Hermione rose around mid-afternoon – or at least what she thought was mid-afternoon. Her watch had stopped soon after her arrival at the manor and there was no other way of telling the time near her bed. She still felt tired; her sleep had been sketchy and temperamental. She crawled out of bed and rifled through her things for a towel and fresh clothes, pulling out a pair of comfortable pants and a simple t-shirt. She peeked round to see if Draco was awake; she was in no mood to deal with him after the emotional interactions of the early morning. His dividers were still drawn and judging the sounds of deep, even breaths he was still asleep. Hermione grabbed her wand and snuck into the area designated as a bathroom. She drew the curtains and cast a silencing spell so that she didn't wake Draco. It was more out of her continued desire to avoid him than consideration for his needs; if she woke him an argument would most likely ensue and Hermione didn't have the energy for verbal sparring.

She flicked on the shower with her wand and slipped from her clothes to beneath the stream of warm water. It felt heavenly against her tired muscles. She washed away the dirt of the last few days before turning off the shower and towelling herself dry. She wrapped the towel around herself and had begun to dry her hair with her wand when a motion from behind caught her eye. She turned, startled, to see the divider flutter as if it had just been closed. She blushed deeply when she realised her mistake in casting a silencing charm – neither of them could hear what the other was doing. Draco must have needed to use the bathroom and pulled back the divider without realising she was there. Hermione gave up her efforts to dry her hair and hurriedly pulled on her clothes. She checked to see where he was, relieved that the divider to his space was drawn.

Hermione quickly gathered her things before darting back to her space. She repaired and scorified her jeans and shirt, neatly folding them in her trunk. She made her bed, folding her extra blankets and placing the pillows in her preferred arrangement. She hesitated as she made to draw back her dividers. She knew she couldn't avoid him the entire time they had to be together – as much as she wanted to. She would be civil to him and even though the thought pained her, she knew it was necessary. Hermione knew that if Harry or Ron had been in her position the tent would have been in ruins and someone would have likely been grievously injured by now. Yes, she thought to herself, she would be civil and professional about the matter – unless the ferret does something to deserve a jinx that is.

She moved to the kitchen and made herself some tea before pulling out the eggs from the cupboard. Hermione sighed as she realised they were no longer good. She vanished them and went outside to finish her tea, leaving the baked beans in the cupboard – they were entirely unappealing to her at the moment. She would find the muggle money they had brought with them and apparate to a nearby village for groceries before the shops closed. She savoured the sounds of the forest around her as she finished her tea, enjoying the peace and quiet. Hermione knew it wouldn't be long before that peace was shattered by the realities of their situation, so she decided to appreciate it while she had the chance. She re-entered the tent to find Draco rummaging through the pantry cupboard.

"There's no food."

"I'm going now to get groceries at the muggle village now. I will be back in around half an hour."

Hermione walked past him and cleaned her mug before returning it to its place. She was glad he seemed to be ignoring what had happened earlier in the bathroom area as she certainly had no desire to bring it up. She pulled a purse and jumper from her trunk. Draco stood and watched her as she gathered her things. Hermione could feel his eyes on her; she turned and gave him a questioning look.

"I'm coming with you."

"And give you the chance to escape? I'm not that stupid, Malfoy." She scoffed at him, checking how much money they had left. There wasn't much left but she would have to make due; a preservation charm should extend the life of any fresh produce she might buy. "You'll stay here. Once I get back we'll need to move to another location."

"Don't think you can boss me around like you do the prince and the pauper! I'm coming with you."

"No, you are not. Your hair is basically white and you're wearing wizarding robes. I wouldn't call you nondescript and in our situation discretion is vital. Not to mention you're useless without a wand." She turned and exited the tent. She quickly walked past the wards and apparated away before Draco could argue with her any further.

