Getting her off the grounds of Malfoy Manor was simpler than had been expected. They didn't begin to run into any trouble until they got to the gate, where Fenrir Greyback was keeping watch. The Polyjuice Potion didn't change a person's scent. Neomi hoped that Lucius' clothes would mask Draco's scent and fool the werewolf. In his human form, he shouldn't have a completely inhuman sense of smell, but she had never been sure just how strong it was.

"Where're you takin' 'er, Snape?" he growled, eyeing them suspiciously. He clearly hadn't been given any orders to let them leave with the prisoner, which wasn't surprising, considering that no such orders would have been issued.

"It's all very hush hush, Fenrir." Snape said. "Suffice to say, the Dark Lord is finished with her here and wishes me to keep an eye on her until he returns from his travels. Certain parties…" he let his eyes move significantly towards Draco/Lucius, "cannot be trusted to see to her care in a manner he would approve of."

Fenrir snorted ever so slightly, laughing. "Yeah, I heard that Bellatrix ain't bein' too patient wif 'er lately."

Snape nodded in agreement, a look of distaste on his face. "Yes, among other things. So, I'm relocating her for the time being. She will be moved when he returns according to his wishes."

Fenrir nodded and moved aside, allowing them to pass. He cast an odd look at Draco for a moment, then met Neomi's gaze. She didn't have to fake the terror in her eyes at that moment; of all the people involved with Voldemort, Fenrir was one of the few she really feared. The man was an animal, in the truest sense of the word. He responded to her fear with an evil grin, showing off teeth that had been filed to sharp points. She shuddered ever so slightly as Snape pulled her away.

Once they were officially off Malfoy property, Snape apparated them away, landing them in the middle of a forest that Neomi couldn't say she recognized. She glanced at the two of them, frowning.

"Where are we?" she asked quietly, glancing around and forcing a bit of fear into her voice in case there were someone listening.

Snape pulled out his wand, brandishing it like a sword for a moment before casting lumos and brightening the area. He examined their surroundings for a moment, eyebrows cocked and wand at the ready, clearly on the lookout, being as careful as she was. After a moment, he relaxed slightly, satisfied for the moment.

"The where isn't important. We're meeting someone here, who'll take you both away to a safe house-"

"Now wait a moment!" Draco interrupted. "That wasn't part of the plan! I'm supposed to return, to run interference! How are you going to explain my absence to the others? It'll be obvious that we escaped and you helped!"

Snape shook his head. "No, it's part of my plan. Which, for the record, is much better than yours. Your leaving with her is the only way to explain how she got away."

Neomi perked up a little, curious. "What is the plan, then, Professor?"

Snape turned to her, smiling ever so slightly. "The plan is, we will meet the contact, who will take you to the safe house. When they arrive, they will knock me out, and I will be found by the Death Eaters later, after Lucius has awakened. He will tell them that Draco accosted him and took his wand, which, of course, he did. I will inform them that the Lucius who left with me must have been Draco, using a Polyuice Potion. While we were apparating, he hijacked us and brought us here, then knocked me out and took off with you."

"So you're completely uninvolved, it was all my idea? What makes you think they'll buy that?" Draco asked angrily. He was fuming at Snape's change of plan.

"The fact that Narcissa has informed them that she thinks you are plotting something. She told the Dark Lord that someone else should be given watch over her because she thought you were going to take her and make a break for it. It's why you've been escorted to the main room for her sessions the past week, they thought you would try to take off with her."

Neomi arched her eyebrows. "But, do they think Draco is smart enough to pull it off on his own? I mean, no offense, Dray, but I don't think You Know Who thinks too highly of you."

Draco scowled at her, the expression reminding her far too much of what she was running from on Lucius' face. She flinched a little at it before he softened it.

Snape smiled ever so slightly, a tinge of sarcasm on his face. "That, Neomi, is precisely why before I went down to the basement to get you, I planted some evidence implying that you weren't acting alone. According to the letters they'll find, you're working with the Order. Draco informed them of the prophecy, then they worked with him to make plans to help you escape."

"How will that be convincing?" Draco asked, clearly skeptical.

"The letters are written in Minerva McGonagall's hand," he answered. "The Dark Lord will recognize it as such, and he'll believe it. She is certainly more than intelligent enough to come up with this plan. Thanks to my apparent preference for him in school, no one will contest that Draco is good enough at Potions to have brewed the Polyjuice."

Neomi's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you manage to copy Professor McGonagall's handwriting? She has the most pinched, loopy scribble I've ever seen."

Draco smiled a little. "He didn't copy it. It's really from Professor McGonagall. He told her the truth about what happened last term, and she believed him. He cried," he said, the faintest bit of mocking in his tone. Snape growled at him ever so slightly.

Neomi looked back and forth between the two. She was surprised that McGonagall would believe Snape, whether it had been the truth or not. The man was a master at lying.

As if he had heard the thought, Snape turned to her, a sad little smile on his face. "Whenever I lied to one side or the other, I was always cold. Aloof. I have never been able to lie with emotion. Whenever I show a glimpse of my soul, I am telling the truth. Minerva has known me long enough to know that."

Neomi nodded. It made sense. Whenever he'd been at the Manor, he'd never shown even the faintest bit of emotion. He was always like stone, a cold, unfeeling figure, much like Voldemort was when things were going his way. She'd always thought that it was why the Dark Lord was so willing to trust Snape, even before he'd killed Dumbledore. Snape reminded him of himself. They both had muggle blood in their veins, muggle blood they were ashamed of and hid from the world. They were both cold and calculating, and they both kept their weaknesses from the world. Neomi knew there was something Snape hid from them, something he felt like he couldn't share. Like he was ashamed or embarrassed to be human.

At the sound of leaves cracking, the three of them went silent, looking around carefully. Draco lurched, and Neomi realized that about an hour had passed. He fell to his knees on the forest floor, holding his stomach. The long, blonde hair began to pull back into his skull and his face thinned out. His face warped and he grew thinner, groaning all the while. Neomi fought the urge to throw up or scream. Just as the form rose from the ground, and Draco's face smiled back at her, the light in the clearing grew stronger.

When she looked up, Neomi found herself meeting the gaze Professor Remus Lupin.