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More Important Things	By : twitchelittleferret Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Harry/Hermione Views: 15269 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 29
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A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK
Rowling, I�m only using the characters to have fun with. Wouldn�t the money be great though?

The Unexpected Guest

My dad he
gave me a name

Then he
walked away

Daddy gave me
a name

Then he walked away

My dad gave
me a name

Father of
mine

Tell me where
have you been

I just closed
my eyes

And the world
disappeared

Father of
mine

Tell me how
do you sleep

With the
children you abandoned

And the wife
I saw you beat

I will never
be safe

I will never
be sane

I will always
be weird inside

I will always
be lame

(Father of
Mine—Everclear)

~*~

�Okay.�

�Okay.�

�Right, then.�

�Right.�

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville stood in a semi-circle
around the silver cup with water inside.
Hermione had gotten the idea, trying to break the horcrux by putting it
with water again. Now they stood
in the drawing room, alone, with Ginny and Luna out to Diagon Alley for some
last minute holiday shopping. They
stood there wondering who was brave enough to drink from the cup, their wands
were drawn and at the ready in case something, and most likely, went horribly
wrong.

�Wait,� Ron said, �how do we know this will work?�

Hermione shook her head. �I don�t know if it will. This is just a stab in the dark. We have to start somewhere, why not with what worked last
time?� Ron nodded his head
slightly as if in agreement.

�Okay,� she let out a breath and reached out for the
cup.

�No,� Harry said firmly as he reached out and snatched her
wrist.

�Harry!� she protested. �What are you doing?�

�I don�t want you to drink from it. What if it works?� he said.

�That�s kind of how it�s supposed to work,� she reminded
him.

�Not you. I
don�t want you doing this.�

Hermione gaped at him.
�Harry, you can�t stop me from trying to help you.�

�Wanna bet?� he challenged her.

Neville looked between Hermione and Harry and Ron, whose
attention was on his two best friends.
Summoning his Gryffindor courage he reached out and grabbed the cup,
touching his lips to the cool metal and drinking the water inside.

The trio, startled at what he had done, held their
breaths.

Neville looked at them then shook his head. �Nothing, sorry.�

A collective sigh came from the group, happy that nothing
had happened to Neville, frustrated that they had to come up with something
new.

�I think Hermione may be onto something when she said that
maybe a specific potion would be needed,� Harry said grimly.

�Can you think of anything in Voldemort�s past or present, a
potion that has some sort of significance?� Hermione asked him.

Automatically, Harry�s hand went touched the crook of his
other arm. �One but I seriously
doubt that is it,� he said quietly.
Hermione reached out and held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

�I�m going to keep checking in the books. There must be something we can try,�
she said determinedly.

They heard the front door open and Harry quickly took the
cup and left to hide it, Ron and Neville sat down on opposite ends of the
chessboard and Hermione plopped down onto a sofa to read.

�Hey guys,� Ginny said cheerfully as she and Luna entered
the room. Their cheeks and noses
were red and they still had snowflakes that were melting on their hair. �You should�ve come with us.�

Ron wrinkled his nose.
�Shopping�s not really my thing,� he replied.

�Whatever,� she sighed and plopped down next to
Hermione. �So, anything exciting
happen in this house while we were away?�

~*~

Harry came out of his bathroom after his shower, rubbing his
damp hair with a towel. Hermione
was on his bed, thumbing through a book.

�There�s got to be something in here,� she said to him. She was wearing a dark violet slip with
pink lace trimming. Her creamy
smooth legs rested the length of the bed, crossed at the ankles, her hair fell
in soft curls.

�No luck?� he asked.

�Not yet,� she muttered and turned the page.

Harry crawled up onto the bed and plucked the book from
her. �Then try again tomorrow,� he
whispered before capturing her lips in a kiss. She moaned softly and brought her hands up to his shoulders,
feeling the damp skin beneath her fingertips. Harry dropped the book off the side of the bed then placed
both his hands on her hips, sliding her down the bed to rest on her back. Conveniently, the action caused the
slip to bunch at her hips and he became delirious with delight when he
discovered she wasn�t wearing anything underneath. Hermione breathed him in, smelling the fresh clean smell of
his soap and running her hands through his damp hair. He moved one hand from her hip and lifted his own hips
slightly to remove the towel that separated them. He placed his hand against her and murmured the charm.