Draco watched Hermione leave the tent, his frustration growing with every step she took away from him; when she had disappeared he let out a small growl of anger. Useless? He was not useless without a wand – he could still fight if he had to; as degrading as it was to fight the muggle way, he wasn't below it if his life depended on it or he was angry enough. He hadn't even planned on trying to escape. He had thought over every possible outcome from escaping before falling asleep and none of them were particularly pleasant. As much as it pained him to admit it, Hermione was correct about it being dangerous to go back to the manor. He had no idea how those at the manor would have interpreted his disappearance. If they did believe he was taken prisoner then his return without her, dead or alive, would be most likely be punished. He wasn't sure how long he could be on the run without a wand; he may have been able to fight without it, but he wasn't so sure about day to day activities. There was also no way he would get to the Order without her, he had no clue where to even start looking – he wasn't even sure who exactly belonged to the group outside of the one or two names he heard at the manor.

Draco slumped into one of the armchairs near the firepit. They were too soft for his liking, and he fidgeted a while before settling and contemplating his surroundings. He had nothing to compare the tent and its contents to; his parents would have never thought camping an appropriate pass time for wizards and witches of their position. He could say that the furnishings were not nearly as opulent or of the same quality as his home or even the Slytherin common room. His eyes fell on the small area used as a bathroom. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he remembered Hermione clad only in a towel; he hadn't known she was there thanks to her silencing spell. He tried to push the image of her curves from his mind; his dignity had suffered enough over the last few weeks, he didn't need what remained to be taken by those kind of thoughts – especially if they were about a mudblood.

He pushed himself up from his chair and ventured to the bathroom area. He rifled through the small cabinet that stood next to the toilet, finding nothing of significance. He wanted to shower but without a wand he would have to wait for Hermione to get back so she could start it up for him. How wonderful, he thought to himself. She would probably love having so much control over him, love knowing that he was dependent on her generosity. Perhaps she would take the last of his dignity after all. It was a repulsive thought, being so dependent on someone of such low blood status. A loud rumble sounded from his stomach and he cursed. He walked over to the bookshelf and looked for something to read, something to distract him from the clawing hunger. He found an old potions book, Moste Potente Potions, and took it outside to read. He was bored of the tent and thought it might be better for his sanity if he didn't spend all of his time within it. Draco found a comfortable spot in the shade of a nearby tree and began to read. He opened the book to find the Hogwarts crest stamped on the front page. His stomach grumbled once more as he pulled the record card out of the inside cover and read RESTRICTED SECTION in bold red letters. Tsk tsk, stealing from the library!

Draco sat and read as the afternoon wore on, the book was informative and absorbing – he wondered why he had never taken it out of the library before. Snape would have certainly given him permission had he asked, perhaps even let him try to brew some of the potions if he played his cards right. He began to get fidgety as dusk started to fall. His hunger was at its peak and he could feel it feeding his annoyance. Where was she? He returned to the tent and dumped the book on the nearest chair. He heard the sound of someone apparating and stormed from the tent to see Hermione limping towards him a small package until her arm.

"What took you so damn long?" His words caused her to frown slightly as she limped passed him.

"I stopped to get us some fish and chips for dinner. I don't feel like cooking." She said shortly.

She limped around the dining table, wincing slightly, and put down the package and began to unpack groceries from her bag. Draco eyed the bag, her extension charm was well executed and it annoyed him. Then again, in his current mood everything annoyed him – her hair, her manner, what she bought to eat, that stupid limp.

"Why are you limping?" he sneered at her. Hermione looked up from plating their dinner briefly, before sighing and continuing. Her silence on the matter annoyed him more. He wanted and argument, he wanted to get his frustrations out. "Answer me!"

"I'm not some house elf that you can order around, Malfoy!" She snapped at him carelessly dumping his portion of food onto a plate before pushing it at him, "Take your dinner."

"There's no need to be so rude, Granger." His tone was mocking.

"Rude? I'm rude?" She let out a hollow laugh, "You're the one who's done nothing but complain and bark commands at me this entire time! I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything more from you!"

She picked up her plate and turned to her go to her sleeping area. She had crossed halfway when she let out a small whimper of pain as she took a misstep with her injured leg. She stumbled slightly and her plate tipped, its contents tumbling to the floor. She looked at the pile of food and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She limped angrily to her bed and ripped the dividers closed. Draco stood and watched her impassively. He looked down at his plate of food and his stomach rumbled. He had hoped that an argument with her would restore some vestige of normality, back to how they had been at school when life was easier. Yet he felt nothing but unsatisfied – too much had changed since those times. He watched as a small bottle of what he assumed to be medical potion zoomed past him and over Hermione's privacy divides. A sense of defeat and frustration began to niggle at him as he picked up his plate of food and crossed to his bed. He drew the curtains and started on the chips; they were covered in salt and vinegar, just the way he liked them, just like his mother would buy when they went on holiday. The memory only added to his sense of frustration and loneliness.

