Slow Grenade

Chapter Eleven

It took a few anxiety-filled hours before everyone had vacated the common room but, eventually, the last person headed up to their dormitory. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione began preparing to leave, they heard a quiet voice call out from the corner of the room.

"What are you doing?"

Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad. They attempted to persuade him that nothing untoward was about to happen, but he wasn't having any of it. Regretfully, Hermione cast a Full-Body Bind Curse and Neville fell to the floor. She felt awful, but there was nothing else to be done.

A few close calls later, the trio made it to the third-floor corridor. The door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," said Harry quietly. "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Hermione was pleased that she had made the decision to come with Harry and Ron; without her she really wasn't certain how far they would have gotten. After taking it in turns to play the flute they landed in Devil's Snare, which Hermione correctly identified and disposed of. She felt that Ron made far too much of a big deal about her brief panic regarding the lack of wood. He and Harry were the ones panicking so much that they almost caused the plant to grip them to death!

Following these two tasks, the boys were able to demonstrate their own skills and Hermione reluctantly admitted they did a far better job than she would have. The life-sized chess game had, however, left Ron too injured to consider moving any further, so Hermione and Harry continued alone. Despite the mortal peril they faced, Hermione was surprised to find she actually enjoyed the Potion task. What she didn't enjoy was leaving Harry to face whatever came next, by himself.

"But Harry, what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well, I was lucky once, wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing to his scar. "I might get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled and she flung herself towards Harry, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

"Look after yourself," she said, letting go and walking back the way she came.

It was on autopilot that Hermione roused Ron and the two made their way back to the third-floor corridor. He was rapidly fading by the time she managed to drag him out onto a staircase, and she was struggling to keep him upright.

Frantically Hermione wondered what she could do and whether 'Wingardium Leviosa' might be enough to carry him to the hospital wing, when she saw Draco racing towards her. Faint with relief, Hermione's knees gave way and she sank to the ground with an unconscious Ron draped over her shoulders.

Draco knelt quickly in front of her and whispered, "What in Merlin's name has happened to you?"

"There's no time to explain, we have to get an owl to Dumbledore right now."

"I'm not just leaving you here, Hermione!"

"You have – " she started.

"There will be no need for that, Miss Granger," a voice snapped from the shadows.

Hermione's eyes widened and Draco spun around, standing in front of her protectively.

"Professor Snape."

"Obviously," he said, drawing out each syllable. "As touching as this moment is I am sure, it would not do for the entire student population to witness it. Mr Malfoy go straight to the dungeons; I will escort Miss Granger and Mr Weasley to the hospital wing."

"But – " Hermione tried again.

"Do not test me tonight, Miss Granger. Professor Dumbledore is aware of the situation. Mr Malfoy, now."

Draco hesitated, the last thing he wanted to do was leave Hermione. Turning to look at her, she gave him a small nod. Draco gripped her hand briefly and tore himself away.

True to his word, Snape guided the two Gryffindors to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was already waiting for them and led Hermione to a cot encircled by blue curtains.

"Is Harry okay?" she asked.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Yes he is, but how you children get into such trouble I'll never know."

Hermione felt something release inside her. They were all okay. She sunk into her pillows and readily accepted the Dreamless Sleep potion offered to her.

It was a week later, on the last day of term, that Hermione was finally able to catch Draco alone and pull him into an empty classroom.

"Oh, Draco," she said, suddenly tearful.

He tried to be angry with her, he really did. He knew what to do with that feeling. Draco Malfoy could hate, and he could take comfort in lashing out. Anger made him feel powerful and in control, the complete opposite to what he had been feeling these past seven days. He wanted to hurt her. He never wanted to see her hurt again.

Draco didn't say anything.

"Please talk to me," she pleaded.

It almost broke him. "You... scared me."

Hermione moved towards him. "I'm so sorry you found us like that. But thank you. I don't know what I'd have done without you."

Draco couldn't handle it. He pushed his emotions away. "You'd have been fine," he said curtly. "Snape was almost there anyway."

A glimpse of hurt flashed through Hermione's wide eyes but it was gone within seconds. She nodded, taking a step back.

"I want to know everything," Draco told her.

They sat for a long time as Hermione took him through all that had occurred after she ran from him in the library. His heart pounded and the knot of anxiety that had taken residence in his stomach grew steadily. Could You-Know-Who really be back? Oh gods.

"And then, well, you know the rest," she finished. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," he ground out. "Potter and Weasley though are a different story. What were they thinking, the idiots, putting you in that position?"

Hermione was surprised at his reaction. "It was my choice, Draco."

"Then they shouldn't have let you go. How could they willingly put you in danger! Merlin, this had better not happen again."

"LET, let me go?" she shrilled.

Draco put his hands up in surrender. "It's just a lot to take in, okay?"

"I know, I'm sorry. Let's not fight, I won't see you for weeks now."

They stuck to easy topics from then, such as exam grades and summer plans. Gryffindor's unexpected defeat of Slytherin for the House Cup began to get heated before Draco made her laugh until she couldn't speak any more.

Eventually it was time to separate. Hermione hugged him before leaving and it felt more comfortable than her previous attempt last Christmas. He even managed to reciprocate with one of his own arms around her back.

The scent of vanilla lingered on his robes as she skipped from the room. It was going to be a long summer.