The Makings of an Auror

The Makings of an Auror

Chapter 2

Dedicated to Imbri, my beta...as usual :D

By the time Hermione and Draco reached the hotel, it was rapidly approaching noon. Remembering Dumbledore's owl, Draco lit the fire in the grate and sat on one of the beds, waiting. The next couple of minutes snailed by, but at last, they heard a small and distinct *pop*. Dumbledore's head appeared in the fire, smiling warmly at them.

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger," he said, nodding to both of them. "I can't talk long, as I'm in the middle of a meeting with some old friends of mine. I just wanted to tell you a few things. Tonight, as you may know, a meeting will take place. You will be introduced to a few staff members of the camp, and you may have to say a few things about yourself, just to give them a good idea of what you're made of. This is also to get you comfortable with the instructors before you begin your training. Tomorrow will be a very exciting day."

"Headmaster?" Hermione asked, resting her head on her hands. "I don't quite understand." The sound of a muffled snort was heard in the direction of Draco. Hermione ignored him. "Why--"

But the sound of a door opening was heard, and Dumbledore turned his head around. He spoke to someone for a few minutes before he turned around and faced them again.

"I must go. This meeting cannot wait any longer. I'm sure you will do perfectly fine, Ms. Granger," he assured her, as her face formed into an expression of confusion. 'I will be sending owls regularly to see how you are progressing. Ta-ta!" And with another small *pop*, his head vanished.

"What are we supposed to do tomorrow!?" Hermione said, in a frustrating voice. "I just can't help wonder."

"Well that's your problem, not mine."

"Oh come off it Draco. You have to be slightly curious about tomorrow. If you're so amiable what do you think about tomorrow?"

"Probably lots of tests," Draco commented.

"Possibly an IQ test?" she wondered.

"IQ?" Draco asked.

"It's a muggle thing," she responded.

The day went by slower than those ten minutes had, and Draco and Hermione basically didn't talk much to each other. Hermione had brought every book she owned, (or at least it appeared that way to Draco) and Draco seemed to have only brought his Arithmancy book. Hermione sat reading for a good few hours, pausing every now and then to make a quick note. Draco spoke for the first time in hours.

"What are you reading? Just asking out of plain curiosity," he asked. Hermione looked up, her face beet red, and she scrambled to hide a parchment.

"Numerology and Gramatica. I figure I should keep up the studying. We might have exams when we get back."

"Oh, I see. And Potter doesn't happen to be in those exams, does he?" Draco asked suddenly. Hermione turned redder, if possible.

"I...what--"

"Because why else would you be reading, secretly concealed behind your Gramatica book, Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century?"

Hermione opened her mouth but furiously closed it again. Draco smirked.

"Alright fine, I was trying to write a letter to Harry. But how did you know that Harry was in these books?" Hermione challenged. A tinge of pink appeared in Draco's normally pale cheeks.

"There...well--"

"Save it Malfoy." And she went back to reading.

***

It was nearly five o'clock when she stopped. She stood up, stretched, and gathered her books, parchment, inkbottle, and quill and put them in her bedside table drawer. S

"Draco?" she asked, walking slowly to his bed. Draco had fallen asleep, his Arithmancy book lying open on his chest, which was rising and falling gently in rhythm to his breathing. She lifted the book carefully off of his chest and closed it quietly, with a small smile on her face, and then, she reached out and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen into his face. However, as soon as her fingertips made contact with his skin, his hand immediately shot out and grabbed her wrist, his eyes snapping open, giving her a confused look. Hermione started. No...she lost it.

"I'm sorry!" she said quickly, standing up as soon as he had released her wrist. She began pacing the room. "I didn't mean to scare you, not that I did if I didn't...I mean...I was just...OH! Dinner starts in an hour and I thought I should let you know. She stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it, leaving a puzzled Draco behind.

Why did I do that...she thought, rubbing her temples in frustration. But why am I getting so worked up? I mean, it's just Draco... Just Draco. Something about that clicked in her mind. But she ignored it and splashed cold water on her face, taking a deep, calm, steadying breath. She took her black dress out of the closet and began to change for tonight.

***

She sure gets worked up easily, Draco thought, as he preformed a charm to give him privacy to change into his dinner suit (Hermione had locked the main bathroom door, meaning he couldn't get to his personal bathroom). It was almost as if...nah, it couldn't be. I just startled her. But how was I supposed to know my reflexes would kick in and scare the hell out of her? He changed into a crisp black dinner jacket, complete with matching pants and shiny black shoes (Draco likes Black). When he had finished changing, he put his book away, sat on his bed, and waited for Hermione to come out. He knew very well, with plenty of experience with his mother, that women took a very long time getting ready, so he wasn't expecting her to get out anytime soon. Humming to himself, he thought of what had happened during the day. Thirty minutes passed, and he began to get a little antsy about leaving. He stood up, walked over to the bathroom door, and lightly tapped on it. No sooner than had he done this, Hermione opened the door. Draco's jaw dropped. Hermione was wearing the black dress she had shown him earlier, and it was definitely perfect for her. Fitted in all the right places too...he thought, with a mental smirk. The dress stopped just above her knees, and she was wearing black high-heels. Her hair was sleek and shiny, and glancing past her for a moment, he saw a bottle of Sleazky's gel lying on the countertop. She had even used a bit of makeup too. He stood there, gaping at her. But he quickly regained his cool.

