Hello readers!

9tailedokami16 (goodness I hope I got that right!) at the risk of sounding dense, what does "ljnlj". I'm so bad at inter net laug!

I'm sorry to Booksmusiclove and anyone who was confused about that last part of ch 8. I was trying to make a silly joke about how Hermione doesn't wear a bathing suit when she swims, you know, in the nude. Lolz that's the last time I writ at 12 at night!

Thank you for reading and I love your reviews! OXOX

Love,

ThexHallowsxGirl

Ch 9 Only you can prevent zombie attacks

Draco had said that the blood portkey was hidden in a tree in the Malfoy gardens, what he failed to tell Hermione was that the Malfoy gardens had a forest. At lest 45 acres of dense forest.

"So let me get this strait…we are looking for a tree in a forest?" Hermione rubbed her aching temples. "And I have the wonderful feeling that we can't just use Point Me or Accio fucking magic fake tree can we?" Draco smiled sheepishly at her. She took that as a big, fat no.

"Do you have any clue on where we can start to look?"

"My father said that if I needed to find the porkey I would know where it was because I hold the key." Hermione felt her jaw drop. That was one of the silliest things she ever heard and she was best friends with Harry and dated Ron bloody Weasley!

"When did your father become a bad fortune cookie?" The blond scrunched up his nose.

"My father is not a cookie and why would a cookie give you a fortune? That's bloody ridiculous." Hermione placed her hands on her hips.

"More ridiculous then getting your fortune told to you by to tea dregs?" He smiled.

"I had forgot that you stormed out of Professor Trelawney's class third year. That's two things you can do you know. Divination and riding a broom." Draco said, flicking the tip of her nose.

"Hey! I do much better on a broom now than back at Hogwarts. As for Divination and Professor Trelawney they can both eat slugs. I'm sure some one out there can unfog the future or some shit like that but Trelawney had I believe only three of her predictions come true or almost come true." Draco scoffed.

"Your just saying that because you're too closed minded." He cupped her head, ruffling her hair. He laughed at the icy glare she shot at him. With a huff Hermione blindly walked into the woods.

"Closed minded my ass." She muttered, kicking a stray branch. "Look deep into the crystal ball my dear." She said copying the airy haunted tone Trelawney used to use in her classes. "Oh yes! You!" Hermione dramatically turned on her heel pointing a shaky hand at Draco. "You will die by rainbow ponies who have horns made of caramel on your next walk on the beach!"

Draco's fully body laughter made her heart stop. She had never heard him laugh so freely before. For some reason that carefree sound made her stomach fill with butterflies. Her irritation melted off her.

"Rainbow ponies, really Hermione?" He said through his peels of laughter. Hermione sniffed.

"I think it was spot on. She told Harry once that he was going to be mauled by breakfast bangers and while the sausages were pelting him, he would trip over a sleeping cat and die." Draco laughed even harder.

"You can't be serious!"

"I am! And what's worst is some people believed her! Colin, bless his soul, tried to bribe the Fat Lady to keep Harry in the Gryffindor tower until breakfast was over for a week strait."

"What did Potter do?"

"Well Harry never liked when people fussed over him and it really was such a stupid reason to get worked up about, that he decided that the only way to stop that nonsense was to prove that Trelawney was wrong. He asked Dobby to bring him a platter of the 'deadly meat' to the North tower. He had Dobby wait until it was the middle of class. Dobby popped onto the table with the bangers but he was invisible. You should have seen their faces when the platter floated up to Harry."

"I can imagine but tell me anyway."

"Half the class was laughing, the other was screaming about getting the platter away from him. One person fainted! Just to tick them off he ate one. The rest of the day people gave him their condolences or asking if he wanted to go to the hospital wing." A smirk graced Draco's lips.

"I bet he hated that."

"More then you would ever guess. He despised having attention on him, even to this day he tries to blend in with the background." Wanting to change the subject Hermione stopped at a birch tree and called to Draco. " Oh tree whisperer! Why don't you use your charm on this lovely birch." Hermione patted the white tree. The wizard rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha, very funny missy." The next thing she knew her bottom was smacked. She squeaked, clasping her smarting butt with both hands. He let out another bark of laughter dodging Hermione's fists.

