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Her lungs burned in painful agony as she forced her legs to keep moving, the forest passing by her in a blur as she raced through it. She'd seen Ron go down half a mile back, Harry still running on her left. She gripped the necklace around her neck tightly until the emerald cut into her palm, cursing under her breath as three Snatchers closed in around Harry.
Hermione snapped her wand towards her friend until he was knocked back, his face swelling uncomfortably with bright red bumps. She willed air into her lungs and moved further through the trees, pressing her back against a thick oak trunk safely in the distance. Tears filled her eyes as she watched her friends chained and pulled to their feet, Snatchers holding them tightly by their wrists and pocketing their wands.
They were bound and defenseless, and there was nothing she could do to save them. Before she even considered what spells she might know that could incapacitate that many Dark wizards, she felt strong arms wrap around her stomach.
His large hand clamped down around her mouth to stifle her scream before she breathed a sigh of relief at his familiar scent and turned around in his arms.
"Malfoy." she whispered, resting her forehead against his chest as her heart continued to race from the miles she'd run without a single pause.
"They touch you?" he asked gravely, dragging his hands over her face and tilting it up until she was looking at him.
Hermione shook her head, her eyes raw from exhaustion and tears.
Malfoy pulled her further into the forest, pressing her back against a towering tree as he watched the two Gryffindor's apparate in the Snatchers custody. "How the fuck did they manage to get caught but you didn't?" he asked, smoothing her hair gently before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She opened her mouth to answer but a knowing smirk appeared on his face. "You're a fast little thing, aren't you?" he whispered, pushing a single finger under her chin and capturing her mouth in a fierce kiss. "They'll take them to the Manor."
Hermione's eyes filled with horror, Malfoy shushing her with calming words. "I'll speak with my mother. We'll find a way to get them out."
She shook her head, panic vibrating through her body. "You can't compromise your position. They'll kill you."
"Give me a little more credit, Granger. I wont let that happen." Brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, he kissed her again, her arms tight around his waist.
"How did you know where I was?" she asked, pushing her hands under his cloak and slowly dragging them up his chest.
Malfoy touched the thin, silver chain around her neck and grabbed the bright, emerald pendent from under her shirt, letting it fall visibly against her chest. "I may have given this to you as a gift, but I had ulterior motives." he said, lazily rolling the priceless gem between his fingers.
Hermione's eyes zeroed in on the slate ring he always wore, subtle hints of emerald swirled through the ebony metal. "You must have touched it at some point because I felt your panic as clear as my own and I made an excuse to leave."
"The ring?" she questioned with curious eyes, touching the object around his finger.
He hummed in response, tucking the pendant back under the neckline of her shirt. "You will apparate to Hogwarts and tell Snape everything."
Her eyes narrowed and she started to argue but he cut her off with a chaste kiss. "Whatever you think you know about him, you're wrong. He knows what you mean to me, and I trust him with my life." he said against her lips. "He wont let anything happen to you."
She fisted his cloak in her small hands, pulling him down again. "You are not allowed to die." she breathed, slanting her mouth over his. "I love you."
"I love you." he uttered the words with relief, thankful he was able to say them at least once. "He'll be attacking the castle any day now. Trust Snape." he kissed her a final time before pulling away, her eyes glazed over with unshed tears as they stared back at him. "I'll find you when this is all over. I promise."
The space he'd once occupied was empty, Hermione sinking to her knees as emotions overtook her. Ron and Harry were gone, taken to the Manor to be tortured by the worst kind of Dark wizards. She was alone, stranded in the forest of Dean which use to hold such fond memories for her as a child. She was seventeen years old with no parents to remember her, the pain ripping through her chest like a hot blade.
When she finally apparated to the familiar castle, her cloak was cut to ribbons by the thorny bushes she'd run through, her jeans caked in mud. A handful of Gryffindor's welcomed her to the common room, but she brushed past them without a word, her lips pressed into a hard line. She waited until nightfall to conceal herself as best she could in the darkened halls, moving into the dungeons until she came upon the Slytherin common room. She knew the students inside would all be swarming to hand her over, but she had little choice but to chance it in hopes of finding the one man who could help her.