"Well Hermione. Nobody would have known under those baggy robes," Draco smirked, eyeing her figure once more. Hermione's face turned purple and she whipped around and grabbed her purse off the bed. "Hey! That was supposed to be a complement!"

"Nice try."

"No, I'm serious!" Draco said, following her. Hermione stopped abruptly.

"Really?" she asked, a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Hell yeah! Umm, I mean, yes, you look good," he replied quickly, seeing her glare at him. But a small smile crossed her face, and she turned away before her grin got any bigger.

"Shall we go downstairs?" he asked quickly, desperate to change the subject.

"Well we have to, don't we?" Hermione replied. Draco and Hermione used the lift to get down to the first floor, and then followed the signs that pointed in the direction of the dinner hall. They finally came to a door with the words...well, what else, Dinner Hall stamped across the front. Opening it slowly, Draco peeked inside. People were talking happily amongst themselves, all of whom were dressed, fit for a party. An orchestra was playing classical music Draco recognized as Beethoven, and a few people were dancing. This is definitely an upper class hotel, he thought. He opened the door to let Hermione in, and she grinned at him as she noticed the elegance of the room.

"Are you waiting for a table?" a man hurriedly asked.

"Well we just arrived, and--,"

"Say no more," he smiled, and he led them to a table right next to a window. The area was dimly lit, and the scenery outside the window was spectacular.

"I just finished clearing this one," he said, as Hermione and Draco sat down. He pulled two menus from his apron. "My name is Bill, so if you ever need anything, just call me.

"We have a special today, for a dish for two of Fugu, and you get a bowl of soup and a salad bar with it." Hermione remembered reading somewhere that Fugu was a Japanese dish, made from the poisonous puffer fish. If it wasn't prepared and cooked properly, the poison of the puffer fish would kill anyone who ate it.

"Excuse me sir, but isn't that dish very...dangerous?" Hermione asked. The waiter smiled kindly.

"We use magic dear--we don't cook it the muggle way." Hermione turned bright red (A/N: she blushes too much) and busied herself with something she had dropped onto the floor.

"We'll get that then," Draco said. The waiter wrote down the order.

"And to drink, sir?"

"A martini, shaken, not stirred." Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but the waiter interrupted her.

"And for your girlfriend?"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" she cried out, in an exasperated voice. Draco coughed.

"Oh, sorry miss, my mistake. Easy to make of course, as you both look divinely splendid...oh erm, never mind," he said, noticing the panicked look on Hermione's face.

"A water, no ice please," she said, lowering her face into her hands.

"I'll be done in just a bit," he said, tapping his nose and striding off.

"That's the second time someone's thought that...we're...you know," she began.

"What, together?" he asked. She cringed. "You can't even say it," he said, with a small laugh. "I think that's saying something," he said cheerfully. Hermione lifted her face from her hands.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Inside joke, nothing more," Draco commented innocently.

"Oh and about the martini," she said, a serious look on her face. "You're seventeen. You're not supposed to drink."

"So? I can pass for twenty though," he said simply. Hermione scowled.

The orchestra had picked up a fairly fast tune, and many people started to get up and dance. Please don't ask me, please don't ask me, she thought.

"Do you want--,"

"No," Hermione replied firmly, her heart sinking.

Draco rolled his eyes and picked up a fork. "You have no idea of what I was about to say. It's not like I was going to ask you to dance or anything," he smirked. Hermione opened her mouth but quickly shut it, a furious look on her face.

The waiter came and set their drinks in front of them.

"The food's just about ready."

"Thank you Bill," Hermione said, and he walked away. Hermione stared at the tablecloth for a minute before speaking.

"My, you're very talkative tonight Draco!" she said, in mock happiness. He glared at her again.

"I'm thinking," was his short and bitter reply.

"About what?" she asked innocently, looking up at him through her eyelashes. She knew this would annoy him.

"Nothing."

"How can you be thinking about nothing? Pray tell," she smirked again.

"People can think of nothing you know. You just sit there, your mind blank, and the world disappears before you," he explained.

"Well you can at least be polite about it. You, going around, acting all moody and depressed," she said grumpily, opening her purse with a snap and bringing out a small, pocket sized book. Flipping through the pages, she took out her bookmark and began to read.

"Can you do nothing but read?" Draco asked, a look of disbelief on his face."

"Can you do nothing but think about nothing?" she mocked. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Well at least you can inform me on what you're reading."

"Fine. I'm reading Pride and Prejudice. I doubt you've read it," she said, lowering the book to gaze at him. "It's a muggle classic."

"Nah, what the heck is that guys name again? Mr. Darky or something? He's just too insufferable." He winked at her and Hermione lowered her book again, mouth open.

"You have read it!" she cried out happily.

"Oh well spotted," he scoffed, taking a sip of his 'shaken, not stirred' martini. She moved the book aside and leaned closer to him.

"Why have you read it? I need to know."

"That's because you're an insufferable know-it-all."