Xxxx

They had fell into comfortable silence as they searched for the hidden portkey. Every once and a while one would break it to make light of the goose chase they were on by making more tree whisperer jokes or questions about random things. Like, "Did you ever get dared to eat one of the Weasley puking pastries?" or "How many times did you fall of your broom. The already dark forest was getting darker by what seemed minutes. Soon it became too dark to see even two feet in front of her.

Next to Hermione Draco began to shake. At first she thought it was because he was cold. The forest was damp and had a chilly breeze but then he started to moan softly under his breath. An owl hooted making the blond flinch. She was expecting him to suggest that they stop for the night but after about hundred yards and he still didn't say a word, Hermione found herself speaking up.

"We should set up camp and place some protection spells. In the morning we can resume our search." Draco let out a long sigh and stopped walking.

"In a little bit. I think I will be ok, I mean so far I haven't freaked out or felt as if my mind was being boiled like potatoes. Plus I think that we are getting close." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more then her.

"Draco, I know that your sanity is getting lower as we walk. A good night sleep might do you good." He laughed a humorless laugh.

"Hermione do you remember that last time I slept? I fell even more onto the crazy boat. I'm pretty sure I whined like a five year old." Pale cheeks turned a ruby red at that confession.

"I wont say whined just…unMalfoyish." He tried to smile but it turned into more of a grimace. He was looking paler then normal, almost grey in the faint light. Dirt, blood and leaves clung to his body; in short he looked like shit. The way he was swaying on his feet was worrying her. Hermione lunged forward to catch him when he swayed a little to far to the left.

"Draco we are stopping for the night. No buts about it."

"What if was my butt?" He asked teasingly, laying his head on her shoulder.

"Not even for your butt." She could feel his pout against her skin.

"But you like my ass." Now Hermione felt her face flame up.

"Why would you say that?" Draco pulled back but looped his arms around her waist.

"You slapped my ass."

"That doesn't mean I like it!" She protested but in truth she did. For some one so skinny he had an ass of a god. Round but firm. He had an ass made too be squeezed or slapped, depending what mood one was in.

Draco raised a pale eyebrow and rubbed her lower back in small circles.

"Well I like your ass." With that he gave it a pinch. "Very much." He purred in her ear. With determination she didn't know she had, Hermione pushed him away.

"Sleep. Now." She took the wand and transfigured some fallen leafs into two tents and muttered the security charms around them.

Xxxx

Nott watched the couple giggle and argue together with distaste. He was furious! First off Lucan had failed him. Instead of Harry Potter at the Manor he had brought his mudblood friend Hermione Granger. Second, how the hell did they get past all the inside traps and dark monsters he had filled the former Malfoy home.

The original plan he had going was for the oh so fucking great 'Boy who lived twice' to die by the hands of a crazy Draco or one of the beasts he had summoned then to have Draco framed for the crime. Nott felt his lips curl at the sight of the smile on Draco's face. What a pathetic piece of shit. He was always the weakest pureblood Nott knew. Hurl rose in his throat when he saw Draco willing touch the mudblood. When he touched her ass Nott did hurl.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. That was the last straw; waving his wand Nott summoned his group of inferi. With other wave, he sent the decaying bodies in to the woods.

Xxxx

Something wasn't right. Draco scrubbed a hand down his five o'clock shadow as he stared out into the pitch-black forest. Hermione lay, curled up in a ball in he tent next to him. Her deep even breathing told him that she was off in dreamland like he should be but when even he closed his eyes the hair on the back of his neck would stand up. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Draco got up and walked around the perimeter of the protection spell the witch casted.

Crickets chirped happy and bats squeaked in the distant. Draco twirled his wand between his hands, searching for…something. As he turned back to the tent a flash of pearly white caught his eye. Slap! Draco couldn't stop the scream from leaving his throat. Pressed up against the invisible barrier, like a little kid pressing his nose on a windowpane, was a rotting corpse. The corpse's jaw unhinged and snapped at the barricade, while thin hands clawed to get to Draco. Slam! Crunch! Bang! Two, five, sixteen, more naked bodies smacked their weight alongside the wall.

