A.N. I am so sorry for the delay! My beta and I have been a bit swamped.

Thank you so much all of you who have added this to favorites/subscription lists and those of you who took the time to review. I appreciate all of you so much and you give me a lot of support. I hope that you enjoy this next chapter.

08-29-2013 For those of you who read the original, there is a really important change in the middle of this chapter. I will mark it with **.

Chapter Four

Hermione nearly cried with relief when they made it to the small cabin without splinching, Apparating into a wall or anything else equally gruesome. She made her way quickly towards the door levitating Malfoy ahead of her. Being out in the open made her feel vulnerable and exposed. About ten feet from the cabin Hermione shivered violently and the hair on the back of her next stood on end. The surrounding wards were some of the strongest and by far the most intimidating that she had ever encountered and for a moment it felt as if the air was alive and crackling with magic. It was a feeling that she could definitely live without experiencing again. Hermione pushed through the wards, more intent than ever to get out of the open, but as she stepped forward out of the reach of the wards she stopped short. The cottage swam before her eyes and rippled like a disturbed reflection in a pool of water and when the building settled Hermione found herself in front of a three story cottage. For a moment or two she struggled with the urge to study the concealment charm over the building but a small moan from Malfoy had her focusing back to reality.

Hermione shook herself and passed through the rather large front door into a sitting room so un-like Malfoy that she was almost sure that she had the wrong address. The room was a light, sunny pale yellow with dark modern wooden furniture. The decor was minimalist and utterly lacking in the opulence that she was sure Malfoy preferred. She had seen the inside of Malfoy Manor once and had knew that the Malfoy's were not modest by any stretch of the imagination in the display of their wealth. But what the room was lacking in gaudiness, the decor more than made up for in quite sophistication.

Quickly dismissing the room, Hermione moved out of the sitting room and into a long and narrow hallway lined with doors. She quickly searched the rooms looking for a place to stabilize and secure Malfoy, all the while wishing that she would find a dungeon in the basement - it would only be fitting. However, all she found on the ground floor was a large kitchen, a small personal library, and on the other side of the hall, an absolutely massive potions lab.

At the end of the hall she found another doorway that led to a dark spiral staircase. Hermione was still rather suspicious of the whole situation she had found herself in lately, so she whispered, "Homenum Revelio." For all she knew Malfoy had arranged and orchestrated this whole thing to lure her into some kind of trap. This house could be just another Death Eater hideout.

After a few seconds the spell revealed nothing so she proceeded, a little too quickly to consider the comfort of Malfoy, down the staircase. In the dim light of the staircase it was hard for her to make out the steps and Malfoy's body thudded more than a few times into the wall. Hermione waved Malfoy's wand sharply in agitation and muttered, "Lucis Globum." Several small lights floated from the tip of the wand and positioned themselves at intervals down the staircase. At the bottom there was another narrow hallway, but the light from her spell was too dim for her to make much out. The darkness struck her as odd. The whole of the upstairs floor had been full of light despite arriving in the middle of the night. As she sent out more of the lights it hit her. She moved towards a spot on the wall close to the bottom of the staircase and there it was. A light switch. The humor of the situation was not lost on Hermione as she flipped the switch and the hall was bathed in soft fluorescent light. Hermione doubled over for a moment with laughter. Malfoy's house had electricity!

Hermione collected herself as she gasped for breath and wondered if all of the madness of her life had finally managed to drive her off the deep end. She wouldn't be in the least surprised. Hermione canceled her light spell and scolded herself for losing her cool yet again and soothed her guilt by chalking it up to stress.