"You sure like the word insufferable don't you?" Hermione commented.

"Alright, alright. If you must know, my father made me read it. He thought it'd come in handy for the future, to have a wide knowledge of things. It's a sappy love story if you ask me, and not at all my type. I could really care less about it. Muggle literature is sometimes just poorly written at times. You forget how little they know about the wizarding world. And why would I care about muggle literature anyway? Unless I plan on being a librarian, I doubt it'll help any."

"Draco...you just need to lighten up, you know that? It won't hurt to say a kind word to someone once in a while."

"I know it wouldn't hurt. Maybe it's just not who I am," Draco replied harshly. Hermione simply put her book away and kept her gaze fixed on the tablecloth. She looked up when Bill arrived with their food. Hermione watched as he set a big plate of odd-looking things in front of her. The only thing she recognized was the salad...but even that had weird a weird assortment of things in it.

"Thank you," Draco said shortly, as he walked away. He began eating the food, but Hermione didn't touch hers.

"This looks...good," she said uncertainly, eyeing the disk with uneasiness.

"Well if you're not going to eat it, that's a big waste of money," Draco scoffed, stuffing his mouth with fish. Hermione shot him a look of daggers and slowly picked up her knife and cut off a little piece of the food. Then, she slowly popped it into her mouth, letting the flavor sink in. She then cut off another piece and ate that, and pretty soon, Draco had to stop her from inhaling her food.

"Easy! Easy!" Draco said, as she scrambled to eat more. "We've got all night!"

"Actually, we don't," Hermione said, shoving more food into her mouth. "It's nearly 7:15!"

"We still have forty-five minutes left," Draco assured her, but Hermione held up a hand to stop him as she ate more.

"We still need to find this place where the meeting is," Hermione said. "And," she continued. "We need to figure out where we are supposed to go from there." Draco suddenly looked panicked.

"I didn't think about that," Draco replied, shoveling food in his mouth too.

"That much," Hermione said, "was obvious." Many people stopped talking and were staring at Draco and Hermione, who were eating as if the world were about to end.

"We're going to be late for a meeting," he explained, and they all replied 'OH!' as if this was common, and went back to eating.

***

"Oh...I hope we're not late," Hermione muttered nervously, running out of the hotel with Draco.

"Check your watch," he replied quickly.

"I already did."

"And?"

"It stopped."

"Great." Draco fumbled for the piece of parchment in his back pocket and drew it out, examining it. He took a look at where they were, looked back on the map again, and began running faster.

"How far is it?" Hermione asked. "Wait, don't answer that." They finally had arrived at the building, which was very large. Hermione wondered how she didn't see it in the distance...but then she remembered it was protected with magic so muggles couldn't see it. She leaned against the building, clutching a stitch in her side, and Draco was doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

"That was one hell of a run," he grinned, and Hermione slapped his arm playfully, still massaging her side. "You know Hermione, you can run pretty fast. You nearly out lapped me."

"Yeah, that's what everyone says." Clearing her throat, Hermione straightened up.

"We should probably get inside, don't you reckon?" Hermione asked, smoothing her hair and hoping she didn't look disgraceful. Hermione opened the door slowly, expecting to see more marble and silk. But instead, she saw a single desk, standing in the middle of the room. There were no other doors, the walls were a plain off-white color, and a secretary was filing papers. Draco cautiously approached the counter.

"Excuse us, but we're here for the meeting. It is here, isn't it?" he asked, looking around carefully. The secretary grinned at Draco specifically, and she quickly spun around to a clipboard.

"Yes, the meeting will start in just a few minutes. Name?" she asked sweetly.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he replied. She wrote it down quickly.

"The room-,"

"Umm, this here's Hermione Granger," he said, pointing to Hermione. The secretary scowled and jotted down her name too.

"If you look over there," the secretary said, pointing to a door Draco was sure hadn't been there a minute before, "and take the third corridor on your left, second on your right, and then fifth door on your left, you'll find the conference room. You can have a seat."

"Err, thank you," Hermione responded, and she followed Draco through the door.

The door led them not into another plain hallway, but a stonewall corridor lit by torches. Draco felt Hermione shudder next to him as the path before them gradually sloped with each step. After taking a few turns and getting lost twice, they came to a door labeled 'Conference Room'. Draco pushed it open and allowed Hermione to walk in before him, before entering himself. There was a long table in the center of the room that could have seated at least thirty people, and all of the chairs were empty. Bookshelves lined the room with books such as 'An Aurors Guide to a Painless Death' and 'Ways to Distract a Death Eater Without Getting your Bloody Head Chopped Off'. Hermione took a seat down near the end of the table next to Draco, and then she leaned over and whispered something in Draco's ear.

"Where is everyone?" she asked quietly, glancing nervously about the room, trying not to look at the paintings on the wall, which depicted bloody battle scenes involving Aurors and Voldemort.

"I don't know, but they'll be here." He tried to use his usual drawling voice, but even he found that his throat had constricted, his palms had gone sweaty, and that he jumped at the slightest movement.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have sent us here if he thought we couldn't handle it...would he?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Look, just chill. You know he wouldn't do something like that."

"Well, I know, but perhaps he underestimated our strength?"

