A Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI

Hermione was left undisturbed the rest of the day, with only two thoughts to keep her company; one, at least her captors were not harassing her and causing more injuries and two, unfortunately there was no distraction from her pain. Her breathing was less labored than it had been, but her wound from the Half-Blood Prince's spell had left her weak from blood loss and extremely sore. Movements that were too quick on her part, made her ribs smart something fierce and her head throbbed continually.

Her attempts at sleep during the day were in vain; however, tired she was, the pain coursing through her body and her fear banished her from the realm of sleep. Her head wound was causing her trouble. Throughout the day she had fainted a handful of times, waking minutes later- so she judged by the sun- and feeling more tired than before.

Nearly an hour after dusk she heard the clank of keys at her door and braced herself for the worst. Seeing that it was only the younger Malfoy, Hermione let herself relax, somewhat, in her bed.

"You're up." It wasn't a question; it was a cold statement from the mouth of the man she loathed so much, yet had learned to rely upon in the past few days.

"Obviously." Her comment was delivered with all the ferociousness she could find in herself- it wasn't much.

Draco sighed deeply. "I was expecting you to be resting," he told her, his explanation infused with more amiability than his initial statement.

"I tried," Hermione admitted, albeit coolly. "I'm tired."

"Why couldn't you sleep?" Draco asked, his rough exterior deteriorating; the question had the markings of true concerned stamped into it.

Hermione looked away from his clear eyes, ashamed to admit her weakness and pain had kept her from the land of unconsciousness. "No reason," she mumbled.

Draco cupped his cool hand beneath her chin and turned her face towards him. She winced as his hand brushed across one of the many bruises on her face. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

His comment went ignored. Hermione gathered her strength and tried to pull herself completely into a sitting position wanting to be on even ground with him. She hated being dependent. Her strength failed her and she collapsed against her mattress.

"Here, let me," Draco said, his voice calm. He gently put his strong hands behind her and eased her body into a sitting position.

The movement sent sharp pains throughout her body. In pain, Hermione bit her lip to keep from making a sound.

"Does it hurt that much?" Draco asked, his tone revealing nothing of how he felt.

Hermione searched his eyes to see if he was mocking her. Finding nothing in them but true distress she nodded and looked down at her lap.

"I wish there was more I could do," Draco said fervently.

Hermione was confused. Draco's mood swings were baffling. Did he care for her wellbeing? "We need to talk about earlier," she informed him.

Draco bit his lip, hands clenched. "I know," he admitted.

"I'm sorry, but you have to understand this from my point of view. You're Draco Malfoy. After six years of torment I'm supposed to believe you've turned a new leaf?" Her question was lacking the vigor she wished it to possess; her mind was drifting beyond her control.

Face hardening, the younger Malfoy turned so he was fully looking at the young woman before him. "It's not a 'new leaf,' Granger. I have never wanted to follow Voldemort. Listen, there are some things you don't know about me that I want to tell you but I can't. Not here at least but once---"

Hermione was loosing focus of the blonde man's head. Her eyes were closing against her will. 'No!' her mind yelled at her body. 'I must hear what he has to say.' Ferociously she tried to beat back the darkness that was creeping into her vision, obscuring her surroundings. Was that yelling she heard? Her name; that's it, someone was calling her name.

Hermione wrenched her eyes open and fought with all her might to cling to her surroundings. A removed part of her mind registered a warm presence in her hand. Something was stroking her hand. She followed that and the voice back to her room in Voldemort's encampment. She was finally able to focus a panicked Draco before her.

"Hermione, you must stay awake," he said, his voice slightly shaky.

"I'm sleepy," she murmured. "And since when do you call me 'Hermione?'"

"Since now, okay?" he retorted. "You have a concussion. I didn't realize it was this bad." Draco stood. He looked torn. "How are you feeling right now?" he asked.

Hermione took mental inventory. "Okay....why?"

"I will be right back. Do not go to sleep. Please," he begged.

He left her room quickly. Hermione sat in her bed, uncomfortable and tired. In a few moments Draco returned.

"May I have permission to pick you up?" he asked solemnly.

Hermione warily eyed him, groggy and in no mood to be jostled. "Can you tell me what we're doing?"

Draco again looked torn. "I'm getting you out of here. You need to see a healer."

"Permission granted," she whispered, exhausted and wanting only to sleep.

Draco slid his broad hands under her frame and eased her weight onto his arms. Hermione winced; her vision clouded with pain she buried her face in Draco's shoulder to muffle her whimpers. He carried her bridal style into her bathroom and gently shifted her weight so that his right hand was free to wave his wand across the wall. Hermione shut her eyes against a bright and sudden light.

"Try not to make any noise," Malfoy whispered in her ear.

Hermione kept her eyes shut as the young Slytherin trotted forward. Her nausea was returning full swing from the jerky movements of Malfoy's body. Silently, she tried to reign in her urge to vomit. A few minutes later, she knew she could not prevent the inevitable. "Malfoy," she whispered, remembering his request for silence.

She felt his attention shift and was tickled by the rumble in his chest when he acknowledged her, "What is it?" His voice was not harsh, but it was laced with slight irritation.

"I think I'm going to be sick," was all Hermione could choke out.

Eyes still shut, Hermione felt herself being lowered towards the ground. Malfoy gently sat her down and sat next to her, arm around her back to give her support. He did not shy away as Hermione began to violently bring up everything that was in her stomach. Shuddering, Hermione drew a clammy hand across her mouth in an attempt to rid herself of the unpleasant taste.

"Sorry," she told Malfoy, finally opening her eyes.

Malfoy gently rubbed her shoulder. "Don't apologize. Are you okay to move now?"

Hermione nodded, exhausted. She let Malfoy pick her up and then proceeded to again burry her head in his shoulder.

"We're almost there," Malfoy murmured. "Hang on just a bit more."

Malfoy continued to walk for what seemed like hours to Hermione. The bright light was fading, slowly being replaced by a reddish hue. The path they followed was becoming steeper. Hermione wondered how long Malfoy could continue at this pace with her added weight. A particularly rough step on Malfoy's part caused another wave of nausea to course through Hermione. "Malfoy, I need to stop," she said quietly.

Obediently, the young man set her carefully upon the ground, again encircling her with his arm, providing her with something to lean on. Hermione began coughing raucously, covering her mouth with a small hand. She got her body back under control and pulled away her hand. Horrified she stared openly at her hand; there was blood covering it.

"Hermione, we need to get you to healers fast," Draco breathed quietly.

Thoroughly miserable, Hermione allowed herself to be lifted by Draco. She shut her eyes tight, engaged in a battle to cling to consciousness.

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI

Hermione's first thought when she awoke was that she was no longer nauseas. Blinking rapidly to clear her vision, she focused on the looming figure next to her bed. "Where are we?" she whispered to her rescuer.

"Shhhh," Draco ordered gently. "We're safe; Order headquarters. Rest, you need to regain your strength."

Hermione was not too be silenced that easily. "Thank you," she told Draco quietly.

Draco's lips twitched in a small smile. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Hermione's forehead. "Sleep."

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOI