Here's the new chapter! Thanks for reading, everyone!

Chapter Fifteen

"Where are we now?" asked Draco, pulling out his wand to put up the protective spells around them.

"The Forest of Dean," Hermione answered, rather stiffly. She was rummaging through her bag and pulled out the tent poles. "I came camping here once with my mum and dad."

"Camping? What's that?"

Hermione answered him with a dirty look and didn't say anything. She pulled out her wand to set up the tents and the three of them huddled around the bright blue flames that Hermione produced.

Harry looked at him with an amused look. "Camping is what we've been doing for the past few months. Muggles like to go out into the woods and set up tents and sleep under the stars."

"They do this for fun?" Draco looked incredulous.

Harry nodded. "Yeah." He nodded to Hermione. "What did you do?" he mouthed.

Draco shrugged. "I don't know," he mouthed back.

He looked around and felt a bit uneasy at the darkness that surrounded them. They had moved from their previous place because Harry and Hermione felt as if someone had been moving around outside. Draco hadn't seen nor heard anybody around them, but went along with Harry and Hermione anyway. He had hoped that they would move to somewhere that would be a bit warmer. Needless to say, he didn't think there was anywhere that was warm unless they left the country.

"You know what these woods remind me of?" Draco said. "That time we all served detention in the Forbidden Forest to look for those dead unicorns."

Harry nodded. "I can still hear the cloak slithering through the woods." He shuddered. "You two should get some sleep. I'll keep first watch."

Hermione murmured her thanks and quietly went into the tent. Draco shook his head. "Nah, I could stay out here with you. Might be safer than being in there with her."

Harry laughed a bit. "What did you do, anyway?"

"I have no idea! She was talking to me about Dumbledore and punched me and asked me if I still hated her."

"What did you say?"

"I said I didn't hate her."

"Well, I suppose that's good." Harry gave him a strangled smile and laughed a bit more. "I think she's gone to bed. You might be safe now."

Draco nodded and yawned. He stood up. "Just wake me when you need some sleep." He quietly walked into the tent and slipped into his blankets. "Night, Hermione," he said, not even sure if she was still awake.

"So you wouldn't even miss us?" she snapped.

He heard her sit up in bed and could make out her outline in the darkness of the tent. "What are you talking about?" He held his wand up and lit it.

"You wouldn't miss us?" she repeated.

"Why would I miss you guys if you're right here?" Draco asked, blankly.

"If you went back to You-Know-Who."

"I'm not going back to him."

"Are you sure?"

Draco sat up and looked at Hermione. "No, I'm not sure. But if I had the choice, I wouldn't go back to him. He'd just kill me."

"And that's why you're here? That's why you stayed? Because he'll kill you?"

Draco continued to stare blankly at Hermione. "Yes." She threw a pillow at him. "Wait, Hermione. That's what it started out as. But you…you and Harry…I think the pair of you have become the first and only friends I've ever had."

"So you'd still leave us?"

"What? Where are you getting this from, Hermione? No, I wouldn't leave you guys. Is that what this is about? Where is this coming from anyway?"

"Nowhere," she said curtly. She flopped backwards onto her bed and turned away from him. "Good night."

Draco stared at her, confused. A few seconds later, he whispered, Nox, and the tent was once again blanketed in darkness. He was trying to fall asleep, but he found that he was no longer sleepy. He was too confused, thinking about Hermione and why she seemed to be angry at him. He heard movement outside and saw the outline of Harry standing up. Draco immediately pulled his trainers on and slipped outside.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his wand held high. "What's that?" Draco asked, noticing a strangely lit up animal.

"I think…I'm going to follow it."

"No, Harry!" Draco said urgently. "It might be another trap."

Harry shook his head. "No…I don't think so. It doesn't feel that way. I'm going to follow it."

"Harry!" He made a move to follow him.

"No, don't follow. Stay here with Hermione. I…it doesn't feel like Dark Magic."

"Harry—"

"No, Draco. Just stay with Hermione."

Draco nodded a bit and took a step back, frowning. He didn't have a very good feeling about this, but Hermione was asleep and he wasn't about to leave her defenseless. "Just call out if you need help."

Harry nodded and disappeared into the darkness after the animal.

