They both ended up on the floor, having apparated so quickly but Hermione was just glad they were in one piece. She scrambled to her feet and looked around. The moon was bright and she could see the sea to her right with a large, flat beach. Straight in front the shore line was more rocky and to their left was a large house.

"Is this it?" She heard Draco ask and she turned to him.

"I have no idea! I told you, I've never even seen the place," she waved her arms in front of her. "But that's a house and this is a bay." She headed to the house, stumbling on the uneven ground and Draco followed her. The house was a large, double fronted building with square windows and a large, single story extension to the one side. There were no lights on.

Hermione waved her wand at the door but nothing happened.

"We're not expected at this house," she said. "That might be a problem."

Draco taped her shoulder and pointed at a keypad on the wall. "Looks like we need to enter a code - it is a safe house; there has to be some security."

"I don't have a code!" Hermione said, grumpily. The wind was gusty, blowing off the sea and she was freezing. Her dress blew around the legs and she held it down. "They must issue codes when a place is allocated. Let's try around the back."

Draco grabbed her arm. "Unless you're planning on breaking in - which probably isn't the best way to keep our presence here quiet - then we're gonna need a code."

"I just told you, I don't have a code!" Hermione snapped.

"Do you have to enter a code at The Ministry? As an employee I wouldn't imagine they'd have to give you a new code. Keeping the same code would keep things more secure and simple," Draco said. The wind blew around the corner again and he shivered. "It's bloody freezing!"

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Hermione said, sarcastically indicating her bare shoulders and legs.

"So - do you use a code?" Draco repeated.

"No - we use our wands to enter at The Ministry - they have security clearance in them and I've just tried that already."

"What about the archives or the library?" Draco asked.

"No." Hermione huddled closer to the door. "I'll have to contact Harry."

"That's not a good idea," Draco said.

"Good or not it's the only idea we have so..." Hermione withdrew her wand and raised it but Draco grabbed her wrist.

"No, Hermione."

The wind gusted again and Hermione's hair flew up around her head. She pushed it back into her neck and glared at Draco. "So, what do you suggest?"

"Why are you getting angry at me?" Draco asked. "None of this is my fault."

"Actually the entire thing is your fault! I'd be at home in my cosy bed if it wasn't for you!"

"Oh no! You're not throwing that at me now. I gave you every opportunity to get out of this, in fact I insisted that you were taken off the case!"

"You asked for me in the first place!" Hermione poked her finger into his hard chest. "You never really told me why you did that? Why me? The girl you hated at school?"

"Do you really want to have this discussion right now?" Draco asked. "Maybe I did it because I like to torture myself." He removed her finger from his chest and leant closer. "I mean, what's not to enjoy about this? Hours of misery spent with the most uptight, touchy, "wouldn't know how to have a good time if it hit her in the face" witch I've ever met."

Hermione's eyes were like stone. "I know how to have a good time, thank you very much! And let me tell you this isn't it! But at least you're actually being honest now - I knew it was all a bloody act." She changed her voice, impersonating him very badly. "Oh, Hermione how sexy you are, Oh, Hermione you're so gorgeous, Oh Hermione we've only got each other now..."

"Shut up, Granger! Is that better?" Draco growled at her. "As you took the trouble to remind me, you're The Ministry employee! It's up to you to keep me safe. What happened to Mrs bloody professional and efficient? She can't get into her own safe house. Not so clever now you're out from behind your desk are you?"

"I was a whole lot better than you at the stadium - you're all mouth about how great you are but when it comes to actually doing something you were pathetic!"

"I wasn't pathetic! You were the reason I got hit, full on by a spell!"

"There's a reason you were second at everything at school, Malfoy! That night in the stadium proved it - behind a desk or not, I'm just a better wizard than you are!" A gust of wind blew Hermione's skirt high and she pushed it down, annoyed at the interruption. Draco seized on the her attempt to cover her legs.

"That's it! Cover them up! Merlin forbid that you might actually expose any flesh. It might spoil your perfect little virgin persona!"

"You weren't complaining earlier! You couldn't keep your eyes off my flesh!" Hermione shouted. She raised her wand again. "I'm sending a Patronus to Harry whether you like it or not!"

Draco was staring at her. "If you do that, I'm leaving."

"Really? Where exactly do you intend to go?"

"You can't contact Harry, it's suicide."

Hermione raised her wand and shouted the spell. "Expecto Patronum." A white light shot from the end of her wand and it changed as it left her, the beams moving together until the form of an otter could be seen. Hermione flicked her wand again and the otter ran off, scampering away from the house.

Draco's face was dark, his eyes narrow, his lips set. He stared at her for a moment and then he took a step backwards. She watched him, her anger completely gone in an instant and replaced with fear. Was he really going to do what he had just threatened?

"Draco..." she started to say but his expression didn't change. He then twisted on the spot and was gone.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Hermione sat on the dark beach, throwing pebbles into the sand. She was totally exposed sitting here both to the elements and to anyone who might appear. The wind was cold and gusty, blowing her hair around her, making her skin form goosebumps but she didn't care. She was numb from the abrupt way that Draco had left her. She had felt about as angry as she had ever been but now she was worried as she had ever been. Where was he? What if something happened to him?