She moved to the first door in the hallway and was much relieved to discover a bedroom. Hermione levitated Malfoy over to the bed and canceled the spell leaving him to drop a few feet to the mattress. He hit the bed with a soft groan and Hermione felt a twinge of pity that she quickly squashed back down. There was absolutely no reason in her mind to feel sorry for the slimy git. Remembering the spell that had hit Malfoy before their escape, she quickly checked him over. There didn't seem to be any damage so she refused to be more than mildly curious. Barely sparing him another glance, she swept out of the room and warded the door heavily from the outside. She paused for a second and then added a few rather nasty hexes for good measure. The only person who could now enter or exit the room unscathed was her. Satisfied, Hermione turned from the door with a smug nod and set out to explore the rest of the cottage. She needed to find a way to contact Harry.

By the time Hermione dragged herself to the room she had claimed for herself, conveniently located across the hall from Malfoy's, she was utterly exhausted and more than a little frustrated. The cottage was absolutely massive and had the largest collection of books and potions stores that she had seen outside of Hogwarts. However none of it had proved useful. After what was undoubtedly an unhealthy amount of time searching, she had yet to find a single safe way to get in contact with the Aurors.

Hermione sighed dejectedly and fell onto the large four poster bed. For the first time in Merlin knew how long she was clean, having utilized one of the large bathrooms she had come across earlier. She had even transfigured a small wardrobe worth of clothing from sheets she had found in a linen closet that was nearly the size of one of the guest bedrooms. Hermione snuggled into the soft mattress and thanked all the powers she could think of for Malfoy leading her here, even if it did turn out to be a trap. She had missed sleeping on a bed.

A tear broke free and rolled down her cheek as she settled underneath the fluffy duvet. Hermione swiped at it and berated herself for breaking down over somethings as small as a shower and a bed, but it didn't stop the flow of emotions. She had held strong through everything and it had taken toll on her. Allowing herself this small moment of weakness, Hermione cried herself to sleep.

Hermione opened her eyes and blinked rapidly in disbelief. In the dim moonlight all she could make out was the dim outline of the trees around her. Hermione tried to swallow the panic that was rising in her throat and tried to orientate herself. She told herself it wasn't real over and over in her head like a mantra and clenched her eyes shut in hopes that the forest would disappear and she would wake up back in the heavenly bed she had left behind. Hermione slowly unclenched her eyes and peered through her lashes. The sound of the leaves rustling in the trees sounded like laughter, mocking her. She was in the clearing facing the stone from before and she could hear the song of the red bird from before, but the sound had turned sinister.

**Hermione turned and ran as if the Devil himself was after her. The trees whipped and grabbed at her as she sped past them. She didn't know for how long she ran, but panic clawed at her throat. No matter how far she traveled she always ended up at the clearing. She was running in circles. Hermione stopped in her tracks and looked around wildly for any way out. Her head was spinning and her breath was coming in frantic pulls. The forest began to shift around her and images flashed in front of her. She saw the curious faces of her students as she and Neville showed them a rare herb. Her heart clenched at their faces as they passed by. They had been her responsibility and she had left them alone with Neville. Guilt swept over her. Trees whipped by her faster and faster and tears began to course down her cheeks. Fear and remorse swept over her in overwhelming waves as the forest swept past her. Hermione fell to her knees as the world around her finally came to a stop.

This time when she found herself in the middle of the clearing, she stopped running. Hermione walked cautiously towards the circular stone and peered down at the runes. Her blood ran cold as she read the passage that ran along the edge on the millstone.

Once betrayed, there is no forgiveness.

Once abandoned, there is no hope of re-union.

Once sworn, revenge is swift.

Beware the power of one betrayed, abandoned, and bent on revenge.

Nothing can stand between a woman and what she truly desires.

She was betrayed, but not in full,

Not abandoned, but forgotten,

Not dead, but trapped away and ready to be free.

When the ties of family are murdered,

Strange magic is always at work.

She holds the key to restoring what has been broken.

She alone can restore the balance of the family and restore the love that has long grown cold.