She slid through the iron door, the common room empty much to her relief. The stairs creaked beneath her feet and she winced with every step, hoping everyone would be sound asleep this time of night. Muttering a lesser known unlocking charm, the door to the boys dormitory swung open and she dragged her eyes across the room until she found the four poster bed squeezed into the far corner of the room.
Moving silently through the sea of other beds, she pulled her hood up to further conceal herself. Lowering herself into a crouch beside the recognizable wizard, she shook his shoulders before pressing a firm hand against his mouth.
"Shh." she whispered, looking around to make sure they hadn't been heard. "It's me." She brought her face clear into his line of sight, the dark skinned wizard swinging his legs over the side of the bed immediately upon recognizing her.
"Son of a bitch." Blaise said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Taking in her battered appearance, he grabbed his thick, gray sweatshirt from the side of the bed and pushed it into her arms. "What happened to you?"
Hermione explained in as few words as possible, making sure to let him know Draco was safe.
Blaise pulled the hoodie tight around her small frame and zipped it higher up her neck. "I'll distract the Carrow's first thing in the morning while they're in the Great Hall. Snape should still be in his office by then." he explained, pushing her towards the door while keeping his eyes on the shifting body of Theo Nott a few feet away. Once he fell back into a sound sleep, Blaise forced her back into the hallway while he remained in the thresh hold. "You need to understand that Malfoy would do anything to protect you. The most important thing you can do right now is stay safe so he doesn't blow his cover."
It was clear that a fight had broken out in the Great Hall, body's fleeing the spacious room as spells ricocheted off the walls, glass raining down on the students from above. Hermione slipped from her concealed spot beside Neville near the exit and raced down the stone steps towards the dungeons.
"Granger." her feet froze beneath her, the voice sending a chill straight down her spine. When she finally managed to move, she turned around slowly to find Gregory Goyle staring back at her. He'd grown into his large frame, more muscle then the years before. Her wand was clutched tightly in her hand, Blaise's hooded sweatshirt pulled over her head.
She warned him not to move, and when he took a step towards her, she whipped her wand through the air and knocked him to the ground with a powerful incantation. Dragging his unconscious body proved a difficult feat for her small frame, letting him drop to the ground outside of Snape's office as she banged on the door.
A muttered curse escaped the Headmasters lips as he yanked her into the room, waving his wand expertly over Goyle's lifeless body before slamming the door closed.
"Is Draco alive?" he asked gravely, his dark cloak billowing around him as he moved back behind his desk.
Hermione stood near the doorway, her lungs still burning from dragging such a large man only a few feet down the hall. She nodded fiercely, seeing the concern over his godsons safety clear in the older mans eyes.
"You will stay put with your housemates and attend your classes. You will take whatever punishment is doled out to you. And you will, under no circumstances, touch that necklace unless it is life or death." he shot his long index finger in her direction, pointing straight at her chest.
She only needed to tolerate her tedious school routine for a day and a half before thousands of spells bombarded the castle and she was free to openly fight beside her friends. She was reunited with Ron and Harry near the grand staircase, racing into their open arms with tears soaking both their shirts.
"We didn't know what happened to you." Harry breathed, squeezing her tightly against his body. "How did you make it out of the forest?"
Hermione shook her head, pulling away as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Spells flew all around them, her wand snapping to the side and shielding a deadly curse from a Death Eater a few feet away. "I'll explain everything later."
It wasn't until her and Ron stood outside in the destroyed courtyard that her heart finally felt cracked under the extreme pain flooding her chest. Harry was lifeless in Hagrid's arms as she clutched Ron's hand tightly, his own face slick with tears.
"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort bellowed, dark, sadistic cackling sounding all around them. Luna was just on the other side of her, the blonde looking more defeated then she'd ever seen her.
Hermione's knuckles were white against her skin as she gripped her wand powerfully, ready to die with whatever fight she had left in her. Snape strode effortlessly across the broken pavement with the ratty, old sorting hat in his hand, standing beside the powerful wizard with a cool expression. Turning his head, Snape lowered his voice and whispered a string of words into his masters ear.
