A/N:

So here's the next chapter... I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but that's OK. It's kind of a filler chapter, just to get Hermione to the safe house where the fun really begins. The next chapter there will be a little smut, and I think I'll be posting it within a couple of days. Maybe sooner. Like I said, I'm not totally happy with this chapter, and I really don't want to disappoint.

Again, follow me on Tumblr, (missbambiwoods) I'll post previews and answer your questions and all that fun stuff.

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They had been flying for almost an hour and Draco was uncomfortable. Having Hermione Granger tucked between his legs and wrapped in his arms was close to unbearable. Her hair, which looked as though rats had taken up residence, somehow felt like silk as it whipped around his face and her tiny body felt so delicate that he feared that if he held her too tightly, she would break into pieces in his hands. He'd wanted to be able to hold her like this for so long, longer than he wanted to admit. Preferably under different circumstances, but right now he was just glad that she was finally safe.

And alive.

One month ago when he learned that she was taken while on a mission with Potter and Weasley, he was devastated. Since he'd joined the Order, they'd had a rocky relationship at best, but she was one of the only people who would talk to him and not have that look of contempt in her eyes. She talked to him as though he was an intelligent person, as though he mattered, and not as if he was just a coward who had turned coat just to save his own ass. He'd formed a deep affection for her, and always looked forward to the times when they would be in Safe Houses together, and even enjoyed just sitting in the same room as her while they read.

He had started falling for Hermione Granger.

So when the brainless duo returned in a panic without Granger, Draco had mourned the loss of what could have been. He'd found himself actually paying attention to meetings and information that Snape was bringing to them.

When Snape finally secured Granger's location, everyone had wanted to wait a couple of weeks and formulate the perfect plan. Snape would be the one to get her out, just as he'd gotten the Malfoys out. But Draco didn't want to wait. He wanted her to be the fuck out of there as soon as possible. She'd been there long enough. Why make her suffer for longer than she had already?

So he'd packed a bag and waited until everyone was asleep that night, and set off to bring her home.

A quick glance at his watch told him that it was half past five in the morning; they'd be near the Apparation point in another hour. Hopefully the Dark Lord's cronies wouldn't notice her missing until well after they'd reached safety. He rearranged himself around her and she snuggled deeper against him, whimpering softly in her sleep. He increased his speed a little more, and tried not to focus on the way she felt between his thighs.

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"Granger," said a low voice. "Granger, wake up."

Hermione once again found herself being awoken by Draco Malfoy. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw that they were in a little clearing in a forest, hovering a few feet from the ground. The forest was streaked with strips of early morning sunlight zigzagging through the gigantic trees, giving the small clearing a beautiful, eerie glow.

Sitting up straighter, she asked, "Where are we?"

Draco lowered them the rest of the way to the ground and helped her off. "We're in a forest just a few miles away from the Apparation point," he said, rummaging through his bag. "I thought that you'd want to sort yourself out a bit before we go to the Safe House." He finally withdrew his hand from his bag, grasping a couple of Butterbeers, and handed one to her. He reached in again, this time pulling out a couple of packages of chocolate frogs. Handing one to her, he shrugged sheepishly and said, "Sorry it's not much, but at least it'll give you a bit of an energy boost."

Hermione gratefully accepted the snack and sat down, leaning back against a tree. She opened the Butterbeer, and took a long drink. "Thank you," she whispered.

"It's nothing, Granger." He looked a bit uncomfortable. "When Snape brought us from the Manor, he took us to a private place for a bit to let us gather our wits about us before being poked and prodded by the Order. I figured you'd need to do the same before being mobbed by everyone."

"It's not just that. Thank you for... Rescuing me." She looked down at her hands, and played with the wrapper of her Chocolate Frog. "I didn't realize that it was only a month. Somehow it seemed much longer..."

"Granger," Draco started, unsure how to continue. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," she answered. Technically, she was. She needed a shower and a few good meals, and definitely needed some potions to ease the lingering effects of the Cruciatus, but that was all physical. All of that could be remedied easily enough. Emotionally, she knew she would be having nightmares for a long time. She also knew that as soon as she had a wand, she would never let it out of her sight again, and she would definitely be looking into mastering the art of wandless magic. But he didn't need to know all of that.

"Did they... touch you?" Draco knew all about what Voldemort's followers liked to do to prisoners. He hadn't slept for that entire month, his mind plagued with images of what she might be going through. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"No, they didn't," she said, blushing a little. "Voldemort told them that I was to remain untouched, and he would kill anyone who laid a hand on me. I'm pretty sure that he thought I was more likely to talk if I wasn't completely traumatized."

Draco expelled a breath, feeling a wave of relief. Thank Merlin. "Good."

"Voldemort is rather fond of the Cruciatus Curse, though," she continued quietly. "I am quite glad to be done with that." She opened her Chocolate Frog and took a bite.

"I know. I've been on the receiving end of his Cruciatus a few times. The memories of the pain will fade." But you would always remember the way you felt, and what you were thinking while the pain coursed through your body.

He didn't add that last part - she had enough to deal with right now, without him scaring her more with his own horror stories.

"He killed Moody in front of me." She willed herself not to cry, speaking the words out loud for the first time. She wasn't sure why, but talking to Draco right now made her feel better. It was ironic. He was the one who always made her feel the worst while they were growing up. He'd tormented her about everything, from her looks to her love for knowledge. But this Draco seemed so much different from the nasty boy with whom she'd gone to school. He was actually being civil, and it seemed like he genuinely cared about whether or not she was alright.