What was worse was that now her anger had gone she knew that Draco had actually been right. It was stupidity to contact Harry, especially so soon after they had been attacked. She put her head in her hands and tried not to cry. That wasn't going to help, she was going to need a clear head more than ever now.

The wind hit her again but she felt something and she looked up. Standing in front of her was a stag. It was the same eerie blue that her otter had been but to her it looked like the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was large and it's eyes were looking at her softly. It started to speak in Harry's voice and Hermione wanted to throw her arms around the animal.

"The code is your main employee code. You will only be able to use this once tonight. After that the code will be changed. You should only stay where you are tonight. Apparate to the place that became mine - the one with the tree - first thing tomorrow. Do not contact me again - I will be in touch. Stay at the place until you hear from me. This should be over soon but there is still danger at the moment. So glad you're safe - stay safe. Harry."

The stag turned immediately and ran off down the beach. Hermione watched it until it had disappeared and then she walked back to the house and used the code Harry had reminded her about. Luckily, and in a typical Hermione way, she had memorized it when she had started working at the Ministry.

Once inside the house she lit a fire in the first room she walked into, not bothering to explore. She didn't care about the house, she didn't care about anything right now. She lay on the rather scruffy sofa, her eyes wide open, staring at the flames. She was still cold, her dress offering little protection but she just ignored it. She didn't remember falling asleep.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The curtains were open and the daylight woke her. The fire had gone out and it was still chilly in the room. Hermione lay still for a while, letting the events of yesterday run through her mind. She was almost convinced that she had imagined Draco leaving her but as she sat up and rubbed her eyes she knew it had really happened. She felt stiff, her back and neck hurting and her head ached. She got up slowly and went out into the hall, searching for the kitchen to see if she could find something to drink. She drank a small glass of water unenthusiastically and tried to get her thoughts in order.

Harry had told her to leave first thing and go to his house but he couldn't possibly mean his current house could he? That made no sense at all. Apart from anything else it was a 2nd floor apartment so it definitely didn't have a tree. There was nothing keeping her here so she needed to solve this puzzle and leave as soon as she could but her head wouldn't process the thoughts properly.

She felt like crying again because she felt so alone. Doing this on her own was awful; the house was depressing and she was scared. Not for herself but for Draco. He could be anywhere and he was bound to be taking risks. He was in real danger and she felt sick even thinking about it. She was too tired and fed up to analyze what her concern meant so without thinking she stood up and walked outside, hoping the fresh air would help clear her head.

As soon as the door shut she realized her mistake. That was it - she couldn't go back inside now. The code she'd used last night would no longer work. She leant against the bricks by the front door and put her head back. This was awful.

So, now she was locked out, unprotected and vulnerable. She needed to leave here fast but her head wouldn't process the puzzle. She rubbed her neck and gazed along the deserted beach. If she was honest, she didn't want to leave yet because the moment she did then that was it. Once she left here then Draco was really lost to her because if he did consider coming back then he would come back here and she would be gone. Why had he left her? She still couldn't believe it because no matter what they had said to each other in anger she would never have left him. It hurt more than she thought it would that he was gone and that he was willing to go. Maybe he was a coward after all.

She walked down to the beach, still shivering because although the wind had dropped it was a dull day and chilly. She sat on a large rock and stared out at the Ocean. Harry had said his place...she paused...actually he'd said the place that became mine. There must have been a reason for that particular phrasing. The tree puzzled her because she couldn't recall any significant tree at all. She decided to walk along the beach a little while she figured it out when she felt a searing pain in her back. It was like a blade cutting her from neck to hip and she fell onto the sand, crying out in agony.

The pain was horrendous and she could hear herself screaming but it sounded like it was a long way off. Everything was out of focus and she couldn't turn her head or move her arms. She heard a voice - deep and rumbling but she couldn't make sense of the words. A dark shaped appeared in her line of vision but she couldn't focus on it properly.

"Where is he or you'll feel worse than this."

Hermione frowned trying to process the question. "What?"

"Where is he - tell us where he is. Now." The voice sounded clearer now and she could see a man's face near to her. He seemed big with a long, dark beard.

"Where who is?"

"Don't act dumb with me - you know damn well who! Your boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend," Hermione protested automatically and she felt the pain in her back and arm increase. Her head spun again and she felt sick.

"Where is Malfoy? This is your last chance to tell me."

"I don't know." The pain increased again but this time it made Hermione angry. She didn't know! She raised her voice. "I don't know! We had a fight - he apparated out of here..."

"In that case you're useless to me - so how about I put you out of your agony?" The voice was low now and Hermione felt a wave of terror. Was she about to die? Really? Here on this deserted beach? She heard a groan and her eyes, now able to focus, saw the man's face turn pale and then she felt a crushing weight that knocked the breath out of her, her screams of terror were silent because she couldn't make a sound, her eyes rolling to the back of head as the pain and feeling of suffocation overwhelmed her.

Sorry - horrible place to leave it I know...x