Saving your life

It was dark outside, and everyone in the house was asleep except for the three of them, of course.

She left a short letter explaining they had left, but were all right, on her bed, and then tiptoed down the stairs, shoes in hand as to not make any noise.

“Are you ready?” she asked, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, and they both nodded.

“I’ll just leave this,” said Harry, an envelope in his hand with Ginny’s name carefully written on it, and ran up the stairs once more.

“Mum’s going to kill me,” muttered Ron, as they waited for Harry to return.

“I’m sure she’ll understand, eventually,” she said, and had to stifle a laugh at Ron’s expression.

“OK, let’s go,” said Harry, as he walked back down the stairs.

“Got everything you need?” she asked, and when they both nodded, she opened the door and stepped outside.

“So, where to now?” asked Ron, as he closed the door behind them

“Godric’s Hollow,” answered Harry.

“Hold on tight,” she told them, and once they both had their arms firmly around hers, she Apparated them all away.

“I think you got the wrong place,” said Ron, as he let go of her arm, watching the bare mountains in front of him with a frown.

“Turn around, Ronald,” she said, sternly.

“Oh,” was all he managed, as the three of them faced the small town lying between the mountains. “Why did you Apparate us so far away?” he complained, after a few minutes, breaking the silence.

“We can’t very well Apparate mid-town, someone might recognize Harry,” she explained. “Do you want to go alone?” she softly asked Harry, and he just shook his head no, lost in thought.

She waited a few more minutes, and then decided it was time to move. She reached inside Harry’s bag, pulled his Invisibility Cloak out, and then handed it to him.

“Here, put this on,” she said, and then slowly they made their way down the mountainside, and towards Godric’s Hollow. She didn’t think anyone would recognize them, but still thought it would be better if Harry hid under the Cloak. Just in case.

The streets were deserted; even the small pub on the main street was almost empty. They walked in silence, and she only spoke every few minutes to call Harry’s name and make sure he was still around.

It wasn’t long until they reached the gates to a cemetery, and she almost bumped into Harry as she moved closer, not able to see he had stopped walking. The cloak fell to the ground, but he didn’t seem to mind; he didn’t even seem to notice.

She stood still as she watched Harry push the gates open and walk inside the cemetery, and stopped Ron when he tried to follow, shaking her head when he turned towards her, confused.

They had used the cloak to cover themselves as they waited for Harry to return, using the time to discuss what they should do, where they would go next. Almost an hour went by before Harry came back. He still looked a little dazed, as he closed the gates again, and walked slowly towards them, but smiled faintly when they took of the cloak and he was able to see them.

“Are you all right?” she asked him, and he nodded. “Do you want to try and find the house?”

“OK,” he answered automatically, and they started walking.

“It should be this way,” Hermione said, pointing at a small side street. When she noticed they were looking at her, she sighed and explained. “A few months ago, just a few days after we came back from Hogwarts, I asked Remus where your parents had lived. Here, I have a map,” she said, reaching inside her bag and pulling it out. “What? She asked, when she noticed they were still staring at her. “We couldn’t just start knocking on doors, asking where James and Lily Potter had lived, could we now?” Come on, it’s down this way,” she said, walking ahead of them.

They hadn’t really expected to find the house there, but were still surprised its ruins still remained. It looked as if they hadn’t changed a thing since the explosion, the night Lily and James died. They stood in front of the tall, iron gate, and looked ahead. She heard Harry take a deep breath as he stood beside her, and she took his hand. She could only imagine what he must have been going through, watching the one place where he had known family, and happiness, thinking what could have been, had things gone differently. He squeezed her hand tightly, after a few moments, and she turned to face him.

“I’m ready,” he said, a determined look on his face, his eyes still fixed on what was left of the house. “Let’s go.”

They had been camping for two days, going yet again through their plans, pulling out maps and books, trying to figure out where the other Horcruxes might be, and how to destroy them. Basilisk poison wasn’t exactly easy to find, after all.

Then, one afternoon, while they were lying outside, taking a break, she felt the coin she had been carrying in her pocket heat up. Mumbling something about wanting to check something in one of her books, she quickly stepped inside the tent and took the fake Galleon out of her pocket. The message was short, stating only the time for the meeting, so she guessed they would be meeting at the same place, the cabin in the woods. She was surprised he wanted her to meet him that very night, she hadn’t seen him since that night she had seen her parents.

