Hermione apparated in her usual spot, and discovered immediately that she wasn't alone.
She had apparated right on top of someone.
They crashed to the ground with many a grunt and yelp, in a tangle of limbs.
"Oomph!" Hermione groaned as she heard a sharp intake of breath from the person under her as her elbow accidentally jabbed the other being in the stomach.
"Sorry!" Hermione moaned miserably as she scrambled off, untangling herself and standing up.
"Are you alright?" A familiar deep male voice asked her kindly, but she detected a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"D-Draco?" She asked, surprised.
"The one and only," he grinned up at her. "So, are you going to help me up, or are you just going to stand there and drool over me all day?" He teased, noticing that she was staring down at him.
Hermione felt a rosy blush fill her cheeks, and cursed herself for going red so easily in front of him. She quickly offered her hand down to him.
"Sorry about that," Hermione muttered, her cheeks still crimson in the pale light of a street lamp nearby.
"About apparating on top of me or about staring? 'Cause believe me, I didn't mind either one of them!"
Hermione laughed, a warm, melodious sound that lifted Draco's spirits.
And she kept laughing. At first, Draco just stared up at her with an alarmed look on his handsome face, but then, just because he found the sight of her, Hermione Granger, Miss always-keeps-her-cool, cracking up at something that he barely considered funny.
Merlin's Beard, she's beautiful, he thought, his soft gaze directed up at her flushed face.
Finally, her laughter subsided, and she finally helped him up off of the ground, and hand in hand, they walked down the sidewalk to the Order's Headquarters.
As they entered, they heard a deep voice humming softly; and as they entered the kitchen, they saw it was Dumbledore, who appeared to be deep in his thoughts.
Draco cleared his throat softly, and the wizened old man looked up, a welcoming smile spreading across his face, "Welcome, welcome! Please take a seat and make yourselves at home!"
Draco nodded and Hermione smiled as they took their seats,
"Well, I'm so glad that you two have started to get along again," He exclaimed, his piercing pale blue eyes resting on their entwined hands.
They quickly broke apart, Hermione blushing yet again, and even Draco's cheeks turned pink.
"Oh, you don't have to be shy around me, did I not ask you to get along again?" His eyes twinkled.
"So…er…where do we start?" Hermione asked, eager to change the subject.
"First off, do you both accept this task with your own full agreement and free will?" he eyed them both closely.
"Yes," they answered in unison.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly,
"Let us begin. The time of Voldemort and Harry's meeting is nearing. As I have previously said, we need to know exactly what he is planning.
"But I am afraid that your mission will prove to be a very perilous task indeed. I have made a large batch of the Polyjuice Potion for you, Hermione, to take. You, of course, know this potion," his eyes twinkled merrily and Hermione had the grace to try and look ashamed of herself.
"You will need to count yourself amongst the Death Eaters for a while, in order for you to get the information that we need. Draco is already a double-agent for the Order, so there is no need for him to go undercover; although he is not ranked very high among the Death Eaters levels, but that too will change." He paused, eyeing them over the tops of his half moon spectacles.
Hermione had gone quite pale, but looked determined.
"You will do it, won't you?" Dumbledore asked gently.
She nodded bravely.
"Of course," she said.
For the love of Merlin, this is what we broke up about last time; us both doing dangerous things for the Order… Hermione thought, But maybe we're stronger this time around.
As Sirius had once said many years ago,
There are things worth dying for.
Draco was feeling guilty, this was the reason that she had left him all of those long years ago. He loved her so much, and never wanted to see her hurt, physically or emotionally.
But he had hurt her; when his angel had decided that she'd try her wings, he'd clipped them and held her down.
When she wanted to try her talents and make a change in the world; to go and risk the loss of everything for the sake of what she truly believed in, he'd stood in her way.
So she had left him, she was far too strong-willed and ambitious to let anyone hold her down.
Now he saw how wrong he'd been, and although he still cared, and it would probably always bother him, he swore to himself that he would always stand beside her and support her in whatever she wanted to do, just as she had always done for him.
"Draco," Dumbledore continued, pulling Draco back to the present, "You, obviously, will not need to go undercover, but Hermione, you will go as Bellatrix Lestrange. Bellatrix, along with the other Death Eaters who were with her, died in a battle between them and some Order members late last night," his blue eyes clouded over, "Even though she was the enemy, I must say that it is a shame to lose such an intelligent mind. Such a waste. I wish that she had been on our side," he said wistfully.
"But, alas, you cannot win them all. Anyways, as I was saying- Voldemort doesn't know yet if the Death Eaters who were in the fight last night are alive or dead. You, Hermione, are to tell him that the rest of them died, and only you survived, but barely. But you must be extremely cautious, and tread lighter than wood lice around a bowtruckle. For Voldemort is highly skilled in Legilimency- I know having taught him myself. Except, you are trained in that area of expertise also, so if you are careful, when he looks into your eyes, all he will be able to see is your feigned support and devotion. I know that this will be exceedingly difficult, but I have every reason to believe that you two will succeed. We all must make difficult sacrifices in order to win this great and perilous battle, as life wouldn't be worth living if all evil ruled the world. And I'm sure that Draco wouldn't mind giving you some advice and such, because he has been doing this for months now." He added.
Hermione smiled weakly, still trying to digest all that he had said.
"Well, Its getting late, so you two had better be off," the old man smiled, "But you both must return early tomorrow morning to prepare to meet Voldemort… at 6am, alright?"
They both nodded wordlessly and bade him goodnight before heading out into the night, each lost in their own thoughts of the day ahead of them.