Chapter 18

When Hermione arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place, she was engulfed by a pair of motherly arms.

"Oh Hermione, thank goodness," cried Molly Weasley. "We were all so worried about you! I'm so relieved to see you." She squeezed Hermione before letting her loose. She glanced at Draco. "Thank you for bringing her home safely," she said. Hermione could tell she wasn't fond of him, but she was genuinely grateful. Draco nodded.

Hermione glanced behind Molly to see Dumbledore pop his head around the door of the meeting room.

"Please excuse me," said Hermione and headed towards where Dumbledore was stood. He gestured for Hermione to enter.

"After you Miss Granger," he said politely. She obliged, and she walked past him into the room. As Dumbledore shut the door, she heard Molly offer Draco a drink, which he politely accepted.

Hermione sat down on one of the large over padded sofas and Dumbledore sat in the arm chair opposite.

"Hermione, I must begin by apologising. We took a long time to rescue you, and even then, we were most disorganised," he said.

"That's okay, I'm sure you had your reasons," she replied, immediately accepting his apology

"That we did," he began. "I'm sure a bright girl like you will have known we were aware of your location for a long time. Professor Snape notified us you were at the Malfoy Manor as soon as he knew. After he told me you were in no immediate severe danger, the order decided it would be more prudent to wait until we had a well thought out and precise rescue plan – after all, if we'd of failed, the consequences would've been dire."

"We became increasingly concerned for you welfare when Severus told us that Draco had been tortured for failing to do as Voldermort had wished, However Draco assured him that he would not do anything without your consent regardless of the outcome, so we continued to work on our strategy plan to get you out safely."

"I had been unaware that Harry had received any correspondence from young Mr Malfoy. The order had chosen to give him and Ron Weasley as little detail as possible, concerned that they would make rash decisions that would put them or yourself at risk."

"When Professor Snape arrived at the headquarters this afternoon, he told Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin the news that you were to be mover to the Lestrange's, Ron overheard. He and Harry took it upon themselves to retrieve you from the Malfoy Manor. Arthur and Remus followed as soon as they'd realised what had happened. You know the rest of the story."

Hermione nodded he head. It was a lot of information to take in and process even for her. They'd known she was at the Malfoy's? She should've realised. She was somewhat surprised to learn of Draco's contact with Snape. Then again, she shouldn't really be; Draco had told her he was Snape's Godson after all.

"We've moved your parents to a safe house. We couldn't risk the Death Eaters getting to them. They're fine, and very relieved that you're back, safe. I'll arrange a visit for you as soon as it's safe to do so, as I'm sure you've missed them." Hermione nodded. She was thankful that her parents were okay.

"Thank you."

"Hermione I need to ask for your help," said Dumbledore.

"What for?" she asked,

"I've agreed to offer protection for Draco, but I will need your help in doing so. I'm aware of your relationship with him, and it puts you in a position to do so. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid which puts him in harm's way. I'm not sure what will happen in September with regards to going back to school, but it he does return, he'll need your help to settle in. He's a young man in a very bad situation. He is to be commended for choosing to turn his back on what he knows."

"Of course," said Hermione.

Dumbledore thanked her, and she left to find the others.

She found almost all the order and Draco in the living room all sat round the fire. The only people missing were Snape, who was probably dealing with the repercussions of Hermione's escape, and Ron. Hermione was glad, she wasn't sure she could face him. When they saw her, everyone got up to welcome her back. Hermione was so thankful – so many people she loved in one room. She took a seat between Ginny and Draco. It felt so normal chatting the evening away. Normal was not a word she'd been able to use for a while.

A little after midnight, Draco said gently,

"You look very tired Hermione. It's been a long day. We should get you off to bed. You can catch up with everyone some more tomorrow."

Hermione nodded. It had indeed been a very long day. If it wasn't for the rescue party, she'd of been at the Lestrange's by now. She shuddered at the thought. She thanked her lucky stars she wasn't. Hermione and Draco made their excuses and made their way to the room Hermione usually stayed in at Grimmauld Place.

Hermione climbed into bed followed by Draco.

"Goodnight," she said.

"Did you really think I'd let you go to bed just like that?" asked Draco.

"What else did you have planned then?" said Hermione, grinning.

"Well it involves a little of this," he said kissing her passionately. "A little of this." He reached down and squeezed her bum. He moved down and positioned his head down in between her legs. " and a lot of this," he whispered breathlessly. Wow this was hot, thought Hermione.

They made love. Not like the first time, but hard and passionately. Both of them knew what they wanted, and the desperation of their kiss earlier found its way into it. I could get used to this, thought Hermione.

"Goodnight beautiful," Draco whispered when they were done.

"Goodnight handsome,"

She leant over and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you Draco,"

"I love you too." With that they both fell into a deep and restful sleep.