Chapter 11

She woke up to the soft scent of lilac soap. A heavy arm was draped around her waist, holding her tight.

She had one panicked moment of 'Where the hell am I?' when she remembered that she had fallen asleep in Draco's room last night. With Draco. Right there. Behind her.

She blushed, staring down at the arm around her waist.

Her heart beat hard in her chest, and she wondered what she should do.

Hermione shifted around slowly towards him, not wanting to wake Draco up.

His arm slipped as she turned, his hand lying on her hip.

She kept a few inches between them. This white-blond hair was all over the place, several longer strands in his face, and actually looked quite stylish like that. She studied his face. He didn't look as peaceful this morning. His eyebrows were scrunched together, his brow furrowed slightly. His lips were parted ever so slightly.

She could feel his soft breath…

Just then, a long, whining roar filled the room, breaking the peaceful silence like a war call. Draco jerked up fast, tearing out of bed.

Hermione was momentarily frightened out of her wits, and then forced herself to analyze the situation. The sound was almost like a dragon's call, and echoed slightly as it faded to silence.

Draco was already up and straightening out his hair. They had fallen asleep in their clothing, and looked frumpled.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, getting up slowly.

"It lets us know when someone has entered the property. We have a guest."

"A….guest?"

"Or an intruder who was talented enough to miss all our security measures." He looked at her meaningfully.

Hermione gasped. "Ron and Harry!" she said, forgetting that they were supposed to be pretending she hadn't said they were in the area.

Draco just froze, looking at her. "Maybe…or maybe not." And with that he turned towards the door, flinging it open. "Wait here, and hide." He said.

That sounded a bit too much like a command for Hermione's taste, and she protested, "But if it's my boys, they'll just attack you. If I'm there, we can avoid a scuffle."

Draco snorted. "Doubtful. Anyways, if it's my group, you're dead, and I'm screwed. So just hide, ok? Why do you have to be so damn difficult?"

Hermione puffed up at that, walking over to Draco. "Difficult? You haven't seen difficult yet, Draco. Just cast a disillusionment charm on me, and we can see who the hell it is!"

Draco looked like he wanted to protest, but the look Hermione gave him shut him up. He sighed, defeated. "Fine." He pulled out his wand, and tapped Hermione on the head (Rather harder than was necessary, she thought.)

The usual sensation of something cold dripping down her neck sent a shiver down Hermione's spine. While she was getting used to not really seeing herself, Draco grabbed an emerald green cloak form the wardrobe and slipped it around himself. He sat down on the bed and put on his shoes, saying, "Listen, stay by me at all times. The mansion will be on alert for a while once someone enters the property, so traps that didn't go off before will be touchy now. And since this spell just makes you kind of blend with the background, you can almost see your outline when you move fast. So…"

Hermione finished "You don't need to lecture me on spells. If we get close to someone, I'll use you to block me from view. I'll hide behind you. That should be enough."

Draco nodded. He reached out for her and he stood up, shoes on. He stopped, his hand held out to her.

"Probably shouldn't try finding your hand on my own, huh? Never know what I might end up grabbing."

Hermione blushed, but of course no one could see it. She reached out and took Draco's hand.

He promptly brought his arm behind him as he led her down the hall, keeping her hand at the small of his back.

There was a sound of a door opening and slamming ahead in the entry hall. Draco took a deep breath and peered around the doorframe, hesitantly. His hand tightened around Hermione's, and she wondered who it was he saw. He moved forward, keeping her behind him. His grip on her almost hurt, and she knew he was trying to tell her not to gasp at what she saw. She didn't, but it was hard.

Bellatrix Lestrange stood in the entry, a long cloak around her. She threw off the cloak, which was dripping wet snow all over the carpet.

"There you are! And look at you; you look like you just woke up! You knew I was coming today, didn't you?" She screeched, none too kindly.

Draco, for his part, managed "Oh, right…shit" The last part said quietly under his breath.

Hermione was scared. This could easily go bad. She gave Draco's hand a squeeze, hoping he'd get the hint and let her hand go. She could hold onto his shirt, and free up his hand. It would look less strange, that way. But Draco didn't take the hint. His grip didn't soften.

"You forgot. The only thing you have to do out here is wait for me to show up for my monthly checks on the house, and you can't even do that right?"

She moved closer. Draco looked like he would want nothing more than to back up, but he held still. Bellatrix was near by now, and she sneered.

"Here all by yourself, you must think you're really lucky, huh? Being forced out of the action for this "mission" of making sure no one comes to this house; what a laugh! As if anyone would come anywhere near this place." She moved closer. "I don't know what favors my dear sister called in to have it suggested you get stationed out here, but it's nothing more than a waste to keep a young wizard out of service like this."

Draco said nothing, just stared at the floor.

Her voice softened. "Draco, if you want to have a more…front line position in service to the Dark Lord, I may be able to….persuade him to give the Malfoy's son a second chance."

Hermione's heart was beating fast. How was she going to get out of this? Would Draco just give her up? If he did…along with Bellatrix's offer…he could be back on Voldy's good side. He might not like what was going on, but he believed that the Death Eaters would win. Self-preservation was a big part of Draco's priority list.

"Yes, Aunt Bella. I think I've had enough of this punishment of an assignment."

Bellatrix smiled. Her smile, as always, looked slightly more crazed than kind. "Good boy. Rewards will come to those who serve the Dark Lord most." She stepped past Draco, and he turned with her, keeping Hermione behind him.

She started up the staircase, calling "oh, and you most likely forgot to light the fireplaces upstairs. Take care of that while I clean up after my travels. I can't believe I have to apparate all the way outside the front gate…ah, well. I suppose it's best for safety's sake, for the mansion."

A couple seconds more and she was out of sight. Hermione was about to breathe a sigh of relief and bolt for the door when Draco pulled her with him, towards the stairs.

"Draco!" She whispered. He was pulling her up the stairs. "That's where she went!"

He snapped around towards her, his eyes flashing. He couldn't look right at her invisible form, but he was close. "Just trust me!" He hissed. "Now. Shut. Up!"

***

Yay! I managed to do one more chapter before leaving! Hope you all like the suspense!

Here, let me sound like the ending of an old action cartoon:

Will Draco turn Hermione into his aunt for fame and glory? Will Hermione ever reunite with Harry and Ron? Will Draco and Hermione ever- what the heck, throw in some Shakespeare- "make the beast with two backs?" Find out next time, on "Perfect Impossibility!"