Heya guys!
First off I hope everyone is being safe. Sending you love during these scary times.
Sorry, it's been so long since I've updated. I was working on a side project; a novel I'm writing. I got a little caught up in it and couldn't put myself back in this world for a while. But hopefully, this chapter makes up for it.
Please review and let me know your thoughts on it.
Much love 3
Hermione's Point of View
I slip out of the bed when the morning glow climbs through the window and reaches across the bedroom floor. I move Malfoy's arm from across my chest, leaving it gently down at his side as I slip out of the bed and shut the door silently behind me.
In the dining room, there's a small handful of people awake this early for whatever reason. Some look as if they haven't slept at all yet and a few other,- like myself- have managed maybe three or four hours sleep. I walk into the kitchen and search the presses for coffee. I eventually find it and hold it close to my chest for a second in this stolen moment of victory. I feel the water pot to see if the heating charm is still working, listening to the sounds of the familiar kitchen. We hadn't been back here since November of last year but it feels like yesterday now standing in the kitchen. I make the cup of coffee and sit in the dining room, staring at the sun rising out over the tops of the townhouses nearby.
Tonks comes into the room then, holding a folded up newspaper in her hand. She removes her scarf, chucking it across the back of one of the chairs and makes her way down towards me, studying the newspaper. Lupin follows behind her, leaving his coat over the same chair.
"What's wrong?" I ask, taking in their collective morbid expression. She looks up from the newspaper and throws it down in front of me. I slide my coffee back, pulling the paper into view.
"He was noticed," Lupin expresses. The headline on the front of the Prophet reads 'Draco Malfoy Spotted in Diagon Alley'.
"How? We were only there for fifteen seconds, twenty max. I don't understand," I say, reading the rest of the article. It goes into a lot of detail about his father, how he was suspected of the murder of Albus Dumbledore. I push the newspaper away.
"You're not mentioned though, so we can thank our lucky stars," Lupin says.
"You're not so recognizable anymore," Tonks implies. I get what she means. I don't look the same as I did a year ago. Not by a long shot. But Malfoy. It's hard to miss him.
"They've searched all of Diagon Alley for him," Lupin starts. "The Death Eaters," Lupin explains.
"That's close to here though, isn't it?" I ask, unsure.
"It's close," Tonks verifies. I bit my lip, staring out the window at the blinding sun.
"Will they come here?"
"Most people don't even know about here but the area holds a certain magnetic pull. If they're looking they might sense something in this area," Lupin sighs, running a hand through his hair. I take a long swing from my coffee as Tonks slumps down in the chair beside me.
"Did you hear anything from Snape?" I ask, eagerly. Tonks and Lupin exchange a look.
"What?" I ask.
"They're not there anymore," Lupin admits.
"They got out?" I ask, hopeful.
"They must have but we don't know where they are," Lupin says.
"But they're out. That's the main thing. They got away," I say, glad. If they're not in the manor anymore it doesn't matter where they are, as long as they're safe.
"Yes, but we need to find them. Maybe they'll write or go somewhere where we can find them," Lupin suggests. Tonks rubs my arm reassuringly when she notices I've drifted away somewhat.
"They'll check in soon. We'll locate them, okay?" She smiles sweetly at me, pulling my coffee cup across the table and taking a swing from it. Her face squeezes together as she swallows.
"You should have asked," I laugh.
"Hermione!" She says, wiping at her tongue.
"I like my coffee strong," I admit. Lupin laughs, putting his hands down on Tonk's shoulder affectionately as she uses a napkin to wipe at her tongue.
"That's disgusting," she comments. I laugh, pulling the coffee cup back.
The sound of thumping sounds outside the room and Lupin pulls out his wand. Tonks shoots up from the chair, moving towards the dining room door as Ginny bursts into the room, waving a piece of parchment above her head. She hits into the bottom corner of the large table, breathing deeply.
"Ginny, what's going on?" Lupin calls, running up to her.
"I have it. I got it just now," she says, panting frantically.
"Just breathe!" Tonks orders and Ginny hands the piece of parchment to Lupin. His eyes search the page, darting from side to side as he reads.
"What's going on?" I ask, standing up from the table. The chair screeches loudly behind me. Lupin smiles, turning and hugging Ginny. He hands the parchment to Tonks and she, in turn, scans the page. She covers her mouth with her hand in surprise.
I move around the table, pushing ahead as I come to stand beside Tonks leaning over her shoulder to see.
"It's from Harry," Tonks smiles, rubbing at her eyes.
"What?" I say, snatching the parchment from her hands.