He moaned softly in her ear as he slid into her warmth, one
hand slid under her and curled to rest on her shoulder, the other moved from
her hip, up her thigh, hooking it on his hip before sliding back down to rest
on the mattress next to her for better leverage. She brought her other thigh up, arching her chest to him as
he kissed her neck, moving from one side to the other.

�Harry,� she whimpered softly as he moved against her,
filling her, moving back and forth within her.

He was losing himself in her oblivion. The friction of her inner thighs
against his hips sent desire flushing through him. The coolness in the room soothed the heat that was coming
from him from his exertion. The
smooth satin of her slip against the skin of his chest felt wonderful and he
brought his hand up to brush against her hardened nipple. Her mouth was hot and wet as he
plundered it, mirroring the velvety softness that surrounded his cock as he moved
in and out of her.

Her fingers tightened their grip on his arms, the telltale
sign that she was very near coming and he broke their kiss to pick up his own
pace. �Oh!� she cried out softly
as he felt her walls around him become wetter and tighter, clasping him as he
thrust into her a few more times before finally releasing himself.

He rested between her trembling thighs to catch his breath
as she gently stroked his hair. He
felt absolutely and blissfully spent, letting his eyes droop as he rested his
head on her chest. He could hear
her heart beating loudly and quickly.

�Harry?�

His eyes opened wide and met Hermione�s. �Shit, that�s Tonks!� he hissed as he
unceremoniously pulled out of Hermione.
She quickly scrambled off the bed and dove under it as Harry called
out. �Just a mo, I just got out of
the shower!� He pulled on a pair
of sweatpants and opened the door.
Thank Merlin his hair was still wet and he wrapped the towel around his
neck.

�Yeah?� he asked, hoping that he didn�t look too
guilty. Hermione stayed quiet
under the bed. She moved her hand
that was resting on something when it caught her eye, a folder marked Case
2574991. Curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the file.

�Shacklebolt is downstairs. He said he wanted to talk to you about tomorrow�s training
or something,� Tonks said.

Harry closed his eyes.
�Oh I forgot he was coming by tonight!� he said as he closed the door
behind him.

Hermione scooted out from under the bed and placed the file
on top of it. In front of her lay
pictures, presumably taken from a muggle surveillance camera, of her and Draco
in the muggle jewelry shop.
Hermione stared at them a moment before brushing them aside to read a
report underneath them.

�The victim claimed to be attacked by a diamond choker
necklace received from a Mr. and Mrs. Kensington�,� she murmured. She looked up, �Draco!� she hissed
angrily and closed the file, stuffing it back under the bed.

She went to the door and opened it. There were voices coming from
downstairs, Harry and Shacklebolt were talking in the drawing room. Hermione tiptoed past, peeking inside
to see the two of them huddled over a stack of papers. She slipped down the steps, careful not
to step on the squeaky ones as she went by the coat rack and retrieved her pink
trench and a pair of clogs. She quickly
opened the door and slipped out.

*

She ran through the halls of Hogwarts, skidding to a stop
outside of the Slytherin portrait door and retrieved her Head Girl badge to put
it into the slot. There was no one
in the common room, those that had stayed behind for the holidays must all be
upstairs in bed. She went up the
stairs to Draco�s room and opened the door. She quickly found herself yanked inside then spun around, a
wand pressed to her throat.

�For crying out loud, Granger!� Draco exclaimed as he
lowered his wand, Hermione lowered hers as well. �What are you doing here?�

Hermione pushed him away from her. �Deal�s off, Draco,� she hissed. �I want to be released from our binding spell.�

Draco took in her appearance, pink trench open to reveal a
satin slip underneath that fell mid-thigh. �You came all this way to tell me this?� he asked.

�The muggle jeweler we went to was attacked by a diamond
choker in your mother�s collection,� she explained angrily.

�What?!� He had the nerve to look genuinely surprised.

�I�m under investigation by the aurors, so are you! Draco, that�s a serious offense. We
could go to a wizarding prison because of this!� she shrieked.

�My mum doesn�t own jewelry such as that. They lower the value of them, she only
likes genuine gems,� he replied.

�Why should I believe you?� she sneered. �You�re a Malfoy!� she spat and he
winced. �You pride yourselves on
harming and degrading muggles and, and mudbloods!�

He grabbed her forearms and yanked her against him. �Never speak ill of me or my mother,� he said in a slow and threatening
voice.