Hermione stumbled back from the stone, her mind working at a million miles a minute. And then she heard it - the distinct pop of Apparition. She heard the rustling of steps behind her and pushed herself off of the rock to face the Death Eaters. As soon as she turned her vision was filled with the red light of a curse and she screamed as the spell slammed into her chest.**

Hermione shot into a sitting position as the scream died on her lips. She clutched at her chest as she tried to catch her breath. Tears were still streaming down her face as the terror of her dream coursed through her. Hermione focused on her breathing as she willed her heart and lungs to calm and she slowly sank back down to the bed as she relaxed, the strange words on the stone fading out of her memory. She snuggled into her pillow a little wary of sleeping but she didn't want to think either. It was too painful. So she tried to focus on emptying her mind as she tuned into the noise of the cottage. The quiet creaking of the wood as it settled was oddly comforting and soon her exhaustion began to take over.

She sighed softly and wished for more peaceful dreams and closed her eyes, but another sound caught her attention. Beyond the creaking of the house and the soft sound of the wind she could hear soft moans. Hermione picked up Malfoy's wand from where she left it on the nightstand and inched to her door. She quietly sneaked out into the hall and realized the noise was coming from the room across the hall where she had left Malfoy.

Hermione made her way to the door, wand at the ready and a stunning spell on her lips, just in case, and cautiously opened his door. Through the dim room she could just barely see him lying in the middle of the large canopy bed. The light from the hallway wasn't enough for her to see him clearly so she flipped the on switch beside the door. When she saw his face she gasped and hurried over to the bed. He had been much more ill than she had anticipated. Malfoy's face was deathly pale and his furrowed brow shone with a sheen of sweat. As she drew closer she could hear his breaths coming in shallow gasps.

Hermione went into full healer mode; she could not allow him to die. This realization stunned her, but she was quick to reason that the information he had was too valuable to waste. She ran back to her room to retrieve a case of potions she had taken from the potions stores earlier and returned to sit on the side of Malfoy's bed. She gave him potions for the fever and to ease his breathing, but she didn't know how much more that she could do for him considering she had no earthly idea what was wrong with him in the first place. Hermione held her wrist to his forehead and hissed when the heat of his fever scalded her skin. The potions would not work fast enough on a fever this high.

She began conjuring wash cloths and a metal bowl, filling it with a quick Aguamenti. Hermione chilled it before dipping the cloths in to soak in the water while she opened Malfoy's shirt. She covered the flushed skin of his torso with the cold cloths and draped another across his brow. Hermione took up the last cloth and bathed the rest of his face and neck with it.

Malfoy began to relax and his breathing even out under her ministrations and mumbled under his breath. At first Hermione dismissed what he said, chalked it up to the fever, but as his ramblings became more insistent she began to listen. It was hard for her to make out all of the words but what she did hear made her freeze in shock. From what she pieced together it sounded like Malfoy was begging someone to stop. Stop hurting his mother. Hermione drew back. It was common knowledge that Malfoy had killed his mother. It had been the start of all of the trouble; Malfoy's public embrace of the Dark. Word had it that she refused to let him take a place in Voldemort's inner circle so Draco had killed her for her insolence. She thought it was more than a little bit strange for him to show much concern for her.

Hermione shrugged it off and was tempted to ignore what he said, but she could not shake the feeling that she was missing something.

When Hermione was finally able to drag herself from the room she was surprised that she still had the strength to move. Malfoy's fever had finally gone down and he had gone quiet as he settled into a deep sleep under the influence of a rather strong sleeping draught – enough for twelve hours. She felt numb and didn't even find pleasure in her bed as she practically threw herself between the sheets. Before she lay down Hermione took a dosage of the drought for dreamless sleep and snuggled into the pillow. She hated taking any kind of sleeping aid, but she had the feeling that when Malfoy woke up she would need all of the energy she could get.

A.N. Thank you so much for reading! Be sure to review! I am interested in your opinions and guesses. Guesses are my favorite.

Thank you once again to my wonderful beta, Mistwood. She is fantastic and somehow managed to edit this chapter even with all of her schoolwork and while updating her own fic. Be sure to check out her current fic, A New Beginning. It is absolutely wonderful.

xoxoxox

Summer Orchid