In This Chapter- Hermione and Draco form an alliance, and a clever plan is formed.
Hermione was dreaming about flying. She wasn't flying a broom, but rather was soaring through the air with her arms outstretched. She flew over Hogwarts, over the forbidden forest, and over her old home with her parents. Then she fell.
But the strange thing was, she wasn't afraid of falling, she simply fell into nothingness, until-
"Hey there, time to wake up!"
Hermione opened her eyes slightly and let she adjust to the harsh light streaming in through the windows.
"Hello Dawn." She managed to say.
"Sleep well?" Dawn asked with a cheerful voice. "You're a very late riser. Draco was up hours ago, made coffee and everything!"
Hermione perked up at the mention of her beloved coffee. "Coffee?" She asked, slightly less groggy as she swung her legs around the side of the couch and attempted to stand up.
"Yup," Dawn
Hermione followed the younger girl into the small kitchen where Anya, Spike, Draco, Buffy, Xander and Willow where already sitting.
Draco cautiously brought Hermione a cup of coffee and Hermione sipped the hot liquid carefully. Draco eyed her as he sat back down at the small kitchen table.
"I think this is our leave guys," Buffy said, pushing everyone out of the room, leaving Hermione and Draco to themselves.
Hermione looked at Draco and quickly glanced away, unsure of how to handle the uncomfortable situation.
"Well?" Draco finally asked, growing tired of the raging silence.
"Well what?" Hermione shot back, putting her coffee down on the counter top.
Draco sighed as if this were all a game he was growing weary of. "What are we going to do?" He asked.
Hermione glared at him. "How should I know?" She asked. "This is your entire fault in the first place."
Draco gave her a look that could freeze fire. Hermione thought he might loose it on her again, but instead he took a deep breath, as if he was fighting to regain some control and said- "Stop acting like a child. We are in more danger than you know and placing the blame isn't going to help one damn bit."
For once in her life, Hermione didn't know how to respond.
~
"I'm scared Ron," Jessica confessed. "I feel like I'm in a strange Alice in Wonderland story- lost and confused in a world I don't understand.
Jessica and Ron were in Jessica's new quarters in Hogwarts. She shared a small dormitory complex with Jared and Lauren- although Lauren wasn't around very much. The entire school buzzed around with the story of muggles living at Hogwarts, so these dormitories secured the peace that that Jared and Jessica needed in their time of need.
Ron was holding her in bed, tracing small patterns on her stomach.
"You have me," He said softly. "I know I'm not much of a replacement for your parents, but you aren't alone in this. You know you're welcome here for as long as you want, and mum invited everyone home for the summer holidays."
"Jessica brought herself closer to Ron. "You're so optimistic," She said. "Aren't you scared?"
"To death," Ron said with a small smile. "Both of my best friends are in terrible danger, I haven't heard from Hermione for days now, Harry keep drawing into himself more and more, my brother Percy is still being a stubborn git and refuses to admit he's wrong and come home, and through all of it-" Ron stopped and Jessica braced herself for the worst. "-I fell in love," He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tight. "It's going to get better," he said. "Or my name isn't Ronald."
~
Harry was up in the owlry visiting with Hedwig.
It was chilly up in the tower as the sun sunk into a far off hill. Harry shivered when a particularly biting gust of wing blew through and stroked Hedwig's soft head thoughtfully.
Harry had been angry the year before. Angry about not being involved with things that had a direct impact on him. People who loved him all thought it best to protect the boy-who-lived, even though he was much too far gone for any of them to have made a difference. But this year Harry knew everything, and the information he craved for the last five years made him feel less than human, it made him feel the worst he's ever felt in his entire life.
"Stupid prophecy," He mumbled under his breath. "Stupid Voldemort, stupid deatheaters, stupid spells…stupid way to die."
Harry sighed and abandoned Hedwig at her perch and headed to the open window. He looked down at the activities below on the cold Saturday morning. Some Hufflepuffs were having a snowball war. Harry squinted his eyes; they couldn't have been above second year.