She's not lying. It is from Harry. I can tell from the bad handwriting sprawled all over the letter. I scan the parchment as quickly as I can then read it slowly for a second time. They're safe, both of them and they got out. The letter is addressed to Lupin but it consists mostly of questions about me and have I shown up yet. Harry describes how he asked Malfoy to get me out of the manor and that should be their first priority. Locating me. In the end, he gives his location.
"Where is this?" I ask, pointing towards the address at the end.
"It's in Cornwall," Ginny answers, pulling away from Lupin.
"It's Bill and Fleurs house. It's on the coast," she explains.
Ginny turns to Lupin keenly and the room grows quiet waiting for him to speak.
"Only a few of us can go. We can all apparate there, okay."
"Who gets to go?" Ginny demands. Lupin runs a frustrated hand through his hair. His hands dropping to rest on his hips and Ginny flashes up at him.
"I'll go and Hermione has to come too. I'm sure the boys will want to make sure for themselves that she is okay."
"If Hermione is going then I'm definitely going," Ginny argues and walks out of the room before Lupin can even reply. Tonks giggles behind her hand as Lupin laments loudly.
"Malfoy can't come," Lupin says abruptly, turning towards me.
"It's the first time I've seen the boys in over a year and I don't think that kind of friction is needed," he supplies.
"Did you not read the letter? Harry said that he asked Malfoy to help me and he did!" I argue boisterously, causing a few members of the order scattered around the table to turn away awkwardly, pretending they're not listening to our argument.
"Hermione don't fight me on this, okay. Not right now," he says, defeated. Lupin leaves the room and I hear the sounds of his footsteps on the stairs. I turn to Tonks and she's wearing an expression that can only say 'I'll talk to him'.
I grab my coffee off the counter and take the stairs three at a time. Inside the room, Malfoy stirs lightly in the bed when I enter. He swipes his hand over his eyes as he comes to life sluggishly. His face looks different in the mornings. It's softer, less tense. His skin looks softer too and his eyes are a tad puffy. He swipes at his eyes again as he squints against the morning light trying to take me in.
"What time is it?" he asks, clearing his throat loudly.
"It's early. Really early," I comment.
"Why are you up so early, Granger?" he asks, throwing his legs out of the bed. I walk over and hand him the half drank cup of coffee. He sniffs at it for a moment throwing me a suspicious expression as if I might have drugged the coffee. Deeming it okay he takes a long swing and doesn't squint as much as Tonks did when she decided to take a sip. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and chuckles a little.
"You want to inject it directly into your bloodstream?" he asks, motioning towards the coffee.
"It's not that strong everyone needs to relax," I argue.
"Why? Who else are you giving your coffee too in the mornings?" he asks. I don't miss the tone he tries to hide.
"Tonks took a sip out of it too and she almost died," I clarify. His face relaxes a little. He walks into the bathroom and I follow him in. His hair is sticking up as if he slept upside down like a bat. It's quite endearing. I conceal a smile behind my hand.
Malfoy looks around the sink. He takes the toothpaste into his hand and puts a little bit of it into his mouth, rubbing it around with his finger. I do the same, swishing it around to create a foam.
"What did Lupin say? Did you talk to him already?" Malfoy asks, watching me in the reflection of the mirror. I spit into the sink, wiping my mouth with the towel on the back of the cistern.
"What Granger? Tell me," he stresses.
"You were spotted in Diagon Alley. It was on the front page of the Prophet today. Tonks showed me," I explain.
"Were you mentioned?" he asks.
"No."
"Good. I'm always in the Prophet. They're sort of obsessed with me," he replies with a hint of smugness, brushing it off completely.
"Diagon Alley is close to here Malfoy," I express, following him out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. He goes to the wardrobe and files through it, seemingly trying to find clothes that will fit him.
"Death eaters are going to be looking for you," I warn.
"Then we'll just go somewhere else, Granger," he says nonchalantly. I bow my head, unsure.
"What?" he questions, reading me. I bit my lip and stare out the gap in the curtains. The cars are starting to move now as the world wakes up. The trees swaying lightly in the warm summer morning. Their leaves moving in dense masses like women's hair.
"Ginny got a letter from Harry. He's at Ron's brother's house in Cornwall," I explain watching as Malfoy takes in this new information. He weighs it up, leaning against the wardrobe door, slowly absorbing. His face twists into an expression I haven't seen in a long time. The solid blankless demeanour he used to wear in school years before I ever knew him. Completely emotionless.
"So that's it then, huh?" I scowl at him.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You're just going to run back to Potter now that he's called you," he explains. He throws a jumper over his head and walks over to the window.