"He disappeared about a week ago. Everyone wondered where he'd gone." Draco knew that seeing the Auror die must have been hard on her. He himself hadn't known the man well, but he did respect him. Although every time he looked at him he couldn't help but to remember the time Moody's doppelganger had turned him into a ferret…

"Right before he died, he told me that Harry and Ron were safe." Once she'd realized that she was the only one who was captured, she'd worried about what would happen to Harry and Ron if they tried to rescue her.

"Yeah, they came back right after you were taken. The Weasel was in a right state. Kept trying to get the Brown girl to find you using some Divination shit." He smirked. He knew that Hermione hated Divination just as much as he did. "Then the Brown girl threw a fit, saying that the Weasel was in love with you, and then she hexed him. In a rather sensitive spot, if you know what I mean. He couldn't sit down for a week without turning the most fascinating shade of purple and making some extremely odd noises. Personally, I wanted to shake her hand." He was full out laughing now, remembering Ron's utter discomfort.

Hermione shook her head. There was the arrogant ass she remembered. And poor Ronald. Although she supposed he probably deserved it. Everyone knew that Lavender was completely in love with him, but he was just in it for the shag.

"So, do you think you're ready to face the masses?" Draco liked having her to himself, but he knew she'd want to see her friends and needed to get some real food in her belly. What he wasn't looking forward to, was what everyone was going to say when they realized that he had taken it upon himself to go and get her. Or when she realized that he went against what everyone else had wanted to do.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I think I'm ready."

Draco stood up, and once again pulled her in front of him onto his broom. She gasped as they took off into the air, and he held her tighter around the waist.

The ride to the Apparation point was short, and once they'd dismounted, Draco wrapped his arms around her and Apparated them to the Safe House where he knew Potter would be.

On the front step, Hermione turned to Draco. "Malfoy..." she started. "I just want to thank you again. You risked a lot coming for me, and it couldn't have been easy, knowing that you might have to face Voldemort again, but... Thank you." She peeked up at him from under her lashes and saw that he looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Again, it was nothing, Granger. When I joined the Order, I knew I'd have to do stuff like this." He felt uncharacteristically awkward. Usually he liked to boast about his accomplishments, but with her he wanted to show her a new side of him, he just wasn't sure how. He inclined his head towards the door and asked, "Ready?"

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. He opened the door and held it for her as she passed through. He could hear noises coming from the kitchen, so he took her by the arm and led her down the hall.

When they walked into the room, she saw Harry, Ron, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, Lavender Brown, and Bill and Fleur Weasley all sitting around the table, eating breakfast. Harry was the first to look up, and did a double take when his eyes landed on Hermione.

"Hermione! Oh my God!" Harry jumped up and ran to her, crushing her in a hug that took her breath away. The others soon realized what was going on, and joined them.

Everyone was talking at once, and Hermione broke herself away to catch her breath. She looked over to the door for Malfoy, but he was nowhere to be seen. He must have slipped out while everyone had crowded around her.

"How did you get here?" Ron asked, his loud voice overpowering the others.

"Malfoy broke in early this morning-" she began to explain, only to be interrupted by Ron.

"MALFOY! That's where that slimy git disappeared off to?"

"That slimy git just saved my life, Ronald. Wait - you didn't know that he was coming to get me?" Hermione was confused.

"No, once we found out where you were, the plan was for Snape to get you out in a couple of weeks. Malfoy disappeared a couple of days ago, but none of us suspected that he would take it upon himself to rescue you," Harry said, rubbing his scar.

"But why would he put himself in danger just to rescue Hermione?" Ron tactlessly wondered aloud.

"Thanks, Ron. It seems he's the only one that wanted to see me safe." As soon as the words left Hermione's mouth, she felt horrible for saying them. She knew that only Death Eaters could get onto the property, and that Harry and Ron both would have helped her if they could have. But Ron's words still stung, and secretly, she was wondering the same thing herself. Why did Malfoy come for her? And why had he been so kind?

"Hermione, everyone wanted to get you back as soon as possible. And as for why Malfoy did it, maybe we'll never know, but I for one am glad to have you back, safe and sound." Harry gave a pointed look at everyone in the room and they all nodded their agreement.

Fleur pulled her to the table and set some breakfast in front of her, and everyone started talking and asking her questions about her ordeal. It was so good to be back safe and surrounded by her most trusted friends, but now that the adrenaline was settling down, all Hermione wanted was a hot shower and a warm bed. She knew that news of her rescue would spread quickly and everyone else would want to see for themselves that she truly was back, so she begged her leave, which everyone graciously understood, and after promising Harry and Ron that she would tell them everything in detail after she has gotten some rest, Fleur showed her to a cozy room on the second floor.

Hermione waited until Fleur had left the room with promises to fetch some pain potions before undressing to get in the shower in the adjoining bathroom. It was then that she noticed that she was still wearing Draco's cloak. She took off the cloak and laid it gently on the bed, noting that it smelled vaguely of sandalwood and green apples.

She walked into the bathroom and stepped into the hot shower, wishing that along with the dirt and grime, the hot water could wash away all of the memories from the events of the last month.

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A/N:

OK, how was that for you? Again, I'm sorry to post such a crappy chapter, especially with all these promises of "smut smut dirty smut", but I needed to get this all out of the way first. I promise, there will be a little bit of sexiness in the next chapter.