Hermione didn�t back down as she gazed up at him
fiercely. �I want out of this
arrangement,� she said firmly.

�They�re called Unbreakables for a reason,� he replied
coolly. �Believe me, if I knew how
to release you from it, I would.
I�m getting sick of associating myself with a mudblood as yourself.�

�I could tell when you kissed me the other night,� she
narrowed her eyes as she said this.

Draco looked at her for a long time before releasing a quiet
snort. �Believe me, that will never happen again.�
He let her go, taking in her appearance one last time. �You�d better get going. I�m sure Potty�s bed is getting cold.�

SLAP!!!

Her hand stung slightly where she had made contact with his
cheek. His cheek was slowly
turning pink as he stared at her with an unreadable look on his face. She stepped away from him and turned to
flee.

Draco turned and placed both hands on his desk. �Fuck!� he swore and wiped everything
off of it. He grabbed his cloak
and a small package with a card on it, both tied together with red and green
ribbon and he left his room.

Hermione was too far ahead of him, he heard her apparating
as he reached the cellar of Honeydukes.
He covered his tracks and made his way to the alley where he too
apparated.

The alley in London that he usually apparated to was only a
few blocks away from the hotel where his mother was staying. It was a quiet night, snow fell
silently and Draco watched it for a brief moment before continuing on his
way. But almost immediately, he
sensed that he was not alone. From
the shadows in front of him, stepped out a familiar figure.

�Hello, Draco,� said the cool voice of his father.

*

Harry and Shacklebolt were still in the drawing room when
she tiptoed past. She was upset
and tired and welcomed the comfort of her own bed, slipping under the comforter
and wrapping herself within it.
She slowly began to cry herself to sleep. But it was a fitful and restless sleep. She only settled down when she felt the
mattress sink behind her as Harry slipped in and wrapped an arm around her
waist. Only then did she become
calm enough to fall into a deep sleep when she heard his rhythmic breathing of
rest.

~*~

�CRUCIO!!!�

�Aaaah!� Harry exclaimed as he sat upright, grabbing his
scar.

�Harry, what is it?� Hermione said, startled from her
sleep. He could see the grey dawn
of early morning in her window.

�Lucius,� he replied.
�Voldemort was very angry with Lucius Malfoy,� he gasped.

�What?� she gasped.
�Harry, I thought you cleared your mind last night.�

�I did but he can still punch through if he�s really angry
about something,� he said with slight irritation. �Sorry,� he muttered immediately.

�We should tell Lupin,� she advised but Harry shook his
head.

�I don�t think it was that important,� he said. �Whenever Voldemort is pissed at his
own Death Eaters, that�s good news for us.�

Hermione stared at him.

�What?� he asked.
�Look, I�ll tell him later.
I�m not going to over and knock on his door this early in the morning
for this.� Hermione continued to
look at him. �I swear I�ll tell
him!�

Satisfied, Hermione lay back down with him, nestling her
head on his chest as he wrapped an arm around her. Soon, she could tell he was asleep and if he could fall
asleep that easy, maybe it really wasn�t a big deal. Okay, well, it was a big deal but just not that big of a deal.

Harry snuck out of Hermione�s room a few hours later and
tiptoed down the hall. He had just
about reached Ron�s room when the door opened and Luna snuck out. She jumped when she saw him and Harry
quickly covered her mouth as she let out a yelp of surprise.

�Shh!� he whispered and they both stayed silent for a moment
until Harry removed his hand.

�Hi,� she whispered awkwardly, both of them soooo busted.

�Hi,� he whispered back, fidgeting slightly.

�So, I hear we�re having French toast for breakfast,� she
said, breaking the silence.

�Oh, I like toast,� he replied.

�Okay.�

�Yeah.�

They both moved past each other and on their way. Although, Harry could swear that she
was faintly humming �Weasley is Our King�. He gave a silent thumbs up to Ron�s door.

It was a crowded table that morning for breakfast as the
Weasley twins and their parents flooed in to join them as Molly brought the
food. But everyone was in good
spirits and as Harry looked around the table at his friends, the Weasleys,
Tonks and Lupin laughing and smiling and Hermione, beautiful at his side, he
wanted to capture this moment forever, keep it forever locked in his memory and
in his heart.

�Check out the newest decorations!� George said proudly, as
he presented a small box at the table.