"It's not like that. I want to make sure he's okay," I try to explain. Malfoy waves his hand at me dismissively.
"Are you going to stand there and deny that if he asked you you wouldn't disappear with them again?"
"Malfoy this isn't fair," I argue.
"Answer the question, Granger!"
"I don't know what I would do, okay? Things are a little all over the place now."
"So sorry I complicate things," he says sardonically.
"Malfoy stop acting like this!" I shout loud enough that anyone in the hallway will surely be able to hear. Malfoy rolls his eyes and crosses his arms across his chest like a spoilt child almost.
"Things are clearly different now," I say, embarrassingly. He raises his eyebrow at me expectantly.
"I just need to make sure they are okay. I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow. Heck, I'm not sure what's going to happen in the next hour. Everything is so uncertain right now," I defend. He turns around towards me, biting the corner of his bottom lip.
"It's just it's a little different for you Granger. This is a little simpler for you than it is for me. You have all these options. You can go back to Potter and Weasley or stay here or go to another safe house. You're accepted in most places. I have just this here, right now. With you. I don't have any other option," he says, sitting on the edge of the bed. He rubs his hand over the back of his neck as he turns his face away from me. I sit down on the bed beside him.
"I'm not going to disappear Malfoy. You don't have to worry about that," I say straightly choosing to brush past all the bullshit. He turns his head to me, embarrassed.
"Is that what you're afraid of?" I ask with a hopeful smirk. I know I'm pushing it but the coffee is finally flowing and I suddenly feel a little daring. I think I see his pupils dilate a little but I can't be certain.
"I just have nowhere else to go," he says awkwardly, deflecting. I smirk at him as he turns away to hide his embarrassment. I know it's unfair to hold him to the things he said last night this early in the morning. But it's enjoyable to be the one in control sometimes.
"I'm not going anywhere, okay," I say reassuringly. The daring part of me takes control as I lean across and press my face lightly into the crook of his neck. He turns back towards me and I pull back a little. He catches the back of my neck and holds me there. Our cheeks pressed together, side by side. I can feel the stubble of his almost beard rubbing against me. It feels nice. We both look down and breathe deeply into the small space between us. He squeezed the back of my neck and I press my hand out against his chest. He grabs my wrist with his other hand and we stay like that in the sound of our collective breaths. The sun coming in the window stretching far up the back wall at this point.
"I'm sorry," he says in an almost inaudible sigh. I shush him, rubbing my cheek against his. If there was ever one secret that could be told about Draco Malfoy that was to be disbelieved it would be how gentle he can be. How incredible still he can become in the moments when it is required. How he can force that same response out of others.
I pull back, his hold on the back of my neck loosening as I stare at him. I physically see his eyes dilate this time. I watch them go from blank discs to tiny little dots. His eyes look so silver in this light. Like a crow, I watch on in awe as this tension builds between us. A tension that builds even more as each exhale we fall a little more forward, more towards one another.
His eyes flicker down to my lips so quickly I almost miss it. I look down at his mouth and his lips are parted. He wets them slowly and a flush soars up to my cheeks. I know what is to come and I want it more than anything right now but when I look at his eyes I want to freeze this moment and bask in it. It has been a very long time since someone has looked at me this way. I had spent so much time away from civilization that I thought no one ever would again. But yet here it is again. Clear as day on his face. Desire.
He slides his hand around the side of my neck and pulls me in. I part my lips slightly but his mouth goes to my cheek as he leans in. He presses his lips against my cheek, dropping down to my jawline as he expels his hot breath against my skin. The hair on the back of my neck rises. He brushes his lips very lightly, drawing a line to my lips. His skims across my mouth as he moves to the other side of my neck. My heart hammers in my chest at the brief contact that I can't help the loud moan that escapes. I hadn't realized how much I had been holding in my breath until his lips barely touched mine. I feel his smile against me as he brings his lips back to mine. Hoovering just inches away from mine. I pull at him but he stops me, pushing at my chest each time I try to pull him towards me.
"Stop," I argue, childishly and he smiles so wide, sniggering. He stops pushing against me and settles his hand against my cheek.
"I fucking missed this," he admits breathlessly. I pull him the final inches towards me. Our mouths come together delicately as he picks me up from the bed like I'm completely weightless. I wrap my legs around him, using it as leverage to lean more into him. He kisses me deeply and I meet his mouth with just as much intensity. It should be new and different but it's not. It's the exact same as its always been. We may have changed in this last year and a half but this has not changed at all. We still fit together the exact same. Puzzle pieces don't change I think. His mouth is warm and dangerously familiar and enticing at the same time. How could I have forgotten how good of a kisser Draco Malfoy was? Had I purposely suppressed this knowledge?