"Correction. Your strength. I'm not the one gripping people's legs very, very hard," Draco grimaced. Hermione looked down and realized she was squeezing his leg so hard, her knuckles had gone white.

"Oh my gosh," she said quickly, withdrawing her hand. "I'm sorry..."

He began to reply but was cut off when the door opened. A large group of people emerged and they all took a seat, looking very professional and strict. Most of them were holding a clipboard and a pen, and they would glance up at Hermione and Draco and then write something down. Draco could practically feel the heat coming from Hermione's face. No sooner had the people sat down, when they all stood up, Hermione and Draco following their actions. A large door at the very back of the room and an elderly man stepped out. The people remained respectively silent as he made his way to the front of the table. He smiled at them all and then sat down. Everyone else sat down, and Draco and Hermione followed suit...again.

"Welcome to the first Auror Board Meeting of the year. I'm glad to see all of you made it," he smiled warmly. "My name is Mr. Abbot, and I am head of this board." Many people nodded knowingly. "Now most of you have noticed we have two young guests here tonight." Everyone turned to look at Draco and Hermione, and then back to Mr. Abbott. "But we'll talk more about them later. We'll start by introducing ourselves and tell us a little of what you currently are working on. Perhaps you should start Arabella," he said kindly, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder next to him. Holding her head high, the woman stood up.

"Mrs. Arabella Fig," she said, a smug smile on her face. Hermione's head jerked up. "I work in the Department of Security, and I am assigned to gathering information on the Death Eaters. This year I've been working on a subject with the Unspeakables. " Everyone looked impressed or scared. "Just recently, we have discovered information that led us to believe that Voldemort would attack Hogwarts. However, things are a bit fuzzy around the edges. There is a ninety percent chance that by February, Hogwarts would no longer be a school used in educating talented young witches and wizards to learn to master their magic, but a training school for the Dark Arts." Nearly everyone grew shifty, but Arabella took no notice of this. "Currently, our top five Aurors in the field of Undercover Work have gone to Voldemort in disguise in hope of retrieving information on the subject. I do say we'll need to give them the best of luck, and to keep them in thought over the next couple of months. Thank you." Hermione clapped along with everyone else as Mrs. Fig took a seat. She also briefly recalled Harry talking about where he used to spend some of his summer when the Dursley's went out for a vacation, but Hermione couldn't remember if it was Mrs. Fig, or Mrs. Fir. Shrugging mentally, she watched as the man next to Mrs. Fig, who looked a lot like Peter Pettigrew, squirmed in his seat.

"I am Mark Pettigrew, and I work with the Department of Criminals and Convicts. I'm sure most of you remember that in 1978 the Dementors turned against the Ministry and set the prisoners of Azkaban free. I was fresh out of Hogwarts, just starting my Auror training when I got called out to restrain the Dementors." A blank look came across his face as he continued. "Eventually everything was under control. The prisoners didn't get very far as Azkaban is located on an island out on the (look this up)." Mr. Pettigrew looked up at Mr. Abbott, who waved a hand to continue. "Anyway, speaking currently, Sirius Black has been removed of all charges when a sighting of the 'rumored-to-be-dead' Peter Pettigrew turned the wizarding world into an uproar. Most were a little disinclined to let Black free. My belief on the subject is that Pettigrew was working for Voldemort when Black demanded that the Potter's should let Pettigrew be their Secret Keeper. Thus leading to the...incident." He abruptly sat down and rested his head on his hand, a troubled look on his face.

"Blaire Heathcliff, worker for the Department of Spells, Curses, and Hexes. I helped create some of the spells you may know as Iridisum, the Memory Spell, and Exclavoyant, a spell used for diminishing large objects, quite similar to Reducio but different in many ways. We've found a shred of evidence that might allow us to create a shield against the Avada Kedavra curse. But every time we come close to completing one, something in the material Thalonite draws in the curse, sealing it there for a period of time. The last step to officially completing it is to find the missing material and combine it with the Thalonite. But, as we have limited sources to Thalonite, time can't be wasted."

"Susan Marcus, specializing in the field of Aurors. I contributed to the defeat of the dark wizard Mordecai. I've been an Auror for seven years now, and am currently working on project Voldenumus, involving the gathering of information on Voldemort's closest Death Eaters. Remarkable is hardly the word I'd use to describe my field of work and study."

This continued around the table until everyone had spoken. The man next to Hermione had just finished talking, and he nudged her to speak. She unclenched her teeth, cleared her throat, and spoke in a confident voice.

"My name is Hermione Granger and I am in my seventh and last year at Hogwarts. I am Head Girl, and received a total of 40 O.W.L.S last year. Arithmancy and Transfiguration have always been my strong points, and when you look at my records for grades, I have gotten nothing but top grades." Her voice suddenly changed. "I also finished the entirety of the Hogwarts library, and am very proud of myself for doing so. Did I mention-,"

"OK Hermione, you can stop now," Draco mumbled. A few people chuckled good-naturedly. "I'm Draco Malfoy and also am in my seventh year at Hogwarts. I'm Head Boy, umm, Quidditch captain for Slytherin, and--." A few people stared at him quizzically. "What?" he protested, folding his arms. "I am!" Mr. Abbott coughed at the front of the table and everyone turned to look at him. He smiled.