Draco took Harry's vacated seat. He pulled his wand out and held it out in front of him. Something made him feel a bit uneasy. He rested his back against a tree trunk and waited, keeping his ears perked up to all the sounds of the forest. Living in the woods for so long made him appreciate his home so much more.

It was loud out here. There were a number of different animals and insects that made noise. The trees even creaked a bit.

But Draco learned to live with that. He even found the forest sounds to be second nature to him.

After about an hour or so, Draco saw movement in the woods. He recognized it where Harry had disappeared, but held his wand out nevertheless.

"Who's there?" he called out.

"It's me, Draco," answered Harry. "Hermione still asleep?"

Draco nodded, still not properly seeing Harry. "Yes, she is."

Harry appeared before him. "I found someone." He pulled a familiar-looking ginger-haired person before him. "Ron's back."

Draco's face froze. "Come back, have you?" he said, not in a cold voice, but not in a warm one, either.

Weasley nodded. He looked a bit embarrassed. Harry disappeared into the tent, leaving a tense Draco and Weasley outside. They didn't say anything to one another. Draco stood protectively in front of the tent and Weasley stood with his hands in his pockets, unsure of what he should do. It was a bit ironic, Draco thought, Weasley standing there unsure of how to react and Draco standing here, a barrier to Harry and Hermione.

"I, uh, I suppose we should head into the warm," Draco said. He held open the flap of the tent for Weasley.

"…someone here," Harry was saying.

Draco took a seat on the couch.

"What do you mean?" she asked, standing from her bed. "Who—?" She suddenly saw Weasley and Draco noticed Harry backing into a shadowy corner of the tent and shook his head at him.

"Coward," he mouthed. Harry winked at him and smiled a bit.

Hermione looked at him and back at Harry, then at Draco. Weasley gave her a weak, hopeful smile, and Draco rolled his eyes a bit. Hermione launched herself forward and started punching Ron as she had done to Draco.

Anger flared through Draco, but he didn't understand it. He watched as Hermione punched Weasley and yelled at him and fought the desire to join in. He angrily stood up and burst out of the tent.

He kicked snow from his path and picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could. A dull thunk came a couple of seconds later and Draco sat down, holding his wand up. He couldn't figure out what exactly made him so angry.

The only thing that's changed so far was Weasley's sudden appearance.

Who was he kidding? he thought. Now that Weasley's back, they didn't need him. They had their friend back. Draco figured that they were just using his presence as a replacement for Weasley not being there. Now that Weasley was back, what could Draco offer? And Hermione…Hermione had him back.

He sat down, feeling an unexpected wave of tears fill his eyes. Where was he going to go now? He couldn't stay here with them, not if they didn't want him here. He had to go find his mother. Maybe she would keep him safe. Or maybe Remus and Nymphadora. He wondered how Nymphadora was doing. And where she was. And where Remus was. And Kingsley, he wondered how he was doing. Or he would stay with Aunt Andromeda. He could live in that dingy room, hidden forever. He thought about his Uncle Ted and hoped desperately that he was still safe. He wondered where he was and if he would help hide Draco. Draco could live on the run with Uncle Ted. His thoughts fell back to Remus and Nymphadora. He decided that he would try and find them to stay with them.

Draco stood and sniffed. He rubbed his nose from the cold and headed back into the tent. He noticed that Harry and Weasley seemed to be settling into bed. Hermione had already buried herself back into her blankets. He stood, waiting for a bit, wondering what he should do. He already decided that he would leave and find Remus.

Quietly, he walked to his bunk and started to pack his things into his bag. He looked around to see if Harry or Weasley noticed what he was doing and when he saw that they were softly talking amongst themselves, he continued with what he was doing.

"I'll take watch, Harry," Draco said, walking out of the tent without a backwards glance. He held his bag in front of him and sat down.

Where should he start? He had no idea. Should he go back to Aunt 'Dromeda's house? He thought about his Uncle Ted and what he had said. The Death Eaters were sure to be watching Aunt 'Dromeda's house. And he had no idea where Remus and Nymphadora lived. If they still lived at their own house. He briefly thought about Remus saying that Nymphadora would stay with Aunt 'Dromeda. Did that mean that Remus was there, too?

