CHAPTER EIGHT
ESCAPE
It was the last day before the students were supposed to leave for the holidays when it happened. Hermione had packed her bags, selected any books she needed for over the break, and was sleeping in the comfort of her own bed when she heard voices. Very familiar voices.
She shot straight up in bed and blinked a few times. Sleepily, she listened for these voices to continue.
Silence.
Hermione fell back into bed and began to doze off when she heard them again. She couldn't place the voices, but they still sounded awfully familiar. Then she heard another chilling voice. "The Mudblood is around here somewhere."
She threw her robe on, heart pounding frantically. How had they gotten here? There was no mistaking it-- they were definitely wizard voices. Death Eaters' voices.
" 'Lizabeth, go back to bed," her roommate said sleepily.
She held her breath while her roommate fell back asleep. Hermione heard pounding on doors all the way down the hall and she knew it was only a matter of time before they got to her door. At first, she thought it would be simple to just not answer the door, but that might be suspicious, and with some magic, they could certainly break down the door. The only thing to do was to create a diversion.
"Where's my wand?" she said out loud. She hadn't meant to, and she winced when she heard--
"What?" her roommate shot straight up in bed. "What wand?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. You'll thank me later. Where was it? She had definitely taken her wand with her to school, but she had hidden it. Fantastic. The footsteps were coming closer and closer and the knocking now drowned out the sound of her heart beating in her chest. Desperately, she reached into a bag at the bottom of her suitcase and pulled out her old friend.
"That's... a real wand, then?" Rebecca asked, looking amazed.
"No, I got it for my little sister in the toy store yesterday. For Christmas," she lied. "You should go back to bed." You'll be awake soon enough.
Her roommate fell back against her pillow and Hermione stuck her head out the door The men were down the hall, asking a fellow student if they knew where a young woman by the name of Hermione was. Since she had told everyone her name was Elizabeth, everyone seemed to be telling them they had no idea who they were talking about.
And then... they saw her.
"Lacarnum Inflamarae," she whispered as a small spark came out of her wand. "Come on."
Hermione's heart felt like it was coming out of her chest. She repeated it, this time speaking a little bit louder. Nothing was happening. "Please."
Her wand gave a feeble spark and died out. Pleading had never worked in the wizarding world.
They were running towards her, wands raised, when she yelled, "Lacarnum Inflamarae!" at the top of her lungs. Several things happened at that very minute. Many of the Death Eaters jumped back in surprise-- their robes had caught on fire-- and the sprinkler system detected smoke. The sprinklers and the alarm went off. Hermione managed to vanish into the confused crowd as ten angry Death Eaters tried to figure out how to stop the waterproof fire.
Hermione had no idea where to go. Now that they knew where she lived, couldn't they come and attack her at any moment? Would she be safer with the Normans or back in the wizarding world?
It only took her a few moments to make her decision and she Apparated, finally landing at the Burrow. She wasn't sure why that was her first instinct, but she knew she was in trouble and Mr. Weasley was, after all, the Minister of Magic.
Much to her surprise, the Weasleys were already up. She heard pounding of feet from upstairs, lots of confusion, and Pig, Ron's owl, was flying around the living room in a panic. Apparently he had just finished delivering a letter. The news seemed to be traveling fast around the wizarding world.
A few seconds later, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were downstairs.
"Hermione?" Mrs. Weasley gasped. "You gave us quite a fright. We just got the letter, of course, and the whole wizarding world is in a panic. You must be exhausted, dear. We can make up an extra bed for you until we figure out what we're going to--"
Mr. Weasley cut her off. "We need to figure this out now." And with more authority than Hermione had ever seen him have, he told her to sit down and to tell him what had just happened. She explained everything to him, and he took off his glasses a few times to rub his eyes.
"What you did was irresponsible and very dangerous. The amount of memory charms we're going to have to perform is, quite frankly, a bit overwhelming at this point."
"But, Mr. Weasley, I--"
He held up his hand and closed his eyes. "I know. It's not that I don't understand. We'll have the entire wizarding world on a high state of alert now, and I'm sure there were plenty of Muggles who saw you. However, it was self defense, so I'm not going to press charges for violating that law."