�We�ve nearly sold out of them and we put them out
yesterday!�

Hermione took out one of the ornaments, a miniature Santa
elf that stuck its tongue out at her then turned around and mooned her. Harry nearly sprayed his drink all over
the table.

�You can�t put these on the tree!� she exclaimed.

�Oh, they�re brilliant!� Harry said cheerfully, taking
another one out that made a rude gesture at him with its tiny middle finger.

�Lupin! Tonks! Potter!� Kingsley�s voice rang out in the kitchen, bringing
everything to a standstill.

�What is it?� Tonks replied, not hiding her dread.

�We have an incident at Hogwarts,� he replied and gasps came
from the students at the table as they all stood.

�What?!�

�What happened?!�

Kingsley held up a hand, gesturing for silence. �Draco Malfoy is missing from the
castle.�

�Oh�is that all?� Ron replied uncaringly as the faces around
the table relaxed. Except
one. Hermione slowly sat down as
Harry watched her.

�I need you three up there,� Kingsley ordered them and they
reluctantly left the jovial atmosphere at the table.

Out in the foyer, Harry put on his jacket. His eyes fell on Hermione�s coat. Looking around him, he slipped a hand
inside one pocket and then the other, pulling out her shiny Head Girl
badge. He dropped it back inside
then followed the others out of the door.

�The students say that they saw him at dinner last night and
then again in the common room where he retired to his room. One student says she heard a commotion
in his room around ten o�clock that night, shouting. His voice and a young lady�s voice before she heard a door
slam. There was a loud clatter
after that and then nothing.�
Kingsley explained to them as they made their way.

�Fight with a girlfriend?� Lupin asked.

�Maybe but none of the young women have stepped forward as
the other voice in the argument,� Kingsley shook his head.

�The portrait door?� Tonks asked.

�Vaguely remembers opening the door several times but to let
people out, not in.�

�Has anyone verified Ernie MacMillan�s whereabouts?� Lupin
asked. �When you use the Head Boy
or Girl badges, the doors automatically open, no password needed.�

�I�ll check in with his family. I believe he said they were in Switzerland, skiing,� Tonks
offered.

�And Hermione?� Kingsley asked as Lupin and Tonks both
scoffed at the notion.

�She was at Grimmauld,� Harry answered.

�Yes but all night?� he asked.

Harry shifted uncomfortably. He hated lying, he wasn�t sure, really. �Yeah, um, all night.� Thankfully, his lie was masked as
awkwardness at having to admit that he was with Hermione all night.

~*~

Hermione hung up the delicate glass ornament on the enormous
tree in the drawing room. She
looked up at the clock in the room.
Harry and the others had been gone half the day already. To pass the time, she made herself busy
by decorating the tree, the others joined her soon after. They were laughing and joking but she
just couldn�t bring herself to join in.
Guilt ate at her. Was she
the last to speak to Draco? Did
she say something that made him go out and do something stupid?

The distant sound of the front door opening brought her out
of her misery and she shook her head and picked up another ornament.

�MUNDUNGUS!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?� they heard Molly shriek.

There was a loud moan of pain after that and the group
scrambled out of the drawing room.

�Oh my God!� Luna gasped.

Molly and Mundungus were hovering over a pale young man
covered in blood and moaning.
Hermione grabbed on to the railing to steady herself. It was Draco.

�Have you gone mad?!� Ron said as he thundered down the
steps.

�Why did you bring�him
here?!� George said, hot on his heels.

�I couldn�t just leave him to die in the alley,� Mundungus
defended himself.

�But you�re not supposed to apparate someone in this
condition! You�ve made his
injuries worse!� Molly scolded.

Hermione found her strength and bustled down the
stairs. She knelt down next to
Draco who was still moaning. His
eyes fell on her.

�Hermione,� he cried in a soft whisper. She looked up at everyone standing
there.

�Somebody go and find Harry!� she ordered. �And bring Madame Pomfrey right
away. We can�t take him to St.
Mungo�s in this condition.� Draco
reached out for her, coughing up blood as he did so. �Draco,� she said to him in a stern but gentle voice. �It�s very important that you do not
move, okay?� She looked back up at
everyone. �GO!� Everyone scattered.

She was left alone with him. Her knee was by his side and she looked down to see an odd
shape in his pocket. She gingerly
reached in and pulled out a wrapped package with an envelope wrapped in red and
green ribbon. There was only one
word on the card: Mum. Hermione bit her lip. He left to give his mother her
Christmas present. She took the
package and stuffed it underneath her sweater as she heard people coming back.

