uneasily, shifting silently from foot to foot. Harry's expression was unreadable, but Hermione got the impression that he wasn't thinking about Shell Cottage. He was somewhere else again.

Then, with a crack, Malfoy was beside them again. Hermione looked behind him and saw, close to the manor fence, Dobby. The four of them took off to meet him.

"Dobby has come to get Harry Potter!" The elf squeaked softly, looking apprehensively at the walls behind him.

"Shh!" Malfoy cautioned. Dobby flinched, still nervous around the son of his former master. After a brief pause, he reached his arms out to Harry and Hermione, and Ron grabbed on to Hermione's arm.

Suddenly a voice rang out from the other side of the fence. "Potter isn't the priority here, Bellatrix! My son is out there! Do you know what the Dark Lord will-" There was an edge to Lucius's voice that Hermione hadn't heard before.

"No, I don't think he's with them. I found him in the manor, after Potter and the others had already disappeared!"

"He's still inside, then?"

In the second that Dobby began to turn, Malfoy looked up and said, "I'll be there in a little while." And then the manor was gone again, replaced by the black and suffocating grip of apparation, which was replaced again by salty, damp air and the sound of the ocean rolling. She tried to take a step, stumbling slightly on the rocky ground.

"Ron! Harry! Hermione!" called a good-natured, friendly voice from behind her. She turned to see Bill Weasley rushing out to meet them, followed by Dean and Luna. He frowned. "Where's that Malfoy bloke?" He asked.

"He said he'd be here in a minute." Harry explained. "Just curious – why were you so quick to trust him?"

"We were there before, Harry." Dean said. Luna nodded, eyes wide.

Hermione felt so odd... the memory of Bellatrix at Malfoy Manor still weighed heavily on her mind. She was suddenly a bit weak, a bit shaky. An odd mixture of relief and apprehension swam through her.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ron asked, forehead creased in concern. He stepped back, examining her.

She laughed weakly. "I'm fine – fine."

"I think you need rest." Bill said. "Here, let's all go inside. Fleur's got the place all ready – "

"If you don't mind, I think I'd like to wait out here for a moment." Hermione said. The wind was pleasant, the sound of the sea hypnotizing... she didn't want to go into a crowded house. "Just until Malfoy shows up." She cringed slightly at her weak excuse.

"Other people can wait for Malfoy." Bill smiled. "You need to rest, so you're coming inside with us."

"I think that it's fine for her to wait a bit," Harry looked up. "The cool air is very refreshing, you know, and I'll wait with her." Bill looked unsure, but Harry grabbed Hermione by the wrist and had her sit down on a large stone.

"Alright... see you two inside shortly, then." With that, the others left. Ron glanced at his two friends curiously, but followed his brother to the cottage.

After everyone had gone, Hermione turned to Harry. "Thank you... but I did want to be alone for a while."

Harry smiled wryly. "I did, too." With that, he got up, and walked away, wandering toward the cliffs. Hermione smiled, before settling on her rock and losing herself in thought.

Strangely, her mind was quick to pick up on the memory hat she had been recounting while walking through Wiltshire.

She remembered walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, toward the common room. Her arms were weighed down... what had she been carrying? Parchment. Five new rolls of parchment, and a couple of nice new quills. Her shoes were covered with mud from the road, and they scraped against the rough stone floors of the castle.

She had seen the boy, pale and drawn, slumped on a bench in the hallway. She immediately recognized him, of course, his silvery hair was unmistakable, but she was surprised by a sudden urge to stop. She knew how poorly she thought of the guy, but it was hard to keep anger fueled while looking at one so... down. So dejected.

However, as soon as she had paused beside him, he looked up with a nasty scowl twisted onto his face. It was suddenly easy to remember just what it was about him that infuriated her so.

"What do you want, mudblood?" he spat.

"Nothing. I just... nothing. I thought you were someone else." She looked down, heat creeping into her cheeks. What had she expected? He was Malfoy, after all.

He laughed harshly. "Yeah. I get that a lot. I just look like so many other people, don't I?" He snorted. "Just get out of here, or – "

"Are you alright?" She blurted, not really thinking about her words. As soon as they were out, she regretted them, wishing to call them back.

"Huh?" he questioned, deflating a little bit.

"Are – are you alright?" she repeated lamely. He looked up, not... angry, exactly. More nervous. But not quite that, either... it was odd. He picked at his left sleeve absently.

"Hey, Granger."

He didn't say anything.

"Uh... Granger?"

She turned, thoroughly embarrassed, to walk away.

"Are you alright?"

The words brought her out of the memory harshly. "Wha-? Oh. I'm fine."

Malfoy, who must have appeared while she was reminiscing, frowned slightly. "You look ill. A bit pale. You should – you should go inside." He turned his gaze away from her, glancing out to the sea. She looked up at him... he looked pale himself. Pale, tired, and worried. Again, the scene in the corridor came to mind.

She stood up from her rock, a bit weak. It probably was a good idea to go inside, she figured as she swayed slightly. Malfoy was still looking away.

Before she left, she turned to face him, and asked quietly, "You asked me not to touch you... is it the same for Harry an Ron, too?" He glanced at her, an eyebrow raised, and nodded slowly. "Is it – is it because of that?" She asked, pointing to his left arm.

He looked surprised, and went, if possible, just a little bit paler. Or perhaps she imagined it, for the next moment he looked fine. He nodded wordlessly, running a hand through his hair, and walked toward the cottage.

When he was halfway there, he called over his shoulder, "I think it's time you went inside."

She nodded slowly, and followed him with unsteady steps. She wasn't quite sure why she had asked what she had... just something about the memory had stuck in her mind. And his response... she was just so confused. But confusion was something that she had been forced to grow accustomed to, lately. She entered the cottage through the propped-open door.

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ThisBirdTooHasFlown speaking: I would like to thank all my reviewers, particularly eryv, who has given me a bit of advise to improve my writing. (Much appreciated.) I do want to make a story that people will enjoy... so, if you see something you don't like, speak up! Also, if you have something nice to say, I would love to hear it. Really.