Hermione felt relieved but a little bit guilty at the same time. Running away seemed like the most logical thing to do now that she looked back on it. She just hoped no one in the crowd saw her disappearing so suddenly.
"I'll go over it with other committee members in the morning, but right now the only thing I can think of to do is have you stay with us. The Normans are protected with a certain kind of charm that will keep them out of danger, but there's no need to keep you in the Muggle world with no method of defense. Clearly we were foolish and I must ask you to accept my apologies."
Hermione felt a rush of gratitude and hope rise in her chest. The Weasleys had always been more than kind to her and she loved them with all her heart. She nodded, trying very hard not to grin like an idiot. "Yes."
Mr. Weasley looked slightly relieved and then leaned forward. "Now, you must tell me... what exactly does the sprinkie system do? How does it work?"
"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. "The poor dear must be exhausted."
"Maybe you can tell me tomorrow," he said, looking hopeful.
"Absolutely," Hermione agreed.
"Er, Ginny dear, will you show her Fred and George's old room? She can sleep there tonight."
Ginny nodded and grinned when they were both out of earshot. "Wow, Hermione, I forgot you could do that."
"I had forgotten how at first," she admitted. "I had to go way back into my memory, of course, and then I had to remember how difficult it actually is to execute the charm."
"Hey, if you want me to, I can sleep in the other bed tonight. We have to catch up. But I understand if you don't want to. You must be exhausted."
But Hermione nodded eagerly. "Yeah, we can talk for a few minutes."
The few minutes had turned into an hour or so, and when Hermione finally drifted off to sleep, she slept soundly. She woke up at 11:00 in the morning to the sound of booms, giggles, and loud voices.
When she got downstairs, she discovered Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny trying to put up a Christmas tree in the living room. Angelina and Alicia looked as if they were giving instructions, laughing and joking the whole time. "No, to your left. Way to your left," Alicia called.
"No, just a smidge to the left," Hermione disagreed.
At her voice, several things happened. Fred, George, Alicia, and Angelina, who hadn't seen her the night before, ran over to hug her. The women squealed and began to ask her a hundred questions, which she answered without hesitation. Ron, on the other hand, stood by the tree with his mouth open. The top of the tree drooped unsupportively from behind him.
He came over to her and she found her heart was hammering much as it had done the night before. But this time, it wasn't entirely unwelcome. Her stomach dropped when it looked as if Ron was going to hug her, but at the last minute, he reached out his hand and shook hers.
"For heaven's sake, Ron," Ginny grinned. "You can hug her, you know."
Ron's ears turned red, but he hugged her, patting her on the back slightly. Hermione almost laughed, but she knew it would just make him even more embarrassed.
"Hermione's here," Ginny said. "Or did we forget to mention?"
"Yeah, you may have forgotten that slight detail," he muttered as he pulled away.
Angelina and Alicia pulled her over to the tree, which made Hermione laugh despite herself. What had gotten into Ron, anyway? During their last few years at Hogwarts, whenever Harry had been acting strange, they'd talked. They'd even dated for a few months back before the war. She was confused. Even though she was still angry at Ron for selling them out, she did want to talk to him. Fine, she thought. It's back to third year then.
They finally managed to magick the tree into a normal spot, although the top was slightly bent over. Then everyone proceeded to "swish and flick" the ornaments on the tree.
Ron wouldn't make eye contact with her. Her stomach kept flipping over as she helped to decorate. But afterwards she grabbed her coat and went outside. Much to her surprise, Ron followed.
They began to walk together, leaving footprints in the freshly fallen snow. It was still flurrying and Hermione put her gloved hand out to catch some snow. "Remember when we first met each other?" she said almost absently, surprised at the words coming out of her mouth. She examined each snowflake on her glove. "And I told you you had a smudge on your nose?"