"Now you may be wondering why we have such young guests here with us tonight," he began, holding out a hand and indicating Hermione and Draco. "These two students will become the youngest Aurors the history of the wizarding world has seen." Everyone present stood up and began clapping. Mr. Abbott paused and held up another hand to silence them. "Tomorrow, you will be going through one of the hardest training courses we have to offer. Please be prepared. No jewelry," Mr. Abbott said, looking particularly at Hermione. "Nothing that can burden you during the many drills and tests you will take." Hermione cast Draco a nervous look, but he didn't return it and kept his gaze firmly fixed on Mr. Abbott.

"Tomorrow, you will come equipped with nothing but your wand, and wear tight fitting clothes. Do you have any questions?" Mr. Abbott finished. Draco and Hermione shook their heads.

***

As soon as the introductions had been completed, they went into a long discussion of the Ministry of Magic. Draco and Hermione weren't mentioned any more throughout the meeting. It was nearly 2:00 A.M. before the meeting was even finished. Hermione felt a nudge in her ribs and she jumped out of her chair, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"What happened?" she murmured. Draco was standing over her, looking tired but alert.

"You fell asleep."

"I WHAT?" Hermione shrieked, straightening up in her chair, her hair back to it's original bushy state.

"Fell asleep," Draco repeated. "Everyone left a couple of minutes ago. They didn't want to disturb you."

"Oh my gosh..." Hermione muttered, hiding her face in her hands. "Now they're going to think I'm...I don't know, a slacker or something."

"They did find out that you snore, but I don't believe they think any less of you. They looked at our records, talked about some very boring things, and then just sort of, left." Draco watched her furiously stand up and grab her purse. Hermione stomped through the door and walked out into the night, drawing her jacket around herself. He followed, narrowly escaping the secretary in the front room.

"They didn't talk about anything important," Draco explained, trying to reassure her but failing miserably. "Just some stuff about...things."

"But I missed it! Those meetings are very important and top secret! I'm just...angry." Draco didn't reply. After a few minutes of walking, Hermione came to an abrupt halt.

"What about that Mark Pettigrew guy? He seems awfully familiar..." she said slowly. Draco looked at her curiously.

"How so? You know him?"

"Well, not really but.... all right, can I tell you something important?" Hermione asked slowly and carefully, practically miming everything to him. Draco closed his eyes and nodded.

"Do you remember Ron's rat Scabbers?"

"That pathetic thing? Uhh, I mean yeah," Draco nodded.

"Well, it turns out Pettigrew is an unregistered animagi, and that he didn't get murdered by Black, he set the whole thing up. In our third year, Harry, Ron, and I came across Sirius Black near the Whomping Willow.

"I understand Pettigrew framed Black, but what for?"

"He was working for you-know-who," Hermione whispered.

"Who Voldemort?" Draco said loudly, and a few people walking by them glared at him.

"Yes, Voldemort," Hermione replied quietly, grabbing his arm and steering him behind a tree. "That must mean he might now where Pettigrew is hiding, don't you think? He could be a spy!"

"Hermione, you're jumping to conclusions. He might not even be Pettigrew's brother." He could see her brain working, which, at times, wasn't a very good thing.

"Yes, but Pettigrew isn't exactly a common name is it? I mean, what if he is working for you-know-who, and he's been passing information to him about the school. Mr. Abbott and Dumbledore are close friends, I'm sure of it, so they must know something about it!"

"Hermione, be reasonable. We'll just have to wait and see. If Voldemort is indeed planning an attack on the school, we'll catch him when the time comes."

***

Hermione's alarm clock was right on time that morning, and she opened her eyes sleepily. Begging her legs to move, she slid out of bed and staggered over to Draco's bed.

"Draco," she mumbled sleepily. He bolted upright as if he had already been awake. Come to think of it...she thought, taking note of the dark blue circles under his eyes.

"Is it time already?" Draco asked rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, it's just five, we should hurry," Hermione urged him. Draco got out of bed in a very self-composed manner.

"Aren't you even the least bit t-ti-tired?" she yawned, stretching her arms out over her head.

"Oh no, sitting up in bed all night really is quite refreshing, you should try it sometime." Rolling her eyes and shrugging, she hobbled over to the closet. Hermione quickly changed into a pair of stretch pants and then she put on a casual t-shirt She then pulled her hair back and grabbed her wand. It had rained the previous night again, and the steady drip of water outside was strangely audible in the quiet room. Draco sat down on his bed again and drew out the map in his back pocket. Enlarging the area that was indicated in Dumbledore's letter, he frowned.

"That's strange. The building is supposed to be right next to the place we went to last night for the meeting. I don't recall seeing anything else, do you?"

"Come to think of it, I don't. That is odd." She sat down next to him and glanced over his shoulder at the map. "Maybe they have muggle precautions or something," Hermione replied, shrugging and stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Oh well, we'll just have to find out when we get there."

They left the hotel fifteen minutes later, dressed in tight, form fitting clothes and carrying only their wands and the map.

"It's so cold," Hermione shivered, wishing she had brought her cloak.