�Can we give him anything?� Ginny asked, looking down at him
as he winced in pain.

Draco raised his head and coughed, spraying out blood as
Ginny, Luna, Neville and Ron jumped back.
He moaned loudly. With
trembling hands, Hermione ripped open his shirt and the girls gasped.

His chest was black and blue, and as she peeled back the
shirt, blood poured out of a cut on his lower left side. Instinctively, she placed her hand on
it, putting pressure on it and ignoring the sticky warmth that flowed beneath
her hand.

�Somebody give me something!� she called out to her
friends. �A clean rag or
something.�

Neville quickly took off his sweater then tugged the t-shirt
underneath off, handing that to Ginny who snatched it and did a quick cleaning
charm on it before giving it to Hermione.

�I�ve never seen someone die,� Ron said softly when he saw
Hermione�s blood covered hand when she put the t-shirt over Draco�s deep
wound. Draco hissed in pain.

�Shut up, Ron,� Hermione said softly. �He�s not going to die,� she whispered.

The front door opened and the rest of the morning�s company
came running in accompanied by Madame Pomfrey. Harry stared down at Draco bleeding in the foyer and he was
forcibly reminded of the time that he cast the Sectumsempra curse on him.

�Oh my goodness!� Madame Pomfrey shrieked. �What happened?�

�I found him like this in the alley,� Mundungus
explained. �I couldn�t leave him
there bleeding to death so I brought him here.�

�You shouldn�t have apparated him,� Molly hissed.

�You apparated?� Madame Pomfrey looked at him. �His injuries could be worse. Let�s move him to a bed, gently,� she
emphasized.

Hermione moved over as Arthur, Mundungus, Kingsley and Lupin
stepped forward. �On three,� Lupin
said. �One�two�three.�

Draco groaned loudly as they moved him carefully up the
stairs to an empty bedroom that Madame Pomfrey could work in. The others followed behind and watched
as they rested him on the bed.

Hermione looked over at her friends standing in the doorway,
watching what was going on. Draco
reached out and grabbed her wrist.
�Don�t leave�Hermione,� he coughed. �I don�t want to die.�
Hermione looked back to Harry, seeing his face for only a moment before
Molly shut the door.

~*~

It was quiet in the drawing room as the Gryffindors and Luna
sat, doing their best to keep their minds off the dying teen in the room across
the hall. The door would open once
in awhile when Molly would go and get hot water and clean towels. In that small moment when the door was
opened, they could hear Draco crying out.

�Who do you think did that to him?� Luna asked softly.

�Who cares?� Ron shrugged, although it was said without
conviction.

Harry was sitting behind a desk, quiet and pensive, with his
feet propped up on it. He wasn�t
sure how long he had left Hermione last night to talk to Shacklebolt but was it
enough time for Hermione to sneak out of the house and up to Hogwarts?

The door across the hall opened and Lupin, Mr. Weasley,
Shacklebolt and Mundungus filed out.
The teens stood, except for Harry as Lupin walked in.

�Is he�,� Neville asked, unable to finish the sentence.

�No,� Lupin replied.
�He�ll recover although it will take some time. Madame Pomfrey has given him a powerful
sleeping draught. He�ll not wake
up until sometime tomorrow.�

�He�s staying here until then?� Harry asked. Lupin shifted uneasily. �Do you think that�s wise?�

�Harry we can�t move him to St. Mungo�s just yet.�

Harry frowned and got to his feet. �Where�s Hermione?�

�She�s down the hall in the loo cleaning up.� Harry nodded and set out to find her.

He could hear the water running from the other side of the
door and he slowly opened it.
Hermione was standing in front of the sink, vigorously washing her
hands. The white porcelain was
stained with splashes of pink.
Harry stepped in and closed the door behind him.

�Are you okay?� he asked, leaning against the wall next to
her.

�I�m fine,� she answered automatically. Harry looked down and saw that her
hands were red and raw from the hot water and the repeated washing with the
soap.

�Hermione,� he said.
She seemed to ignore him.
�Hermione,� he repeated.
She still ignored him. He
reached over and turned off the faucet and grabbed her hands. �They�re clean, Hermione,� he said,
turning her to face him.