The cheerful image brought tears to his brilliant green eyes. He remembered fighting with his housemates two Christmases ago, before Voldemort had come back. He remembered Hermione had left early to get ready for the Yule ball. He was so beautiful that night. Both he and Ron were protective of her, always glancing at Krum out of the corners of their eyes, but Ron always openly opposed to anyone trying to romantically involve themselves with Hermione, they just loved her that much.
Hermione had been gone a couple of days now, and Harry felt as though a part of him had become missing too. He wasn't complete without his friends, he needed them.
"Harry?" A voice called from the entrance.
Harry whirled around and saw Jared standing in the doorway. A light from behind him cast a shadow into the room that stopped right at Harry's feet.
"Jared," Harry nodded at him. "Finding your way around all right?"
Jared gave him an embarrassed grin. "Not really," he admitted. "I was on the way to our rooms when the staircases decided to move, so I asked a picture where Gryffindor tower was so I could find you, but the bugger led me here."
"Well," Harry said with a small smile. "The picture did help you find me, didn't it?"
Jared grinned. "True," he said. "So what are you up to?" Jared went to join Harry by the window. The snowball fight was drawing to a close. "Looks like they had fun, huh?" Jared said to Harry.
"Mhmm." Was all Harry replied.
"Anything troubling you mate?" Jared asked concern.
Harry looked at him and laughed. But this wasn't the sort of laughter you heard from him, it was a haunted laugh, full of a bitter sounding defeat.
"What aren't these days?" Harry asked sadly. "Usually I go to Hermione with this sort of trouble, and Hermione will research some sort of solution, and then we all go and save the day. But it's not working like that anymore."
Jared shook his head. "We know she's alive, mate," He said. "And that always counts for something. She'll come back, you're friendships too strong for even death to try to break."
Harry merely regarded him with his sad smile and continued looking out the window, as if the skyline over the forbidden forest held the solution he so desperately wanted.
~
Spike kept walking in on Hermione and Draco, Partly out of curiosity and partly to keep them from blasting each others heads off. Spike had never seen such distinct hatred apparent in someone's eyes…nor such a look of mutual respect.
"I wish you could have seen what it was like," Draco said angrily. "Growing up in a house where love was a dirtier word than mudblood, and death was nothing but a game to a father who felt himself worthy to play God!"
Hermione was fuming. "How dare you!" She exclaimed. "How could you wish something like that upon someone? If it was that terrible, no one should have to go through it!"
At this point Spike had every intention of breaking up their quarrel, which, as far as he was concerned, was the result of pent-up sexual frustration. However, this trip into he kitchen had sent him right back out. He has seen Hermione yelling all right, but she was positively radiating energy, and the funny thing was, Draco either didn't notice or was not one to be scared very easily.
Back in the kitchen, Draco pounded a fist on the table.
"God damnit Hermione, stop assuming things! You're whole know-it-all attitude is getting really old you know. I just wish you could have understood. Now stop being a self righteous bitch and let's figure out what we're going to do next!"
Hermione was taken aback by Draco's name calling, but instead of shouting back, she decided to play by his rules.
"Fine," she said angrily. "What do you suggest we do now?"
Draco rolled his eyes "I was thinking that finding a way back home sounded good," he said.
"How?" Hermione asked, her anger quickly settling into anxiety. "We can't Apparate, and I doubt you're about to take the muggle way."
"I should think not," Draco said indignantly. "You might have been able to live with that filth your entire life but I-"
"Pardon me," Hermione and Draco both turned to see Spike sauntering into the kitchen, a Malfoy-like smirk on his face. "Red and the others have been researching placing spells, and Buff said they think they've found one."
Hermione looked at Draco then back at Spike. "Muggle magic?" she asked uncertainly. "Is it safe?"
Spike's smirk widened. "No doubt Red is powerful, she skinned a couple of blokes alive last year.