"Well it is October," Draco reminded her.

"Yeah, well-spotted."

"Hey, you said you were cold."

"And I'm aware of that."

"Shut up Granger."

"Back to the Granger stuff again aren't we?"

"No, you're just ticking me off right now."

"Fine."

When Hermione and Draco finally found the building (it was right next to the building we were at, Hermione pointed out), they were surprised at what they saw. It looked more like a prison than a camp. The walls were made or gray concrete, and metal bars were across the windows and gate. Yelling could be heard on the other side. A muscular wizard was standing at the front gate, holding his wand menacingly.

"Is this--" Draco started, but the wizard suddenly started yelling at them.

"Get back there, go on," he yelled, unlocking the gate and stepping aside so they could get through. Hermione went in first, avoiding Draco's glare. Inside the building, there were cabinets everywhere. Hermione slowly walked past them, grimacing at the horrifying pictures plastered on the walls. It showed the things that Dark Wizards had done to people, and some of them Hermione didn't even want to think about. Draco cleared his throat, the sound magnified from the stonewalls. He began whistling.

"Can you be any louder?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute. He finally answered.

"Yup."

Finally, they reached a door at the end of the hall, and she opened it. It looked more like they worked outside rather than inside. Many wizards were dueling with each other, and some of them were holding orbs in their hands, muttering things until they let out a cry of pain and dropped it, the instructor shaking his head sadly. A muscular looking wizard emerged from another building.

"Hey! You two here for training?" he asked in a gruff voice. Draco nodded slowly.

"Come over here," he said, walking to one of the desks and picking up a clipboard.

"Malfoy? Granger?" he asked. They both nodded.

"Follow me!" he grumbled. He led them to a strange wall sort of thing. Other instructors were leading other groups of people to the wall. When Malfoy and Hermione reached the wall, their instructor went off for a few minutes, and when he returned, a tall, slender, very busty looking woman was walking behind him.

"All right, do we have all five groups?" the male instructor asked, and the female instructor nodded her head. "Today, we're starting off with a bit of practice training. You see that wall? You're going to have to climb it." A few people nervously glanced at each other. The speaker nodded to the female instructor.

"This here is a magically slicked wall. You see that rope up there?" she asked, pointing up at the top of the wall. Hermione looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. "That rope is going to be your only way of getting up this wall. You will select one person from your group to climb up the wall first, and then that person will help the other two get up. After you have climbed the wall, you will need to crawl through an area where there are dozens of rough-hewn poles. The ground is covered in Nightmare Grass, and you will only be able to get through this part of the course if you choose to ignore it and keep moving. There are booby traps set with various curses, just begging to be set off...unless you're wary. After you have gone through this part of the course, you will take a jog through a field. You must successfully run through while some of our instructors will be firing any and every curse and hex they can think of. There are brief places of shelter that you can use. You will be able to rest there...if you're fast enough to get there in time. Your objective: there is a stand at the end of the field with a bell on it. Be the first group to ring the bell and you're exempt from extra work for the evening. But if you're the last group to get there, there will be extra practice and no dinner. All clear?" Everyone nodded quickly. "Take this time to pick your first climber." Hermione looked at the girl.

"How strong are you?" Hermione whispered anxiously.

"Why does it matter?" she replied, carelessly examining her fingernails.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're in a training camp!" she practically shouted. Hermione frantically began thinking when Draco spoke.

"Let me climb first, since I'm the strongest here. Then I can help you up."

"Yeah that sounds good. What do you think?" The woman was watching Draco and didn't answer.

"Take your positions!" the female instructor shouted. Draco put his wand inside his pocket and stood ready in front of his rope. "Go!" Draco wrapped the rope around one of his hands and began climbing. They weren't kidding when they said this was a magically slicked wall. His feet kept slipping and sliding in all directions, and his palms were starting to get sweaty, despite the chilly air.

"He's hot," the woman commented, watching him make his way up the wall.

"Please spare me," Hermione grumbled.

"Why don't you let me go next? You're taller and look like you weigh more, so we can help you up in the end."

"Sure, whatever," Hermione muttered, watching Draco with a look of fear in her eyes. That wall was awfully high.

He finally reached the top, his hands aching and red from the rope, but he didn't waste any time. He threw the rope down to the ground. The woman immediately began climbing, and she went slightly faster than Draco because he was pulling her up with the rope. Just a few seconds later, they had thrown the rope down to Hermione. She grabbed it quickly, practically running up the wall because Draco was pulling on the rope so hard. Draco pulled Hermione up without any help from the other girl in their team.

"All right?" Draco asked, slightly breathless from exertion. "Come on we need to go," he said quickly. And they began running to the next task. Nightmare Grass...Hermione was desperately trying to remember something that she'd read about it. But she didn't have time. Draco, Hermione, and the woman got down on their hands and knees.

"Just keep moving," Draco yelled. "If you stop, the nightmares will only affect you faster."

Hermione heard Draco's voice but she didn't respond. Pausing for a minute, she tried to stand up, but her shoulder hit one of the sharp poles. She stopped and looked down at her shoulder, oozing blood onto her shirt. The area became foggy and she clutched her head, trying to block out the yelling that was going on in her head. She looked up and gasped.