Hermione tried to open the bottle of dittany she had summoned; it was being frustratingly stubborn and refused to yield to her efforts. Her leg ached from walking on it for so long. The bratty little child that had run into it while she was grocery shopping hadn't helped much either. Draco's attitude and her food falling on the floor was just the cherry on top of an utterly horrendous few hours. After the horrible things she had to go through at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, the stress of escaping and the disappointment of what awaited her after she wanted nothing more than to be back at Hogwarts, back at the library where she felt safest. She missed her parents, she missed her friends.

She eventually gave up on trying to manually open the bottle and used her wand. She knew they would have to keep magic to a minimum while they were hiding but right now she didn't care; all she wanted was relief from the stinging pain radiating from her leg. She applied to dittany to the injuring, wincing as she did so. Hermione felt slightly worried that the damaged had not been fully healed. She reasoned with herself that it hadn't spread and she wasn't developing a fever or any other adverse symptoms so it could be worse. She lay back on her bed and flicked on the lighting in the tent. It was quiet except for the small sounds of the world outside.

A while later, Hermione heard Draco approach her dividers. She watched as the silhouette of his form fluttered against the fabric of the divider. She had never noticed how well his form fitted the position of seeker; he was lean and clearly muscular. Hermione realised she was biting her lip ever so slightly as she took in his figure. Ew! Why was she even looking at him like that? And why did she just say "ew" like she was twelve and didn't like boys. She shook away the thoughts and sighed.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"I need to shower."

Hermione sighed and got out of bed. Her leg gave a little twinge of pain but she held her face steady as she pulled back her curtains. She pointed her wand at the shower and it started.

"There are some spare towels in the bathroom. When you're done we'll move to a new location."

Draco just nodded and moved to the shower. Hermione watched him get a towel and looked away quickly as Draco turned and shut the dividers. This is going to be a long week. At least she hoped it would only be a week.

Draco let the water from the shower fall over his face; it was refreshing and he felt his mood lift. He had been hungry and tired earlier and it had caused him to be too emotional for his liking, too quick to give up. He still missed his mother, his old life but if there was one person in the world he cared about, it was her. If he could fix that vanishing cabinet he was certain he could come up with a plan to get her away from Voldemort and the Death Eaters. He didn't necessarily need to go back to the manor to rescue her, if he planned it carefully enough he could get his mother to come to him. They could still get to the Order, to safety. He would need a wand and acquiring one would be difficult.

He searched around for soap and was disgusted to find that the only one available had a fresh, lightly floral scent to it. He gave a sigh as he cleaned himself with it. Once he was done he moved from under the water and wrapped a towel around himself. He pulled back the dividers and called to Hermione to switch off the shower. She had retrieved a book and was reading it on her bed. The witch turned her attention to him before quickly looking back down at her book. Draco smirked as he saw a faint blush stain her cheeks. She kept her eyes cast down as she picked up her wand and waved the shower off.

"If you need clothes you can take from Harry and Ron's trunks. I'm sure there's something that will fit." She tried to sound nonchalant.

Draco smirked as he walked over to Potter's trunk, a plan budding in his mind as he pulled out a plain black jumper. He knew it wouldn't be long before he saw his mother again. Once he had dressed, Hermione packed away any loose objects and instructed him to follow her outside. He stood and watched as she packed up the tent and stowed it in her infinite bag. She explained that they would have to side along apparate given his mother's spell. Draco eyed her suspiciously - he had a feeling she was try to hide something from him; she wouldn't look him in the eye as she spoke. Gryffindors were such poor liars. It didn't matter, for now he needed to be the perfect prisoner. She offered him her arm, holding it away from herself. He walked round to face her, standing closer than necessary. Draco looked down at her and smirked as she shifted uncomfortably; he gently laid his hand on her arm.

"Let's get going Granger."