I don't own Harry Potter or Amnesia: The dark dissent.

Ch 3: When life doesn't give you lemons

"Merlin! Its every were!" Hermione exclaimed, poking the red, sticky web blocking off half of the ballroom.

"I tried burning it, cutting it, hell at one point I bit it but what ever this is, it's going to be a pain in the ass to get rid of." Draco said. His eyebrows crinkled with frustration. Hermione studied the red goo, lightly tapping her chin.

"You said we are in the Manor right? Do you have a potions room?" Hermione looked at Malfoy to see him staring at her, mouth slightly open.

"What?" She asked His jaw snapped shut.

"Nothing…just…cant believe I didn't think of it." He murmured.

"Well you did say you were hit with a memory spell." Was it her imagination or was Malfoy's face a little pink? He turned sharply on his heal and strode off.

Hermione quickly caught up to him. She found herself studying him much like she did with the web. He was still practically a twig, tall and skinny, boarder line unhealthy. His blond locks were no longer slicked back with gel but was allow to fall around his face. The hard lines of his face were still there, making her think of an ice sculpture. His skin tone did seem better; it wasn't as sickly as before, just pale. Hermione had hardly seen him in the past two years. The only time she had been in direct contact with him was after the Death Eater trials. Hermione had been stunned when the Draco Malfoy came up to her, Harry and Ronald and apologized. He had stood before them, not breaking eye contact and told her that he was wrong and if he could go back and redo every wrong he did he would. What surprised her more was when she forgave him. Harry did too. Ron just grunted and walked away. Hermione and Harry had shook hands with Draco and parted ways,

"How come the Manor is looking like it was stomped on by a herd of Hippogriff? You are living there shouldn't it be all full of Malfoy glamour?"

"Lived there, I don't anymore. Not after…him." Hermione didn't say anything. He did have a point. If her home had been the headquarters for an evil wack job Hermione doubted that she would want to live there too.

"How long have you been here?" Hermione gestured to the now decrypted Manor.

"I have no clue. Felt like a few days. Then of course I almost went mad. That was fun." He snorted, full lips twisted in a grimmest. "I woke up in a dark room to strange noises. At one point I thought I was back in the war and the more time I spent in that dark room the more I could feel myself losing it. I forgot who I was and only when I ran into a lit room did I start remembering who I was and I remembered that the war was over. My wand was gone so I started to look around for it and then the darkness started again so I ran back to the room and found a lantern. So I restarted my search but the lantern only kept me sort of san. I lost it when you appeared. I thought it was one of them, then you started harping on me and I knew I was ok."

"Harping? I don't harp!" Malfoy smirked.

"Out of everything I reviled to you, you only hear that." He chuckled. The deep sound caused small shivers to run along her back. "And you do harp, I heard you get on the Weasels and Potters case before in school. Your voice could be heard ringing through out the castle." Hermione gave him a shove. He chuckled again but covered it a cough.

"So where would the potions room be?" He stopped abruptly.

"It would be up stairs. Second floor, near my room."

"Great! We are on the second floor. Come on Malfoy. Chop, chop!" They half walked, half ran to the potions room. Every once and while they would stop and hide, just in case the thing from before came back.

"Here." Malfoy said at last. He pushed the heavy door open. It was a potion masters dream room. Two large gold caldrons stood in between shelves lined with jars full of pickled animals, hairs and colorful liquids. A wall of knifes and empty vials sat behind a marble counter. To Hermione's great pleasure, twenty or so bookcases floated a few feet off the ground.

"Its perfect. Quick shut the door." Hermione said rushing to the bookshelves. She grabbed an arm full of the dusty books and sat down on a moth-chewed stool. Malfoy joined her and soon both were absorbed into their reading.

"I think that we should us an acid on that goop. This one sounds like it might do the trick." Malfoy pulled the book she was reading out of her hand. He licked his thumb and turned the page, scanning the small words.

"Sounds too good to be true. It only takes fifteen minutes in the caldron after all the integrants are added and it doesn't involve any sacrificing."