It was a good thing Harry and Ron were rather tired, after a whole day of planning and researching, and they decided to go to bed earlier than usual, that way, they saved her the trouble of making up an excuse to leave.

She got up and paced the cabin again, for what must have been the twentieth time. She had been waiting for almost an hour, and he hadn’t shown up yet; she wasn’t sure whether she should feel worried or annoyed. She walked to the window, hoping to see something in the dark, when a loud thump made her jump.

“Fuck,” Draco muttered, as he pushed the door open and fell to the floor.

“You’re late,” she said coldly, angry because he had scared her, but forgot it as soon as she took a closer look at him. Hurriedly walking to his side, she helped him up and, although reluctantly, he let her take him to a nearby chair. “What happened to you?” she asked, taking in his face, covered I blood, and his shredded robes.

“What do you think?” he asked, smirking for a moment, and then wincing in pain.

“Oh, shut up,” she muttered, as she took a closer look at his wounds. “Did he do this?” she asked, after a few seconds, and they both knew who she was referring to.

“Of course not,” he answered with a snort. “I’m not important enough; he just gave the order.”

“But why?”

“I’m not giving him any new information, and with Severus back in the Order, I’m hardly useful. Ouch!” he said, wincing and trying to get away from her.

“Would you stop that?” she said, exasperated. “I’m trying to help you here, you know?”

“Well, it hurts.”

“Just stop whining and stay still, so I can finish faster,” she said, her wand slowly moving over his face, healing the cuts and bruises. “You were working with Snape, right? Why didn’t he help you?”

“Because he probably suspects I don’t trust him, and doesn’t…What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to help you,” she sighed. “Now stop moving, so I can get these robes off you and heal your back.”

“I love it when you get bossy,” he whispered by her ear as she leaned closer to unbutton his robes, and she blushed slightly, but didn’t let him distract her.

It took her over ten minutes to heal all the cuts, and he hadn’t stopped complaining once. She was glad she had finished, another minute and she would be the one causing the wounds instead of healing them.

“I have to give him something,” he muttered, standing up and turning to her as he buttoned his robes.

“I don’t have any information.”

“Did you find out where the prisoners are?” he asked, and she shook her head. “Isn’t there anything you can get from the Order without Severus knowing?”

“I haven’t seen anyone from the Order in days.”

He looked at her for a moment, as if he was about to say something else, but then sighed and walked to the window.

“If I don’t contact you again, remember to keep an eye on Severus. He will betray you all if you give him the chance,” he said, looking out of the cabin.

“Tell him we’ve left,” she said, after a few moments of silence.

“What?”

“He will find out soon enough, anyway, and it will be a good thing, if it keeps him away from the rest of the Order,” she mumbled.

“What are you talking about?”

“Ron, Harry and me, we’ve left the Order. We think they’ll be safer if we stay away.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, Harry is the main target, isn’t he?”

“But where…?”

“We’re just moving around,” she said, before he could finish asking.

“If I tell him that…”

“He should leave you alone, at least for the time being,” she interrupted.

“He’ll start looking for you, if he knows you’re unprotected.”

“We’ll be fine.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, turning to her again.

“You’ve helped me, it’s only fair,” she answered, with a shrug.

“You’re putting yourself in danger,” he said, as he stepped closer.

“Nothing new there,” she said, dismissively. “You don’t have to go back, you know?” she said, after a few moments.

“Yes, I do.”

“You could go to the Order, they could protect you.”

“They would never help me, and even if they did, it would mean my family would be killed.”

“You could bring them too.”

“Thank you,” he said, with a half smile, “but I can’t do that. All I can do is help your side defeat him, and then hope I won’t be sent to Azkaban, or worse.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” she muttered, but he didn’t answer.

“Yes, it does,” he said, with a sad smile, and then leaned closer and brushed his lips against hers. It only lasted a second, and she didn’t even have time to react. “I should go now,” he said, walking to the door. “He’ll be looking for you now, so be careful,” he said, thanking her again before opening the door and Apparating away.

She didn’t tell Harry or Ron about Malfoy, of course, but made sure protective charms and wards were always in place, and in the last three days they had already moved twice. They were starting to think she was paranoid, but she preferred that to actually having to explain the truth.

Ever since that night she had seen her parents again, she had redoubled her efforts at trying to find a way to remember, and after almost a week, she decided it was time to do something more than research.

The idea had been in the back of her mind for some time, ever since she had heard about the potion she had supposedly brewed for Harry so he could find the Horcruxes.