"It has been brought to my attention that Harry Potter's foolish little friends are still with us." his voice called powerfully through the yard, his eyes scanning the sea of students all around him. "If you wish to die with any amount of dignity at all, you will step forward and accept your fate." Snape's lips curled into a cruel smile, Hermione's grip tightening around Ron's hand. She wondered if Draco had put his faith in the wrong person, only to be betrayed in the end by his cunning deception.
Ron pushed Hermione behind him as he stepped forward, the sound of his mothers anguished cries sounding loudly a few feet away. Arthur held Molly back in his arms, reminding her of her youngest daughter who was standing just in front of them.
"Your girlfriend too, Mr. Weasley." Snape insisted with a snarl, seeking Hermione out in the crowd and beckoning her over with a long, pale finger. When she came to stand beside her best friend in front of the two towering Dark wizards, she felt the air leave her lungs as Snape thrust the worn hat into her hands. "Want me to kill the boy first, my lord?" Snape asked, brandishing his wand with a bow.
Before he could respond, Hermione withdrew the heavy sword from inside the hat and sliced it through the air, missing Voldemort completely and impaling Nagini at the top of her neck, the blade sticking into the stones and trapping her blooded skin beneath it.
Voldemort cried out in agony, shoving his wand into Hermione's chest with a spell ready on his lips. The first breath had barely left his mouth when Harry fell from Hagrid's grip, his wand thrust out in front of him with an emphasized Expelliarmus.
Ron knocked Hermione back with a stone arm against her chest, pushing her back towards his family. Molly wrapped her son up in her arms while Hermione shook off Arthur's hug with a muttered apology, her eyes searching for Malfoy. She barely registered her best friend dueling for his life with the most powerful dark wizard of their time, knowing his victory was inevitable with all of the horcruxes destroyed. It wasn't until Voldemort's body turned to ash in front of everyone's eyes that she freely ran through the bodies in search of her boyfriend.
Draco took the elder wand from the center of the pavement and shook it off, the wood covered with ash and dust. Blaise clapped his hand across his shoulder and nodded towards the bridge where his mother and father were waiting. He moved to take a step towards them when he heard his name being shouted from the opposite direction.
By the time he turned around, she was already right in front of him, barreling into his arms with enough force to knock him back a few steps before regaining his footing. Her ankles locked behind his waist as he held the bottom of her thighs tightly in his hands, whispering soothing words against her hair as she cried.
"I'm here." he promised softly, catching his mothers stare from over Hermione's shoulder. He felt the rush of relief leave his body at the thought of being disowned by his family, but the older witch simply smiled and turned towards her husband.
"You're alive." Hermione breathed, clutching the back of his cloak desperately.
Malfoy readjusted her higher on his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she buried her face against his shoulder. He gave her thighs a light squeeze before setting her down, keeping his hands fanned across her back. "Your friends are staring, Granger." he pointed out with a smirk, glancing at the dozens of prying eyes all around them.
Hermione scoffed, looking only at him. Pushing up on her toes, she covered his mouth with hers until she felt his arms tighten around her. "I really don't care." she whispered, dragging her fingers through his hair as he kissed her back eagerly.
She fiddled with the large stone around her neck as she gazed out the window, the castle fading into the distance as they headed back home. Ron and Harry sat across from her, Luna seated silently at her side with Blaise's arm around her shoulders.
"Is everyone dating a Slytherin now?" Ron asked, throwing his hands in the air. Luna giggled and leaned further into Blaise's side.
"You should try it." Hermione suggested with a shrug. "It's great."
Harry and Ron both grimaced, still wrapping their minds around their best friend falling into a secret relationship over two years ago. "I can't believe you've been dating Malfoy since 5th year and never told us." Harry said, unwrapping the chocolate frog in his lap.
"Oh please." she said, rolling her eyes. "You two can't keep a secret to save your lives, and I wasn't going to have my boyfriend killed because of it."
Blaise twirled his wand lazily between his fingers and placed a soft kiss to the top of Luna's head. She closed her eyes contently, a smile pulling at her pink lips.
Hermione closed her eyes as the train lulled her into a light sleep, feeling more grateful then ever to have her friends surrounding her and the man she loved finally out of harms way.