She, Harry, and Ron stood in the center of the room, wands out, ready to attack if needs be. They were slowly making their way through the house, looking into every room, making sure no one was hiding.

"What's happening?" Hermione asked carefully.

"Hermione? Are you ok? We're trying to find him...remember?" They came to a room, and knew immediately where the intruder was. With a big kick, Ron had the door open and Harry moved inside quickly, telling Hermione to wait outside. She stood outside the door; her breathing paused, completely lost and confused, as she struggled to hear what they were saying.

"It's over Voldemort," she heard Harry say, and she nearly fell over backwards in shock.. "Let the muggle born students go and we'll do what you want." There was a high cold laugh and the sound of somebody standing up.

"It's not over Harry Potter. We still have something to take care of." He snapped his fingers and the door Hermione was peeking through snapped shut. She frantically tried to open it but it was locked, and no Alohamora spell could break it. She heard the angry mutterings of voices, and then she heard something that made her scream...Avada Kedavra. They had done it! Harry and Ron had got Voldemort! She was grinning from ear to ear when the door opened, but then she screamed. Voldemort was standing in the doorway, and behind him, Ron and Harry lay dead.

"Hermione..." Voldemort said. Confused, she backed up.

"Hermione," Voldemort repeated. She stumbled across the rug, and then fell to the floor.

"Hermione!" Voldemort shouted, and then he was offering a hand.

Hermione opened her eyes with a start, and she looked around her surroundings. Then everything came flooding back to her.

"Hermione!! Get up, we need to go!" Draco was shouting. She realized that she was no longer in the field of strange grass.

"That nightmare grass affected you big time." The girl almost looked triumphant that she hadn't let it affect her at all. They broke off at a run, and Hermione was still trying to regain her composure. Without a backward glance at the Nightmare Grass, they approached the field. They saw three people streak past them, and with a horrifying wave of panic, Hermione grabbed Draco and the girl's arms and began running as fast as she could. The other group was getting closer, but when they had to stop and duck for shelter, Hermione took this as an advantage.

"Don't stop unless you're hurt!" she yelled back at them. Dodging the hexes and curses that were being thrown at them, Hermione kept going, hardly paying attention to how fast she was running. But she was caught off guard when a high-pitched scream was emitted from the girl in their group. She had been hit by an immobilizing charm.

"Pick her up!" Hermione commanded Draco, and he seized her in his arms and they began running again. Hermione brought out her wand and preformed the counter curse, and she sleepily opened her eyes.

"Put me down!" she shrieked, before she saw who was holding her. "Ahh!" She had caught sight of Draco. "Nevermind, keep me here. Draco dropped her and she cast him a disgruntled look. They were almost there! Just a few more feet...something shot out from the bushes ahead of them. The other team would get there first.

"Come on!" she yelled, trying to run faster. But it was no use. The other team hoisted a member of their group onto the stand and she rang the bell. The bell rang, echoing through the camp. With a cry of happiness, they began cheering. The instructors came over.

"You finished first, meaning you will not have to do any extra exercises today." The female instructor greatly emphasized the word extra.

"Yes we made it!" the other team cried out happily. Hermione sighed.

"What's your name?" she asked the woman.

"Aubrey," the girl replied, looking murderous. "It's Aubrey."

***

Hermione slumped onto her bed, clutching her side.

"I ache all over," she whispered. "It hurts to even speak..."

"I know, but we'd better get used to it," Draco said, pulling his robes off. He sank into the large four-poster bed, next to Hermione.

"I really hope things improve by the end of the week," she muttered. But before Draco could respond, Hermione had suddenly cried out in pain, clutching her shoulder.

"What? What is it?" he asked, visibly startled.

"It's my shoulder. When we were in the nightmare grass, I hit it on the poles above us."

"Let me see it," Draco asked.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Well...alright." She awkwardly pulled down the sleeve of her shirt, baring her shoulder to him and turning her head away.

"Oh man," he muttered.

"How bad is it?"

"Look for yourself." She turned her head slowly and nearly passed out. Her entire arm was sticky with dried blood, and there was a long gash across her shoulder.

"Let me get something for that," Draco said, standing up and going to his suitcase.

"You really don't need to," she muttered sleepily. But he came back carrying a vile.

"I know I don't have to, but how would Dumbledore act if you came back all bloody and scarred?" He took the vile and pulled out the cork, carefully holding it over her shoulder. "Oh, and this might sting a bit." He let the liquid inside the vile drop slowly onto her shoulder, and she cried out.

"What is that stuff?" she shrieked.

"Anti-poison potion. Also prevents infections. It's quite handy at times. And quit moving, I'm getting it all over the bed sheets." She tired to squirm away but his hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"Geez Granger, for someone so composed you can be so squirrelly."

"You weren't kidding when you said that stuff stings," she replied defensively.

"And why would I 'kid' about something like that?" He withdrew his hand from her arm and stuffed the cork back inside the vile. "There, all finished. All we have to do now is bandage it up and then you're good to go." Draco reached across the bed and grabbed a package, taking out a roll of bandages.