"Going somewhere, Malfoy?"

Draco looked up at his name.

Harry gestured to Draco's bag at his feet. "Going somewhere?" he repeated.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno."

"You'll be hurting her, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes, you do." Harry sat down next to Draco. "She cares about you, she wants you here, Draco. I do, too. She's just confused…and so are you. You care for her, too. I could see it."

"Harry, I don't know what you're saying here, but you should just stop. You don't know what you're talking about."

"So you're just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Draco pursed his lips. "Fine. Goodbye, Potter. Give Granger and Weasley my regards." He stood up, but Harry grabbed his bag before Draco reached for it. "Harry, give it back."

"Where are you going? Kingsley? Remus? Your Aunt Andromeda?"

"What's it to you?"

"How can you be sure you'll be safe?"

"Well, I was thinking Remus. Surely a werewolf can keep me safe."

"Do you know where to find him?"

"I'll try something."

"She wouldn't forgive me if you die."

"Well, it won't be your fault, will it?" He held his hand out. "My bag, Potter."

"Draco," Harry said sharply. "Sit back down. Don't go. You'll be hurting her if you leave," he repeated. "Especially without saying goodbye. You remember what that feels like, right? When Remus left without telling you goodbye?"

Draco threw Harry a dirty look. "Just stay out of it. My bag."

Harry looked at Draco with concerned eyes. "Are you all right, Draco? Just because Ron's here doesn't mean you're being kicked out. We want you here."

"My bag, Potter."

Reluctantly, Harry handed over the bag to Draco. "Don't leave, Draco. She'll really be hurt. And…and I'll miss you, too. So…don't leave unless you've got a really good reason to leave. If you really can't stand being around us that much. You-Know-Who'll find you out there."

"I don't care," he whispered.

"Well, I do," Harry replied. "And so does Hermione. I…I thought we were becoming friends. I thought we moved past everything. I hope I'm not wrong."

Draco and Harry faced off for a few tense, silent moments. They eyed each other, Draco with a stony look of contempt and Harry with a look of concern. After a long time, Draco threw his bag down and sat with his head in his hands. Harry sat down next to him and awkwardly patted his shoulder.

"You're okay, Draco. You really are."

Draco felt tears fall from his eyes and kept his head in his hands, trying to keep Harry from seeing him.

"She cares for you. And you for her. Talk to her, okay? Don't…don't shut her out. Don't shut me out. I know you're good at that, but don't do it to us. We're here for you."

Draco looked up, but didn't glance at Harry. "I was thinking about my mother and Aunt 'Dromeda. And Nymphadora and Remus."

"Are you worried about them?"

"Of course I am. But being stuck here with you and…her…it was easy to forget about everything and everyone else."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, it is. Did she ever tell you why she was angry with you?"

Draco shook his head. "No."

"She would hate you if you left without saying goodbye."

Draco hung his head in shame. "I know."

Harry looked at Draco as if he wanted to say more, but didn't. Instead, he held up the broken pieces of the locket and described to Draco how he and Ron destroyed it.

"So, we're a Horcrux down, right?" said Draco. "That's the diary, the ring, and now the locket. So we'll be on the lookout for Hufflepuff's cup, something of Ravenclaw's or Gryffindor's and Nagini. Too bad we couldn't get the snake when we had the chance."

"We were on the losing end of that battle, Draco. It would've killed us if you hadn't Disapparated us."

"Any idea where the others would be? You still think it´s Hogwarts?"

Harry nodded. "There is no doubt in my mind that he's hidden something at Hogwarts. I just wish I knew what it was or where to look at Hogwarts."

"It's not like we could just stroll in there anyway, with Snape lurking around."

Harry nodded again. "I wonder how they're all doing."

"Who?"

"Everyone at Hogwarts."

Draco shrugged. "Probably learning how to Sectumsempra Muggle-borns into oblivion."

"That's horrible."

"That's life. And that's Snape. It's his spell."

"I remember."

"Hey, if they weren't trying to do you in, you could probably teach it better than the Carrows. They're the two biggest idiots I've ever met. And I was friends with Crabbe and Goyle."

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry said, laughing a bit.

Now Ron's back! :) Please review!