It had been curiosity at first; she hadn’t ever read about anything like it, and as good as she was at Potions, she just doubted she could simply come up with something like that, especially in just a few months. But the last few days, however, she had started wondering what would happen if she took it. If it worked with Harry, showing him things he couldn’t remember otherwise, then why not with her? The memories were already there, after all.

So she made her decision. There were still a few bottles left, and she would only try once, so there would still be enough for Harry. He had told her he had to focus on what he wanted to see, and then take the potion, but focusing on something she couldn’t remember wasn’t easy.

Faking a yawn, she got up and went to her bedroom, leaving the boys at the table, quietly playing Wizard Chess. She went over the things she knew about the last two months, which weren’t many, and then focused on the very last thing she could remember, a warm afternoon, and her walking to headquarters for a meeting.

Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the bed, the small bottle firmly in her hand. Harry had told her it had taken a few tries before he managed to see something useful, but she would only try it once, so she took a few more minutes to concentrate before uncorking the bottle and drinking the potion. Not a moment had passed before she fell back on the bed, eyes closed. She didn’t see the light in the tent turn red, warning them someone was trying to break through the wards.

Harry and Ron did notice, however, and were on their feet in an instant, wands raised, ready to attack whoever was trying to get in. With a wave of his wand, Harry dimmed the lights, and then motioned for Ron to step to the side, so they would be in a better position to both attack the intruders and defend themselves.

They felt the whole tent shake around them, as the different wards started to fall.

“Wait until the door opens,” Harry whispered to Ron, who nodded in return.

The shaking got worse, things started falling to the ground, and then it suddenly stopped. Another moment and the door was thrown open, a figure standing there, wand ready.

“Expelliarmus,” Harry yelled, just as Ron yelled “Impedimenta,” but the figure screamed “Protego,” in the very last second, barely being pushed a few steps back by the force of the spells.

“Don’t fire,” the figure said then, raising both hands.

“Who are you?” Harry asked, and the figure by the door pushed back the hood covering his face.

“Malfoy?” Ron asked, and then yelled “Expelliarmus,” but Draco deflected it easily this time.

“Where is she?” he asked then.

“Who?”

“Hermione, I need to talk to her,” answered.

“You’re not going anywhere near her. How did you get here?” Harry asked, a few sparks flying from his wand.

“That’s not important, we don’t have time,” he answered briskly. “The others are coming.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Death Eaters, they’ve found out were you are, and are on their way.”

“And what, they sent you ahead?” Ron asked, stepping closer menacingly.

“I would have thought you would have figured it out by now, Weasel. I’m her contact, the one that’s been working with her.”

“How do we know that’s true?”

“I already told you, there’s not time for stupid questions, they’ll be here any minute. Now, where is she?” he asked, and at that very moment they hear her cry out loudly. Harry turned around and ran to the bedroom, but as Draco tried to follow, Ron stopped him.

“You stay right where you are,” he said in a low voice, standing between him and her bedroom door.

“Ron, come here,” Harry yelled after a few moments, and he did, Harry’s worried tone making him forget all about Malfoy. “I can’t get her to wake up,” he yelled, as Ron reached him. He was shaking Hermione, but she just kept screaming.

“What did she take?” Draco asked, as he stood beside them and reached for the empty bottle lying on the floor.

“Oh, damn,” Harry muttered, calling her name as he tried to wake her up.

“Just let go of her, there’s no time for that.”

“Shut it, ferret,” Ron said angrily.

“When they come, they have to find you here, or they’ll know someone warned you. Just stay here, throw a few hexes at them, and then get away from this place. They’ll set anti-Apparition wards, but you could use a Portkey,” he muttered, as he walked around the room, trying to find something suitable. “You do know how to make one, right?” he asked, as he walked back to them. Harry had turned to him, a slightly surprised look on his face now, and he nodded.

“I’ll take her with me,” Draco said then, pointing his wand at one of her books, and muttering, “Portus,” and stopped them as they were about to protest. “If it gets out of hand, do you really want her here? She is helpless like this,” he said, kneeling beside her. “I’ll take her to you as soon as she wakes up. I expect she will know where to find you?” he asked, and Harry nodded; Ron was still by her side, trying to wake her up.

They heard loud noises outside, the lights turning red again, and Harry and Ron stood up, looking from Hermione to Draco, as if trying to decide what to do. They were saved the trouble when Draco reached for Hermione’s bag, then took her arm and touched the Portkey.