Chapter 2-

Why had she decided to come out here in the wilderness to find them? How could she have been so stupid? Now she was going to die at the hands of her enemy. She had been lucky to have survived the battle at Hogwarts. She had managed to live time and time again whether by saving herself or the help of others. This time she was alone. The only person she could rely on was herself and she had no power. She could use wandless magic but the panic she was feeling was clouding her mind. Draco pulled her to him and flipped her over onto her back as he leaned over her. His pale hair glowed with the sun behind it like a fiery halo. How unusual considering that in her mind he was the devil himself. He was just as bad if not worse than Voldemort. At least Voldemort died for his efforts for power as opposed to fleeing at the first indication of failure. She stared up at him insolently. He looked at her, his eyes boring into hers.

"I could kill you." He mumbled, his breath blowing against a stray tendril.

"Then do it you coward." Hermione fumed as her amber eyes narrowed at him. She turned her head so as to not look at him. She didn't want him to see any emotion. He didn't deserve to see it. Draco tried turning her face toward him but she refused to meet his pale gaze.

"Go. Leave me alone." He finally said and removed his calloused hand from her chin and made his way up from his kneeling position.

"What?" Hermione was more than confused. Why didn't he do it? Was he chickening out again? He turned his back toward her, his ashen covered shoulder rounded as he walked away.

"You are not just walking away." She yelled, stiffening to get up, her hand and wrists killing her as she made herself sit up. He didn't reply just continued on his way until he was out of sight.

Hermione gathered herself up. She had to find her wand. She could only hope that it hadn't broken when it hit the jagged rocks that she herself had only hung above minutes before. She brushed the dirt and dust off her clothes and wiped at her bloodied lip. She must have resembled a ragdoll. She wasn't going to continue to pursue Draco. He most likely would stay out in the wilderness and starve or be rescued by his parents at some point. Then she would be able to go to the ministry and have a proper search produce them.

After a long treck through the woods, Hermione made her way to a steep decline. If she could make it down successfully she would be able to walk a mile or two in search of her lost wand. She could only hope that Draco hadn't made it there first. He was dangerous before, a wand would only make him more deadly.

No sooner had the thought entered her head when a familiar blonde head could be seen descending the hill below her. He was already passed a few jutting rocks. Hermione had to find it first. Her blood felt like it was curdling in her veins with the thought of the dark magic Draco would use with her wand.

Hermione was trying to run but was afraid she would lose her footing and twist her ankle. She was already a bloody mess at that point she didn't need any broken bones to add on. She could see the sun was already lower in the sky casting shadows on the ground which one could easily mistake as small caverns in the rocky face of the hill. Hermione had to catch herself a few times from falling. She tried to keep her eyes on Draco as he had made his way to flat land. He looked as though he had stopped to take a breather which gave Hermione the ability to catch up to him. If she had stealth on her side she would be able to go around him without him noticing. Two days out in the forest must have been enough to cause him a fair bit of exhaustion which could only come to her advantage.

Just as she made to take a step off a rock she felt her leg give out from underneath her. She was going down and knew that she was going to hit hard. She closed her eyes bearing for the worst.

But nothing. No shooting pain. Not cutting and tearing of flesh. She opened her eyes only to see Draco standing a few feet away from her, her wand in his outstretched hand as he levitated her above the rock face onto the soft ground. He glanced at her with pale eyes as she scrambled to stand up. Now was definitely the time to panic. He had her wand. He could crucio her until her ears bled if he so chose. She stood defensively preparing for the onslaught.

"What are you expecting me to do Granger?" He asked as fingers relaxed around the handle of her wand. Hermione didn't answer. She just stared at him.

"Well?" His pale eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her intensely.

"Torture me? Kill me perhaps?" She replied, her lips slightly quivering.

"Give it a rest would you! If I was going to do all of that I would have done it before. For Merlin's sake this is the second time today I've saved your sorry hide." He answered and continued to glare at her. Hermione nervously tucked an errant curl behind her ear.

"Take the damn thing." He said and reached his hand out, palm up with his fingers open. Hermione's wand lay on his outstretched palm like a gift. She blinked hard.

"Take it or I'll break it." He ground out. Hermione tentatively reached for her precious magical instrument. Her fingers slightly brushed his palm as she curled her fingers around her wand. Abruptly, Draco's fingers clasped around her hand and her wand and he drug her forward, her body slamming into his chest. She sucked in a breath as her eyes shot open. He was too close. She could feel the dampness of his soiled suit jacket against her face as he stared down at her.