"Draco what the fuck is that noise-Oh shit!" Hermione yelled when she spotted the body writhing around. She drew her wand, turning in place like a lioness waiting to strike.

"They can't break through the-" Draco didn't even finish when twenty or so dead body came hurdling at them. Hermione shot out curses, spinning and turning, trying to hit the bodies but nothing seemed to stop them. Even when they dropped to the pine-needled floor they crawled their way tours them. Draco kicked and punched them, gagging when his skin touched the rotting flesh. Bony arms wrapped around Draco, pulling him under the mass of dead that came spilling out from the forest. He could hear Hermione screaming and fought harder to get away but not only was the undead preventing him moving, he was stopping himself. With each touch and breath of stinking flesh he had, the grasp on his sanity slipped. The surroundings blurred and spun, he could hear mad laughter ringing in his ears. The trees morphed into the thick columns of the foyer in the back of the Manor. Hermione's screams rocketed around his brain. She was hurting! Draco moved his feet but they felt like he was in a tub of taffy. Bellatrix stood over the witch, a dagger swinging from the tips of her fingers. Blood dripped down onto the stone floor.

"Hermione!" Draco called, clawing his way toward her. The witch turned to him and he could clearing see the tear tracks on her face. No! Not a second time! He would protect her, like what he should have done the first time. Bellatrix giggled sadistically, crooning and petting Hermione's pale cheek.

"Draco." Hermione whispered, her hazel eyes wide with fear.

"I'm right here honey, I'm going to save you." Draco stretched out on his belly for her arm. A spiked heel crushed his hand, stopping his movements. He bit back a cry of pain as the heel dug into the bone.

"Dracy-poo, what are you doing? You can't take my toy away from me. That's not very nice." His aunt said grinning ear from ear. She bent down; her straw like hair rubbed his cheek as her stale breath assaulted his nose.

"You can have it when I'm done breaking it." She whispered.

"No!" He cried out as his crazy aunt brought the blade down on Hermione's vulnerable throat. Great waves of ruby red blood cascaded around the young witch as she gurgled her last breath.

Draco fainted.

Xxxx

Hermione woke with a gasp. Her head was pounding and her body felt like it had gone through a car wash. Cool stone seeped into her bones making her flesh erupt with goose bumps. Metal clinked as she raised her hand to her forehead. Hermione gaped in shock at the chain attached to her wrist. Gingerly she sat up and told in her surroundings. Fucking fab, she was in a cell. Hermione didn't need to pat herself down to know that her wand wasn't with her. She had dropped it like a twit when a rather large group of infer ganged up on her.

Shit! Draco! A quick scan of the cell told her that Draco was not with her. Lead pooled in her gut at the thought of what could be happening to him. She had to get back to him and the first step was to get the hell out of this cell. The cuff didn't allow her much movement. With out the wand she was stuck. How she wished she had long hair, that way there might have been a chance that she was caring a hairpin. After finding nothing useful, Hermione knew what she had to do. Gritting her teeth Hermione broke her thumb, biting her lip to stop her scream. Her hand slipped out of the cuff but was now useless. Hermione wiped her eyes and started her plan on how to get free from the room she was put in. Kicking at a rusty bar, Hermione squeezed herself out. Going up a flit of stairs had her back out at the garden but hell if she knew where to look for the blond. He could be anywhere or even…no, she wasn't going to think the worst, not until she saw it with her own eyes.

Xxxx

The infers worked just the way Nott wanted them too. They had over powered Granger and Draco easily. The best part was when he saw Draco freak out. Nott decided to leave a little …gift for his ex-friend. Nott had spelled Grangers shirt off and put it on one of the more recently deceased bodies he had. With a few more spells he cut her hair short and destroyed her face so when Draco woke up, he would think that Granger had died. Nott levitated the girls' body behind him. He was going to use her as bait to get the real prize he wanted…Potter. After he chained her in the cell, Nott went out for a celebration shot of Fire-whisky.