Her lower lip trembled and her face crumpled as she
collapsed on the floor in tears.
Harry sat down on the floor with her.

�They, uh,� he began slowly, �they said that he had a
visitor last night. A Slytherin
third year heard him arguing with a girl in his room.� He paused a moment and Hermione
sniffled, filling the silence.
�Was that you?� he asked.

She didn�t say anything for the longest time and Harry
considered go about another way but she finally spoke up. �I asked him to�negate, to go back on,
what we,� she gestured between the two of them, �talked about awhile ago.�

Harry sighed.
�You asked him to release you from your Fidelius or Unbreakable? Oh, Hermione�� He reached out to her,
bringing her into his arms. He had
asked some of the best aurors about those charms and vows and so far, no one
had given him any hope on how to break her free from him.

�Sometimes when we feel cornered and trapped we do things
that�we regret later on,� he said to her.
�We lash out and--.�

�I didn�t do this to him,� she looked up at him
fiercely. �I swear I didn�t. You know I couldn�t do something like
this.�

Harry looked at her.
It was so easy to think that she would do something like that because
Harry had daydreamed about pummeling the shit out of the ferret since he had
learned that he had Hermione in a bind.

�Did he say who did this to him?� he asked.

Hermione shook her head. �He couldn�t say much but�I think I have an idea who,� she
looked up at him. �His father,�
she finished. Harry let Hermione�s
guess sink into him.

�The things I said to him when I left,� she sniffled softly.

Harry cradled her face in his hands. �Hermione, look at me,� he said. �You always want to see the best in
people, to believe that there is some good in them.� Hermione closed her eyes and let a tear fall as her lip
trembled. �It�s one of the things
about you that�s�you. A part of
you that I admire.� He smiled softly at her before his face became serious
again. �But there are some people
in this world who are what they are and you cannot change them. There are people out there that do not
have any good inside them. Trust
me, I know,� he said grimly. �And
I don�t want to see you destroy yourself by wasting the goodness in you on
them. It�s a waste of a precious
gift.�

That night, Hermione couldn�t sleep. Images of Draco bleeding his life out
before her eyes were permanently etched in her mind. Many times she had visited Harry in the hospital wing, his
body bruised and battered and it ate at her, tugged at her heartstrings. But never before could she think it was
possible for a father to do that to his own son. She was sure it was Lucius, the way he and his mother spoke about
him, the hardness in Draco�s grey eyes when he spoke about him. Lucius was searching for Narcissa for
whatever reason and would use her Achilles heel, their son, to smoke her out. How any parent could do that to their
own child was beyond her. She
thought of her own happy childhood filled with warm and pleasant memories of
her parents. She thought of what
Ron�s must have been like with parents that loved him like the Weasleys. She thought of the stolen one that
should have been Harry�s with his parents, the happy one filled with love
instead of the cold and abusive one with the Dursleys. She thought of Draco�s and wondered if
that was how his childhood had been.

She gave up on sleep and tossed off the covers, the cool air
causing her skin to goosebump. She
put on a robe and some slippers and left her room, tiptoeing down the
stairs. She opened the door to the
room where Draco was staying and found Madame Pomfrey was awake and quietly
reading a book.

�Hello Miss Granger,� she said in a quiet voice. Hermione smiled slightly then her eyes
shifted to the bed. �The first
twenty-four hours are critical,� Madame Pomfrey explained. �I want to be sure all the potions and
charms are indeed working.�

�How is he?� she asked.

�He�s doing much better than I assumed he would,� she
replied.

Hermione nodded.
�Would it be okay if I stayed and visited?� she asked.

�There�s a chair over there,� Madame Pomfrey said, nodding
to a chair in the corner. Hermione
walked over to it and sat down, curling her legs under her as she stared at the
still young man lying on the bed.

She must have fallen asleep at some point.

�Hermione.
Hermione, wake up,� Tonks said, gently shaking her. Hermione looked up at her, blinking
rapidly. She sat up straight in
the chair and looked around her.
Madame Pomfrey was gone but Mrs. Weasley was in her place. Draco was still lying silent and still
in the bed.

�What time is it?� she asked.

�Almost eight,� Tonks replied. �Breakfast is ready, are you hungry? Everyone is downstairs.�

She got out of the chair and stretched. �Yeah, I�ll go down.�

Everyone was indeed up and chatting away at the kitchen
table. She went to the cabinet,
got a plate and served herself some breakfast. She plopped herself down at an empty spot across from Harry
who slid a hot cup of coffee in front of her.