"You listen to me and you listen well. Stop following me. Stop pursuing me. I have given you two chances. There won't be a third." He beared his teeth like a hungry dog. Hermione could only blink as his fingers dug into her palm. She glanced down only briefly to see that her blood was covering his hands. Before she knew what was happening, his other hand had snaked around her back pushing her closer to his body. What was happening? It was like he was trying to embrace her. His angry stare dulled. Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It pounded so hard she swore that he could hear it. She could feel her mouth go dry, unable to think of something to say. Then with a shove, he was gone, his back turned as he left her to stand there in bewilderment.

Hermione wandered through the forest for a few more hours. She wasn't sure why she just couldn't just leave. There really was no reason for her to stay there any longer. It wasn't like she was going to be able to have him come along peacefully. She also didn't really want to take him forcefully. Something inside nagged at her. Was it concern for him? She didn't really understand why he was out there on his own. When she had last seen him he had been with his parents. Had they abandoned him out here with no way to get back to civilization? She had to find out. She was going to follow him whether he liked it or not. She would just stay far enough away from him that he wouldn't notice her.

The sun was setting creating the glow of reds, purples and oranges to settle over all the near-by surfaces. She didn't want to pull out her wand and cast a lumos charm for fear that he would see the tell tale magical light. Hermione watched as his platinum head ducked behind some pine trees toward an overturned tree trunk. Draco carefully gathered a few sticks and twigs and placed them carefully on the ground in front of the tree trunk. He picked up a few pieces of dried pine needles and some errant leaves and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small green lighter. Hermione thought it curious that he would keep a muggle object such as that but he apparently had figured that at some point he would be stripped of magical items. He had to think of his own survival. Draco lit the kindling and placed the flame underneath his neat pile of sticks and twigs. It was a small fire but enough to keep his slight frame warm. Draco sat down on the ground against the overturned trunk and wrapped his arms around his knees as he peered into the fire.

Hermione watched from behind a tree. Draco didn't seem like himself. He had the appearance of a man much older than his years. Hermione could feel the wretchedness and melancholy emanating from him. It made her cringe. She almost felt sorry for him. Damn her empathy. This was not a time for her to feel anything but hatred toward the pureblood death eater. She shook her head trying to clear those thoughts from her mind. He didn't deserve her empathy and sympathy. He was the reason killers were set upon the wizarding world. He was the reason that Voldemort had almost succeeded. Almost succeeded buzzed in her head. He hadn't succeeded. He had failed. He had been destroyed. But why couldn't she just allow that to be. There was still a threat only a few feet from her. A threat to her peace of mind. He had to pay for what he had done to her, her family and her friends.

Draco rubbed his hands together furiously as he huddled closer to the tiny fire. Hermione slid down quietly against the tree she was hiding behind. Her lids seemed heavy and itchy. If she just closed them for a minute or two she would be refreshed and could continue on.

Apparently a simple resting of her eyes had turned out to be a full night of sleep. Hermione awoke with a start when she could sense something above her. Her amber eyes flew open to see two very angry gray eyes staring down at her. Draco's mouth was a thin straight line, his hair aflame from the morning sun. Hermione scrambled to her feet.

"I told you Granger. You don't listen do you?" He said as his hands balled into fists, her blood still dried under his finger nails.

"I…I…" Hermione mumbled as she quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You are a little know-it-all." He grumbled. Hermione just stared at him. He still looked disheveled and worn.

"Well I haven't eaten in a few days, I don't suppose you have anything on you?" He added as he looked down at her.

"Um…no."

"Surprising that you didn't think that far in advance. I mean really, if you are going to hunt someone down you'd think you would come prepared."He replied and allowed the side of his mouth to slightly curl.

"You have your wand. Can you conjure something?" He asked as he leaned against the tree casually. Hermione couldn't believe his nerve. Did he actually think she was going to feed him? She was here to bring him to justice, not be a caterer.

"Excuse me?" She ground out.

"You have to eat to. If you are going to continue to pursue me, you better have your energy." Now he was smiling. If Hermione wasn't aggravated before she now was certainly angry. She could very easily become unraveled.

"I'm not here to be your house elf Malfoy! I'm here to…" She began to say angrily as she straightened her back so that her head was slightly upward turned. Draco just grinned at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Here to take me in…blah blah blah. I know. I'm not stupid, though I am kind of second guessing your intelligence level. Who in their right mind comes looking for a death eater unprepared?" Draco was in all his glory. He flashed another smile at her. Hermione could feel every nerve in her body fire. She was going to rip his head off with her bare hands.

"Take it easy Granger. Just having fun with you." Draco placed his hand softly on her shoulder. Hermione twitched uncomfortably. The contact was making her jumpy.