"Draco?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm?" he replied, not really paying attention.

"Err, thanks, I guess. For doing this."

"No problem. Like I said before, Dumbledore wouldn't be too happy if I brought you back all bloody."

"Ahh...so you're bringing me back now?" Hermione smirked.

"Shut up, you know what I mean."

"Haha, now I can read your mind." Draco finished bandaging her shoulder and clapped her on the back.

"Done. Now please leave me alone so I can sleep." Too tired to protest, she immediately fell asleep.

Hermione Granger brought her wand out from her pocket and held it out in front of her. The forest around her was dark and eerie, and the light of the full moon wasn't much help under the thick brake. She quickly muttered Lumos and followed its trail of light through the forest, jumping when she heard the slightest rustle of leaves. After walking for about fifteen minutes, she suddenly stopped, holding the light up to the left. Draco suddenly emerged, clutching his right arm, which was bleeding.

"Draco?" she asked. "What's going on? I came out here because I felt something was wrong, and the orb kept glowing," she whispered. "Is it him?"

"Yes it is," he said, grimacing. "We've got to go back up to the castle and warn Dumbledore," he said, and he started to move, but a cloaked figure moved from out behind the trees and blocked the way back to the castle.

"Well, well," the figure sneered. "I don't think you two are going anywhere." He lowered his hood and Hermione stifled a gasp when she saw Voldemort's face. Voldemort hadn't completely formed back into his old figure, but it was a completely different transformation. He looked more human then he ever had before.

"This plan won't work," Draco said, pulling Hermione behind him. Voldemort laughed.

"Of course it will. Thanks to your father, everything is under control. We've already captured Dumbledore. The old fool will be getting his soul sucked out of him any minute now."

"Step aside," Draco said, in a low, dangerous voice.

"No." Draco whipped out his wand and shouted a spell, but in a flash of green light, he had shielded Hermione, and then he fell into her arms.

"NO!" she cried out, burying her face in the collar of his shirt. She felt a hand on the side of her cheek.

"Hermione..." he said, stroking her cheek. "I love you..." Those were the last words he spoke.

Draco immediately sat up when he heard a strange noise from across the other side of the room. He quickly got out of his own bed and walked over cautiously. It was Hermione, and she was whimpering. She was clutching her chest, and she kept rocking back and forth.

"Hermione," he whispered gently, trying to wake her up. Her eyes snapped open and she grabbed onto his arm as if making sure he wasn't going to leave her.

"What is it?" he kept muttering, as she kept looking around the room.

"No!" she shrieked, sitting up quickly, her hands outstretched. "Stop! No you can't!" she kept saying.

"Hermione!" Draco said firmly. She looked at him, slightly confused.

"You...you...you're not dead?" she asked.

"You were dreaming, that's all," Draco said.

"No...it wasn't a dream...you...Voldemort..." she kept saying.

"It was just a dream!" Draco told her. He turned her so she could see his face. "It was just a dream." She stopped trying to move away and then closed her eyes.

"A dream..." she repeated. "Yeah, I guess so." Her eyes were strangely distant and she was half asleep.

"Don't go," she said, as he was about to stand up to move back to his own bed. "Stay here with me," she mumbled sleepily. He looked at her thoughtfully for a minute before lying down next to her. She snuggled up next to a very uncomfortable Draco.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea," he said, but she had already fallen asleep. But then he heard her speak.

"I love you too Draco..."

Author's Note: For those of you who were wondering, Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century are actual books that our beloved Harry is in. If you don't believe me, it can be found on page 106 in Philosopher's Stone/Sorcerer's Stone. :D I love proving points. Anyway, what a shocker huh? I think the last statement from Hermione *points* effectively threw off poor Draco. His reaction? Hmm, why don't you wait and see. Next chapter: a Cruciatus curse? Wonder what that's about...more lessons, interesting conversations revealed, and you get to know more about how Hermione feels about Harry. And be patient for snogs, those don't happen until later. *snarkle*

Imbri thought up the entire physical challenge (basic facts, I added the details) scene with the magically slicked wall, nightmare grass, etc. And I had them down for pushups...:D A few days ago, I was reading Draco Sinister, by the infamous Cassandra Claire, and I came across the scene with the nightmare grass. I had already written chapter 2, and at first I was a little shocked, because as Imbri gave me the idea for the grass, I didn't know someone had already used it. I am on my knees begging for mercy and trying to avoid plagiarism. So I am crediting Cassie for the nightmare grass, and Imbri for the scene.

Reviewers!!

Sunshine13: heeeerrreeee's the next chapter! Hermioneharry4ever: Thank you very much for your review, you are very kind. CousinYogart99: I wrote more! :D Krisis: Yup, Draco's dog is Voldemort. And it's a slobbery boarhound too. Draco? Nice? He's gruffer in this chapter. AdrianHarley: Yeah I suppose the Voldemort bit was too much, but it has a plot later. It does...I've got the whole thing mapped out, it'll just take a little time. Thank you very much for reviewing! Stellar Snape: thanks for the kindness. I sent an owl to you saying that chapter 2 would be up in a few days because I just uploaded it.

If I left anyone out (who reviews later) my apologies. I'll add you next time.