"Your right that does sound too good. Everything should have a little sacrificing." Hermione joked, getting up for her seat to the shelves. "Read me off the list."

"We need three Giant Purple Toad warts, an ounce of Biswels nails, one pinch of Sulphur vive, five Fire Salamander egg yokes," As Malfoy had been calling out the need supply's Hermione had been taking them off their shelves and placing them neatly in to a row. She jumped, almost knocking in to a partially large jar of what looked to be frog legs, when he let out a cry.

" A ha! I knew this sounded to good! We need to get eight Sunner Lemons." Hermione thumbed through the jars, unable to find the Sunner Lemons.

"Your not going to find them here Granger. You have to pick the lemons and use them in an hour or they will burn threw what ever or whoever is holding them. I thought you would have known that Granger, you being the 'Brightest Witch of our age' and everything. Luck for us that the Manor as a green house."

Xxx

Granger shot him a glare making Draco smile. Why he was smiling was beyond him. He was stuck in his former house with one of his ex-rivals dear friends, losing his mind in the dark and being hunted by only Merlin knew but yet he was smiling. He really needed to get his head back on track.

"Come on Granger, let's get us some lemons. …What on earth are you doing?" Draco asked watching as the brunet started to pull different size knives into the pockets of her pair of over sized jeans. She made an exasperated sound.

"I'm going prepared. If that thing comes for us I want to know that I can defend myself." Granger traced one finger down the sharp blade of one of chosen weapons as she spoke. She must have decided it was to her standers for she pocketed that one too.

"You're going to be the reason why it came back for us. Your going to cut yourself or clank with each step you make. Just pick one and let's go. I have no desire to stay here longer then I already have." She grumbled but emptied her pockets of the cutlery. She took the longest knife of the bunch. Draco reached out and also took one too, better safe then sorry. He led Granger back toward the ballroom, making a left instead of a right. Shadows danced on the wall caused by the lanterns light.

"Malfoy." Grangers whisper seemed to be ten times loader in the silent hall.

"Hmm." Was his response.

"We should turn the light off. I fell like we have a giant sign hanging over our heads saying 'Eat us'." Draco bit back a chuckle. Truly what was wrong with him? Him, Draco Malfoy chuckle at a joke muggleborn Granger said? He was worse in the head then he thought.

"I would say yes but I would risk becoming like your boyfriend." He could feel her stiffen at his side.

"Ex-boyfriend." Draco raised an eyebrow at her but she didn't continue. That's curious. Draco was expecting her to say that the Weasel was her husband or to back up the idiot, not to hear that the dream couple split and why the fuck did it make him happy to hear that she was free. No. He thought to himself. I'm not happy because she's free, I'm just glad that bastards in the doghouse.

Just when Granger was about to pass the greenhouse Draco grabbed her wrist. The soft feel of her skin sent shock waves thru his body.

"You need to pay attention to me more." He said into her ear, noticing how her breaths deepen at his closeness. Hmm, interesting. He pushed at the rod Iron Gate, which connected the greenhouse to the rest of the Manor, open and gave Granger a mock bow.

"After you, my lady." Granger rolled her eyes but went it.

"Oh god, Merlin and spaghetti monster! What is that stench?" Granger asked holding her nose with her knife free hand. Draco's eyes watered from the horrid smell of decaying flowers and compost.

"It's an unkempt greenhouse Granger. It's going to smell like shit."

They made their way into the glass dome, barley containing the urge to throw up. The once grand garden was reduced to brown and black withering plants. A pang of sadness shot thru Draco like an arrow. This was his mothers place. Everyday she would sit in here and have her afternoon tea. When he was little she would read him stories or played wizarding chess with him and on special nights they would lie together and point out different constellations until the wee hours of the morning. Now to see how the once haven for him and his mother turned out sent a pang of disappointment in Draco's heart. He knew that plants didn't last forever but he had hoped that this one place could have defied logic. It also made him worry. If the flowers were this bad would the lemon tree be still alive? Grange must have been thinking on the same line because she said,

"I hope the tree is in better condition then the rest of this place." After a a few more steps Draco pointed to a ladder.