Hermione and Draco looked back at the vampire, completely baffled.
"Skinned them alive?" Draco asked. "That's some dark magic there, how?"
"Too much energy in that little body of hers," Spike said with an unconcerned shrug. "Anyway, she can get the job done for you, they're in the dinning room," Spike gave a little wave and returned back to the gang.
Hermione didn't even look back at Draco as she followed Spike into the dinning room. Draco made a rude gesture behind her back.
"Hey there," Willow said from behind a pile of old looking books. "I think we've found something, ever hear of placing spells?"
Hermione nodded. "Of course, but to move something as big as two people requires a lot of wand work," she replied.
"Well," Willow said with a sly smile. "Considering I don't own a wand, I suppose no wand work for me. The only problem is, I'll have to place the both of you in the same place, is that a problem?"
Hermione and Draco both reeled. "Yes!" the exclaimed.
Willow looked up at them. "Oh?" she said. "Well, I can place you two different places, but that would be too draining, and the second time I would probably be way off target, it would be safer and more efficient to place you both at the same time in one location. Feel free to go back into the kitchen and talk it over."
Spike snorted. "I think this time whoever comes out of the kitchen with all their limbs attached will get to decided."
Hermione grabbed a hold of Draco's shirt and pulled him into the kitchen.
"Let's settle this now," she said.
"Well," Draco said with a familiar drawl. "I suppose we'll have to go to Hogwarts. It's not like I can ever show up at the manor ever again, what would I tell my father? Oh yeah dad, this whole taking the most important prisoner was a ploy to show you how truly evil I was. Muah. Ha. Ha."
Hermione looked as if she were about to start yelling at him again, but then a strange sort of expression flicked across her face.
"Draco," she said simply. "You're a genius."
"Well," Draco said, slightly taken aback by her sudden change in mood. "I know I'm a genius, a sexy genius at that, but- why am I a genius again?"
Hermione chuckled and leaned against the counter. "You said it!" She said. "We go back to your manor and I'll pretend to be in love with you or something."
Draco smirked at her. "And when does this fantasy turn out actual results?"
Hermione scowled at him as stood up straight. "I can spy!" She said. "I can pretend that you convinced me that the life of a deatheater is for me, and I can spy on Voldemort. I can pretend to have fallen in love with you, and you can tell your father you seduced me or something. If you have been telling the truth, and you really don't want anything more to do with Voldemort or your father, we can do this! Just tell your dad this was some plan of yours to convince me with your own methods and you were trying your hand at being evil and cunning. I'm sure he'll understand."
Draco frowned. "You don't know what you're implying, Hermione," He said sadly. "You don't know what you're getting into."
"Hermione sighed sadly. "I know," She said. "Your life is something which I am hopelessly ignorant about, but I also know this is my chance to help! I can spy, and am an excellent actress when I want to be, I read all about it. If this is the way I can help win the war, then I'm willing to do it."
For a moment Hermione thought Draco might say no, but then he managed to mutter an "Alright, but you had better work on your acting skills, especially with You-Know-Who. He had an uncanny ability to see right through people."
Hermione smiled sweetly and walked over to where the blonde boy was standing. She lifted her arms up and wrapped them around his neck and pressed her body against his.
"Don't worry," Hermione whispered in his ear. "Gryffindors are much more devious than you Slytherin give us credit for," She dropped her arms to her side and stepped back.
"Well?" She said.
Draco looked back at her and took a deep breath. She looked so cool and confident, just like when she was answering a teacher's question, completely unaware of the confining discomfort she had caused him. It took a lot of control, but he soon calmed down a bit.
"Pretty good," he finally managed to say in what he hoped was an off handed voice.
Hermione grinned and clapped her hands together.
"This will definitely be a learning experience!"
(A/N)
Yup, once again the computer crashes with an ENTIRE chapter written out. Poo. Oh well, the next chapters will be more fun to write, therefore, will be out earlier J