�Thank you,� she said to him.

He gave her a small smile. �You weren�t in your room this morning,� he said in a low
voice. �Rough night?�

�I couldn�t get back to sleep,� she replied. �Images of Draco bleeding to death are
forever etched in my mind.�

Harry frowned sympathetically. �I�m sorry you had to witness that. Images of death never really go away
and I�m not sure they get any easier over time,� he said in a far off
voice. �I guess you just sort of
expect the painful memory so it doesn�t seem as shocking anymore.�

Hermione knew he was speaking of his godfather and
Dumbledore, both murders he had witnessed. She reached out for him and he met her hand halfway across
the table, giving it a gentle squeeze.

~*~

He felt as if he were underwater. He could hear muffled voices and he felt as if he were
swimming in darkness, swimming toward the light above. Then he surfaced and his eyes fluttered
open.

He didn�t recognize this room. It was softly lit, there was wallpaper in the room decorated
in soft pink vertical stripes with little flowers on it. How tacky. His tongue felt thick and dry, there was a bitter taste in his
mouth and when he swallowed, his throat burned painful. But he was very thirsty.

�Where am I?� he said in a soft and raspy whisper. Two faces suddenly hovered over him,
Madame Pomfrey and�Weasley�s mum?!
His eyes widened with the realization that he was no longer in
Hogwarts. Images came at him in a
rush and he remembered his father�s sneering face, the Crucios delivered, the
boot that collided with his body, hitting his head, his ribs, his stomach, his
legs. He knew he was going to die
alone out there. Then he
remembered someone picking him up, he smelled strongly of tobacco. He felt himself apparating and then
pain, pain like his insides were being ripped out. He wanted to pass out from the pain but he was afraid that
he would never wake up.

Then he saw her face.
Hermione Granger�s face hovering above him and he clung to her like a
buoy in a turbulent sea. She had
blood on her and he knew it was his, how much had he lost? He remembered feeling very cold and the
pain, the pain. Then�darkness.

Now he felt as if he had awoken in some weird parallel
universe.

�Hermione?� he croaked.

Madame Pomfrey nodded to Mrs. Weasley who left the room.

�He�s awake,� Molly announced to those that were sitting in
the drawing room, carrying on in their usual evening activity. Harry and Hermione were sitting at a
table.

�Has he said anything?� Harry asked. �Does he know where he�s at?�

Molly shook her head as she walked to them and placed a
gentle hand on Hermione�s arm.
�He�s asked for you dear,� she said softly.

�Oh,� she replied and looked at Harry who shook his
head. �Um, okay,� she said uneasily
as she got to her feet and crossed the room, feeling all eyes on her. Harry stopped her just outside of the
room.

�What do you think you�re doing?� he hissed at her.

�What am I supposed to do, Harry?� she replied harshly,
yanking her arm from him.

She opened the door to the room, feeling Harry�s eyes
burning into her. Draco was
sitting up as Madame Pomfrey was giving him a cup of cool water.

�Easy�small sips,� she was saying to him.

Hermione stepped forward into view when he was done. He looked up at her then at Madame
Pomfrey. �Could we?� She nodded and left the room.

�I�ll be just outside,� she said and closed the door.

�Where am I?� Draco asked her as Hermione took a seat on a
chair by his bed.

�I can�t tell you,� she replied. �But you are safe here.� Although I would stay away from Harry at the moment.

�I have to get out of here,� Draco said. �You have to get me out of here.�

�Draco I can�t move you. Your injuries�you�re still healing. You could do some serious damage,� she
replied.

Draco shook his head.
�You don�t understand�I have to
leave. My father. He�ll find my mother.� He shook his head again and blinked his
eyes. �What�s the matter with me?�

�There�s a sleeping draught in the water,� she answered
him. �You need it to help you
heal.�

�I have to get out of here. My father found me only a few blocks away from my
mother. He�ll find her. I know it.� He was feeling very tired and his eyelids began to close
involuntarily.

�I�ll go,� Hermion said. �I�ll move her.�

Draco�s eyes shot open. �NO! Hermione
don�t! My father!� He felt as if he were being pushed
underwater again, the darkness overcoming him as he flailed wildly in his dream
state, screaming Hermione�s name, fighting to get to the surface.
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