"We built a second story on to the greenhouse, that were the trees are." Merlin must have been feeling generous that moment for when they reached the top; green foliage met them, engulfing the two being in sweet floral notes. Draco heard Granger gasp softly. Her eyes shone bright as she surveyed the colorful fruit and flowering trees.

"This is beautiful." She turned slowly in a circle a goofy grin on her lips. For a split second Draco forgot that they were trapped.

"Yes it is isn't it? But then again everything we Malfoys touch tends to be." He said with his nose up in the air, making a flourish with his hand. She rolled her eyes at his antics. They split up, deciding that it would be faster to find the tree separate then together. They would make the call of the Melmoe bird, which sounded a bit like a Mocking bird and a Toucan. The leaves made the room darker then what it was and truth be told Draco was wiry of leaving Granger by her self. The ex-Gryffindor reassured him that her had been in worst spots before and without giving him time to answer back she disappeared into the rows of tree trunks.

Draco made his way threw the muddied pathway, hoping that with each turn he would ether hear Granger's call or find the tree himself. The lantern started to shake in his hand. Breath. Just Breath. You are fine. Draco chanted over and over in his head but that didn't stop his vision to grow dark. A bush rustled making him jump. Wind swooshed threw a broken glass plate but to Draco it sounded like a pained moan. Something crackled and scraped in the background. Draco spun wildly around. Something was in here. It was going to kill them. Granger. He had to find Granger. Draco opened his dry lips to shout but was cut off by the bizarre bird noise Grange issued. Draco spend threw the trees stopping only to lesson for her call. He fell to a small clearing, spotting the short girl immediately. He sighed in relief. She was fine. It was just him being paranoid.

"I got them!" She squealed, thrusting her lemon filled arms at him. They were small and perfectly round balls of fruit. Up close the smell of burnt lemons hung heavy in the air. "I was lucky the branches were low enough for me to reach them. I'm horrid at climbing trees. I almost broke my arm when I fell out of the pine tree at The Burrow. Not my idea I was dared by George last summer." Draco let her babble, it wasn't everyday someone (let alone him) to see the war hero carry on like a ten year old. Out of the corner of his eye Draco saw something move.

"Granger, move!" He yelled just as a white blur appeared behind her. In a flash she was at Draco's side, knife ready. The body came at them. It was naked, the gender unknown. Its gentles were hidden under a thick slab of flesh that appeared to be sewn on to its body. Draco choked back vomit. Its face was disgusting. The jaw hung open to its collarbone, allowing it's black tongue to loll between yellowed teeth. The whole body seemed to be made of parts sewn together to create a man- ish creature.

"Fuck." The more Draco looked at the thing, the more out of control Draco felt. His brain felt like it was melting only to be frozen then melted again.

"Fuck." He repeated. The creature screamed then charged. It's thin arms flailing about its body. Granger let lose one of her own yells and sprinted toward it. Draco tried to move but it felt like his feet were stuck in tar. Granger jumped, slicing down into the chest of the beast. It smacked her, pushing her off it then lunged at her. She rolled away just as it brought its hands down to grab her.

"Run Malfoy! Don't just stand there!" The figure howled, blood shot eyes rolling in its skull. A hand shot out, taking hold of her ankle. With a forceful tug, Granger was on her stomach. That brought Malfoy back somewhat. His sanity was going and going fast but he would be damned if he let her die. Snatching her arms Draco played tug of war, using Granger as rope. Only when she was able to kick it in the face was Draco able to pull her from its grasp. She scrambled to her feet and they took off, the man hot on their tails. They slid down the ladder, skidded on the rotten flowers as they raced for the gate.

"Hold on, I'm going to close it!" Yelled Granger. She stopped and shoved the gate shut. The hallway echoed with their footsteps and the cries from the beast chasing them. Anytime they could shut a door they did, anything to slow down that monster. Some how they made it back to the potion room in one piece. The monster let out a moan at the loss of its dinner, it was lost in the Manor, the two young adults were to fast for it.