Serpent in the Lion's Den

15. The Hoot of an Owl

{Suddenly a twig snapped somewhere outside the tent made both wizards jump. Hermione struggled up from underneath Draco, pulling the blanket back up across her chest,

"What was that?" Hermione whispered, not taking her eyes away from the direction of which the sound had come. Draco turned his head back to Hermione and caught her chin with his hand, leaning down to kiss her,

"I'm sure it's just muggles Granger" he smirked but Hermione pushed him off and went to check through the entrance of the tent, taking the blanket with her and wrapping it around her half-naked body. Draco sat down on the bed in frustration, however that quickly turned to mirror Hermione's look of fear when she tiptoed back to him. Her eyes glistened with fear, her hands shook and she had to take a deep breath in order to speak clearly.

"Werewolves."}

"Granger we need to leave. Now!" Draco yelled as he threw all their belongings wildly into Hermione's bag before he turned around to see Hermione pointing her wand at his face, "Granger what the -"

"Just stay still Malfoy I need to glamour us both, we are too recognisable like this and will get caught quicker than you can say Voldemort! And keep your voice down my silencing wards aren't as strong as the rest" she whispered.

She flicked her wand towards Draco's head then passed Draco the wand so he could change her appearance as well. Both turned toward the mirror simultaneously, Hermione's once bushy, light brunette hair was now straight, dark brown and floated down to her waist. Her face looked like someone had splashed freckles across not just her cheeks where they had previously been but across her entire face, framing her now green eyes. Draco's hair was a few shades darker than Hermione's new hair and was slightly shorter too, his grey eyes were now a piercing blue and his cheekbones were slightly less defined.

"Merlin... I don't recognise myself" Hermione blurted as she took in her new temporary appearance, "and as nice as this hair is not the best for running Draco" she laughed as she took her wand back and flicked it into two neat Dutch braids. Draco stood behind her, his cheek brushing against her own,

"I thought the point was to not look like ourselves Granger, and I must say the hair suits you... but I much prefer the normal you, now let's go, leave the tent it will provide us a few more minutes as they search it"

"Okay let's go Draco" Hermione paused; she hadn't called him his name entirely, disregarding their interaction in the tent when she hadn't been fully focussed. They'd got used calling each other by their surnames as a way to keep distant but, taking into account what could've escalated in the tent, this basis was somewhat out the window. Draco seemed startled at first but smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her out the tent as she scourgified the tent, getting rid of their scent and trace.

The second Hermione banished the wards surrounding their small camping site dark magic filled the air. Hermione felt as though she were drowning in the heavy aroma of death, it reminded her of the room in the ministry of magic where Death Eaters had ambushed them and Bellatrix had killed Sirius. She turned to her side where Draco was seemingly undisturbed by the evil that lingered around them, Hermione realised that with Bellatrix for an aunt and Lucius for a father, this was no new feeling to him.

The edge of the forest was bright and straight ahead, both wizards were walking quickly rather than running, to avoid loud noises and turned slightly to look back at the tent they'd shared for the past few weeks. Both wizards had become closer in that tent and silently both were sad to see it go, until they saw the large, overbearing figure of Fenrir Greyback walk into the clearing, followed by seven werewolves. Hermione's breath caught in her throat, she recognised him from the night Dumbledore died and Draco's grip on her hand became so tight it was painful.