Hermione sat on the bed and curled up in Jason's arms. This feeling that was so familiar, was now so strange. She began to cry. Genuine fear-stricken crying.
"Jane," he cooed. "Jane, my love. You're okay. Everythings going to be okay." He rubbed her back as she cried in his lap. Her brain was spinning faster than a tornado, and she could hardly form a sentence.
"I… how… who are you?" She looked up at his face through her tears, and through the blur she could see the pain in his eyes. "Why are we here?" She was asking all the questions she already knew the answers to. She just needed to hear them out loud.
Jason pulled her in tighter and they laid on the bed together. "Well.. I'll try to explain this all to you, but I have no idea where to start." And so Hermione laid there quietly and listened to her own story told from another perspective. She listened all about witches and wizards. Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, the Ministry. It was all told to her from the beginning, and she found herself fascinated. In the midst of all the crazy, she realized that she wasn't able to appreciate how magnificent her own world was. Now she was a muggle. This wasn't her world anymore, and it was amazing.
Then he began to talk about Harry, and her stomach turned. He talked about the rascal Harry Potter who was out to destroy his father. About the terrible Order that tried to control the wizarding world when all his father was trying to do was make it better. He spoke of Harry Potter's two friends that helped along the way. The strong built ginger, and the over-intelligent young witch. He spoke about the final battle, and his father's "victory", and described how the death eaters have been searching for the remaining Order members ever since. "They have found a few, here and there. Never the ones they wanted. There is a very very large reward for Potter's two friends, but they are hard to find. It was why I was sent to New York." He was petting her head as she was curled in his lap.
Hermione had been staring at the wall the entire time he spoke but now she looked up. Staring into his eyes, her heart raced. "New York? Why New York?"
"There were rumors that one of Potter's friends had escaped to New York. The smart witch, Granger. Hermione Granger. She was very clever, and my father didn't trust anybody but me for the job. Needless to say, I never found her. And then I met you," he smiled down at her. A shiver ran up her spine that chilled her to the core. He was out to destroy her. The real her.
Normally Hermione loved irony. The irony of it all. But not now. Not when it involved her in such a detrimental way. "So," she broke the contemplative silence. "You met me and fell in love, right?"
"Of course," he hugged her tight. "And I'll never let anything bad happen to you." Oh the irony.
Hermione hesitated before her next question, hiding the quaking in her voice. She played her part so well for so long. She wasn't about to fail now.
"What now then Jason? Why are we here?"
He rested his chin on the top of her head and she snuggled into his chest as deep as she could. "My father wants me to continue my search for the girl. He isn't happy that I disappeared for so long. That I brought you home with me. But I told him you were a part of the deal. That I would stay if no harm came to you. They are a… dark bunch of people Jane. But I promise, you'll be safe. I promise."
They remained still and silent, until Jason drifted off into a calm slumber. The sound of his deep breaths lulled Hermione in and out of conciousness, but her mind never let her sleep. There was too much to think about. How was she going to get out of this mess.
It felt like she had only closed her eyes for a minute when she was being woken up to a knock on the door. Jason was coming out of the bathroom when Hermione finally sat up, and he answered. A young man with white blonde hair walked into the room, glancing at her casually before greeting Jason.
"Draco! My old pal," he hugged the thin framed boy. "It's been too long. You've gotten older."
A smart smirk plastered on the boys face, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a bit of relief. Some things never change.
During her work with Severus, Draco and Hermione had come particularly close. In the later years of the war, Draco was becoming hesitant of the extreme actions Voldemort was taking. He spent a lot of time with Hermione and Snape creating potions, and generally escaping the craziness of life.
"Jane," Jason motioned for her to come close. "This is my best childhood friend, Draco Malfoy."
Draco smiled and Hermione extended her hand. "Nice to meet you Draco." He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it lightly. She pulled away quickly, hiding her blushing cheeks
"She is beautiful… for a Muggle," he smirked again and she darted an almost-unnoticable glare. Somethings really don't ever change.
Jason laughed and patted the man on the back. "Always the charmer Draco. Anyways, Jane, I have some work I need to do today. Draco will be watching over you, maybe he will take you Hogsmeade. Experience magic a little bit."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "There's a first for everything." With one last kiss on her lips, Jason walked from the room leaving the old friends alone. "So, Jane, what would you like to do today."
"Shutup Draco," she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "I missed you so much."
He hesitated a second before returning the embrace. "Why are you here?" he asked, almost a whisper into her ear.
She pulled away suddenly, with a hurt expression. "Well it's nice to see you too Draco. It's not like I intended to just pop back into the middle of chaos."
"That's a good way to put it," he smiled. And it was a genuine smile. One that Hermione knew him for so well. She thought back to a time they were alone by the Great Lake, south of the castle. They laid in the grass and laughed at for hour about the most random of subject. Both just trying to distract themselves from the war they knew they were a part of. "You were always good at finding trouble."
She sat on bed and brushed her hair back with one hand, clenching her fingers against her scalp in a moment of distress. "It seems so… I spent so many years in hiding, and I still ended up back here. Severus is so mad…"
Draco scoffed to himself, and pretended to be distracted by the library of books in the room. There was an awkward silence in the room, neither knew what to say. They weren't prepared for this moment. Their last interaction was… less than desirable. One party admits to love… the other party admits to loving another.
After a few more moments silence, Draco walked over and grabbed Hermione's hand. "What are you doing?" She asked, panicked at the sudden action.
"Getting you out of here, for now."