Ron still wouldn't look at her, but he said, "Yeah. I was so overwhelmed at that point. I spent the rest of the day worrying that I had a huge smudge on my nose and that everyone was staring at me. Of course, it was only later that I realized everyone was staring at me because I was sitting next to Harry Potter."
She smiled and continued. "And remember our huge fights? We'd always argue and then be fine within a few hours. Poor Harry. I'm sure he hardly knew if we were fighting or not."
"Well, remember that one day, when he asked us in the library? We were studying for our N.E.W.T.S and he said, 'Are you two fighting? Good. Because I was just wondering if you'd do a favor for me.' " Ron's voice was becoming warmer and warmer by the minute.
Hermione laughed. "And then fourth year, when I told you that next time we went to a ball to ask me before it's too late?"
At this, Ron snorted. "Well, you were going out with Krum, the arrogant, slimy--"
"--And I was furious that you didn't ask me. You were so focused on Fleur. I had really given up hope on you."
"What do you mean?" Ron protested, finally looking at her. His eyes were lit as if he was teasing her.
"I thought that meant you didn't like me like... I had hoped you did."
"Oh, you did, did you?" he teased.
"Oh, you know." She was getting flustered, and although it bothered her, it seemed to amuse Ron greatly. Suddenly, she remembered what it was like living with him-- how he infuriated her and made her so happy, all at the same time.
"I think that was the biggest row we'd ever had. And that's saying something."
She laughed again and realized how good it felt. "I have something to ask you." Just as quickly, she sobered. "I don't know how to go about this, of course, and you're going to have to bear with me, but I really need to know..."
Ron rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm glad that you always come right out with things, because if you didn't, I think I'd go insane."
She bit her lip. How was she going to do this? "I saw... evidence. That you sold us out."
Ron's slightly cheerful expression fell to a hurt and confused one. "What?"
"Lucius Malfoy told me you sold us out."
He snorted bitterly. "And you trust him? Come on, Hermione. I thought we just fought a war against the likes of him."
"It's not only that. He showed me through dark magic. Lupin came back from his mission one day and told us that chances are you did and that it wasn't even under the Imperius. Then he told us we had to move. I didn't know what to believe. I mean, I really wanted to believe that you hadn't, but all evidence says that you did."
"What did Malfoy show you?"
Hermione's heart sank miserably. Ron's voice was now hard and cold. "I'm so sorry, Ron..."
"No, I want to know."
"He showed you sitting there, telling him that we were at Grimmauld's Place, and that it would be easy to kill Harry."
It took a second and much to Hermione's surprise, Ron didn't look upset at all.
"My friends.." Just as suddenly, a plan had come to his mind. A very brave and reckless plan, however. If Malfoy went back on his promise to release him as soon as he confessed where they were hiding, then he was as good as dead. If, however, Malfoy was as adamant about keeping promises as he claimed to be, Ron might have found a way to save everyone's life.
"They've found an underground entrance underneath the Ministry." He hoped it didn't seem as if he was making this up as he went along. Ron even pretended he was distraught about giving up his friends, just to add to the dramatic effect. "They've been using it for years now, ever since Mr. and Mrs. Potter were killed. It should be easy to find Harry, as long as you catch them unaware."
Lucius had stood back at that, apparently lost in thought. "The Weasley boy has been very helpful," he said, and the others murmured in assent.
Ron bolted to the present. He had never been able to remember what had happened next. "I just don't understand how Lucius convinced you and Lupin that I had told them you were at Grimmauld Place. Unless I was given some Veritaserum or was under the Imperius Curse without my knowledge, I did not mention Grimmauld Place."
Hermione stopped walking for a minute. "Would you swear on it?"
"Yes. As far as I know, I'm completely blameless."
She nodded. Dark magic was an interesting thing, she thought. "I wish I could work out what happened, though. I have no idea."
"I think that might be the first time I've ever heard you say those words." Ron looked as if he was trying really hard to remember the exact moment she had said them.
She swatted at him playfully and he threw a snowball at her. Hermione threw one back as soon as she managed to gather enough snow in her hands. Soon, their mini snowball fight soon turned into a much larger one, complete with the rest of the Weasley kids.