A knock sounds on the door. My head snaps to it as I untangle my legs from around Malfoy. He drops me to the ground and turns around, readjusting himself. I pull at my shirt trying to fix the collar as Ginny walks into the room indifferently. She stops, reading the energy in the room for a moment and raises her eyebrows at me.
"Oh I'm so sorry," she says, drawing out the words sarcastically. I roll my eyes at her and make my way into the bathroom. Ginny follows me towards the door, leaning against it.
"Are you ready to go?" she asks, and I lean around her to stare at Malfoy.
"Go where?" he asks and Ginny mouths the word 'sorry' at me. I sigh.
"We're going to go see Harry and Ron in Cornwall. To check in with them," I supply.
"Okay," he says grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair.
"Lupin said you can't come," Ginny says and I reach out at her, trying to grab the words from her mouth before she speaks. Malfoy raises his eyebrows at her.
"Ha," he says sardonically and walks out of the room. Ginny shrugs her shoulders at me as we watch him take the stairs two at a time down.
"What's up with him?" she asks. "He's awful chipper this early in the morning," she notes suspiciously, watching me with a knowing expression.
Draco Malfoy's Point of View
When I reach the bottom of the stairs I've come up with twelve different way I could secretly kill the girl Weasley for interrupting Granger and I. When Lupin walks out of the dining room I'm up to fifteen.
"Malfoy?" he asks. I stand there as Granger and Weasel make their way down the stairs.
"You ready Lupin?" The weasel calls, picking up her jacket from the hook. Twenty.
"Hermione?" Lupin says disapprovingly as he eyes me.
"I go where she goes. The quicker you accept that the less time we spend standing here wasting time. So shall we go and see the wonderful Potter?" I say, turning towards the door.
Lupin shoots Granger a pained expression but she dodges it and follows me out the door.
Outside a car waits, parked against the curb.
"We can't apparate this close to the city. We'll drive to the outskirts and apparate from there. The car will wait for us," Lupin explains to the two girls, refusing to acknowledge me.
We climb into the car. The Weasel, Granger and I squeeze tightly into the back seat. Under the cover of our coats, I take Granger's wrist and rub my fingers against the soft part below her palm. She turns her head away, hiding her blush from me. Lupin catches my eyes in the review mirror and I stare him down for a while before he casts his eyes away.
We reach a large area of connecting fields behind a new housing development.
"There's a safe apparition point on the top of that hill," Lupin points to the small hill at the very top of the overgrown fields. When we finally reach it the four of us are completely out of breath. The afternoon sun is burning hot today. I should not have grabbed my coat when I was dramatically exiting the room earlier. Lupin holds his ankle and squeezes it tightly for a second.
"Come on," he says, grabbing Ginny's arm. I grab Granger's hand as we apparate.
When we land the first thing I notice is the heat. The second thing I notice is the feeling of standing on an uneven surface. I step back a little almost losing my footing. The sun burns at my skin and I pull at the collar of my coat. I kick the earth and it comes apart with no resistance. I look down and realize it's sand. I lean down and grab a handful between my fingers. It falls between the crack and a strange sensation starts in my stomach.
The three start moving forward but I'm still frozen, trapped in this puzzling sensation in my stomach. It's spreading around my body, making my legs and arms feel detached. I pick up another handful of sand and watch it slowly fall between the cracks in my hand once more. Something is painfully familiar about it. When I stand back up I look down to where Granger is making her way down the hill with the girl and Lupin. She stops, turning around and uses her hand to block her eyes from the sun.
"What are you doing?" she calls up at me, her voice carried up by the light breeze. It's so warm here it feels like we are no longer in England. That thought alone triggers the memory. Granger pushes herself painfully back up the hill towards me, puffing and panting when she makes it the full way up the sand dune.
"Malfoy? What's wrong? You look pale," she laughs. " I mean paler than usual."
I can barely hear what she's saying. I step around her and stare down at the house in the distance. I recognize the house. Wooden with a large front porch. I turn around and the sound of the ocean blast into my ears. Seagulls swooping low in the distance. The smell hits me as a sharp breeze whips through the coastline.
"What's wrong? Have you been to Cornwall before or something like that?" she asks, innocently.
In a way, I have been here before. Or I was supposed to be here. In the future. With her.
I look at her puzzled, innocent expression, watching me eagerly. Lupin calls for us over his shoulder as they reach the house. She reaches her hand out and pulls on my hand.
"Something like that. Yeah."