To Say Goodbye

Chapter 6

Hermione cautiously clasp her necklace and examined its curious shape. It was so majestic and hypnotizing it took Draco's voice to pull her back to reality.

"Hermione," Draco said, wanting to make sure she was paying attention.

"Oh," Hermione replied, dropping the necklace and trying to focus on the ancient book Draco was holding. "Did you find something else?"

He suspiciously looked from her eyes to the necklace before speaking again. "We have a slight problem," he began, "apparently you won't be able to take the necklace off until its duty is fulfilled."

"What duty?"

"I don't know," he told her, "but knowing my fath- the Death Eaters, it's probably not anything good."

Hermione bit her lip in concentration, "I wonder why they sent it to me."

Draco shut the book and placed it randomly in the bookcase. "I don't know," Draco said, "maybe it has to do with Lor-...He-who-shall-not-be-named, and Potter."

"Maybe," she responded, only half listening. "And to think, when I first saw it, I thought Ron gave it to me."

Draco snickered; "Like Weasley could afford something like that." Draco looked at Hermione's face and noted her disappointment with him. "Well, it's true."

"Leave Ron out of this," she said as she examined her hand.

"You brought him up, not me," Draco replied honestly.

"Well yeah, but-,"

"Excuse me," a girl's soft voice came from the front of the bookcase. It was Abigail Smith, Hermione smiled while Draco just sat puzzled. "Ron told me to find you, Hermione. He needs to talk to you about Ginny."

"Ok," Hermione answered as she stood from the floor then motioned for Draco to do the same. "Come, Draco."

"He didn't ask for him to come," Abigail told her very quickly, "he asked for only you."

"Well, he's going to have to deal with it because Draco is coming anyway. Draco knows just as much, maybe even more then I do about this creature, and I'm sure Ron will understand."

Abigail smile faded into a frown, "Very well then, follow me."

Hermione and Draco followed Abigail silently to the infirmary. Every once in while, Draco would catch Hermione looking helplessly at her necklace and then sigh. He wanted to help her, but he knew he couldn't until he figured out what his father was up to.

Once they reached the Infirmary door, Abigail marched in and walked swiftly to Ron's side at the very last bed. The first light of the day was just starting to break in through the windows. Draco hadn't noticed that the time flew by so quickly when he was with Hermione. He could see clouds creeping up as well, probably bringing the first snowfall of the season. Hermione watched Abigail whisper something into Ron's ear, most likely about Draco's presence, and glace over her shoulder.

"Whatever," she heard Ron mumble in response to Abigail's whisper.

Hermione and Draco walked around to the opposite side of Ginny's bed. She looked worse then either Hermione or Draco could imagine. Her skin was stark white and her lips lost so much of their color they were literally blue. Ginny's face no longer held the vivid beauty that Hermione always admired, and it almost made her feel sick to her stomach.

"The teachers say she's dying," Ron told them meekly. "They said that they won't know what to do until she is awake and Professor Lupin arrives."

"Professor Lupin? He's coming back?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Yup, he's going to try and identify the owl that hurt my sister," Ron told her without any emotion in his voice.

"And once she's awake, Professor Lupin will be able to ask her about the owl so he will be able to track it better," Abigail told Hermione sweetly, with a smile.

Hermione looked at Draco and found him staring at Abigail. "What did you say your name was again?" he asked her suddenly.

Abigail's face flushed and she looked to the floor, "Abigail Smith."

"Abigail Smith," Draco repeated, "how long have you been at Hogwarts?"

"I've been here since I was eleven," she answered him, somewhat confused.

"Who are your parents?"

Hermione and Ron both looked at Draco in disbelief. "Draco, those are personal questions," Hermione hissed.

"I don't mind," Abigail told her with another sweet smile, but dropped it immediately when she brought her attention back to Draco. "I live with my mother, Carol Smith."

"And your father?" he questioned further, now even more suspicious then before.

"I don't have a father," she responded with a trace of sadness etched on her words, "he left my mother about a year after I was born."

Draco's face softened when he heard the news; he knew how she felt because in a way, he didn't have a father either. "Was your father in Ravenclaw?" Draco asked her quietly, noting that she was in Ravenclaw.

"No, my father was in Gryffindor. My mother was Ravenclaw," she told him, now giving him a smile, and he smiled back, much to Hermione's dismay.

"Hermione," Ron began rather hurriedly, "can I talk to you outside?"

"Yeah, sure," Hermione replied, standing and walking around the bed to meet Ron. She smiled at Draco and told Abigail goodbye as she and Ron left the room.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?" he asked her once that were at a safe talking distance. "I noticed you seemed a little held back in there, and I wasn't sure."

Hermione's face looked grim, "There is something Ron, it's about Harry."

Ron's eyes narrowed, "What about Harry?"

"Let's go outside, that way I know no one will try and eavesdrop," she told him and they started off towards the Main Doors.

Once outside, Hermione hugged herself as the wind briskly cut through the air. Ron didn't seem to be bothered at all as he started to wander off towards the Forbidden Forrest, much to Hermione's dismay, and she followed.

Once Hermione caught up with Ron she noticed that he seem to be lost in thought. She gently nudged him and smiled, "What are you thinking about?"

Ron exhaled and grinned back. "Not much," he answered her. His voice didn't sound very convincing.

"Do you want to tell me anyway?" Hermione pushed, hopping to help Ron open up.

Ron chuckled and hung his head. "I was just thinking about Ginny and what would happen if she did die," he told her. "I still find it hard to believe."

"I'm sure she will be alright," Hermione said. "I'm sure Professor Lupin will be able to help her."

Ron stopped walking just feet away from the entrance to the Forbidden Forrest and stared at Hermione, his eyes were slowly filling with tears. "Do you really think Lupin will be able to save her?"

Hermione felt slightly uncomfortable under his gaze but didn't look away. "Yes, I do think he will be able to save her," she told him sincerely. "You know Lupin, Ron. He won't give up until he finds a way to save her."

Ron moved his gaze into the Forbidden Forest. "I guess you're right," he replied, and then started walking again into the forest.

The last thing Hermione wanted to do was enter the forest again. Last night's occurrence still burned in her mind as she took a cautious step into the forest. "Um, Ron?" she asked. "Where are we going?"

"To see Snuffles," he replied in a stale tone.

"Snuffles," Hermione repeated, "he's here too?"

"Yep," Ron said, "been here since the beginning of the year. He suspected something was going to happen at school."

Hermione wrinkled her head in confusion, "How did he know?"

"I don't know," Ron responded as he neared a giant, hollowed out tree. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

She found herself slightly put back due to Ron's moody behavior towards her. She had no idea why he was suddenly being so rude. However, she brushed it off as she and Ron got closer to the entrance.

~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*

Draco and Abigail remained in the Infirmary after Ron and Hermione had left. The two sat on opposite sides of the bed, casting suspicious glances in each others direction every once in a while. Draco knew that he had seen this girl before, she seemed so familiar, especially her voice.

Perhaps he had seen her sometime in the past, at the Yule Ball or something. Or maybe her mother and his mother were friends.

Abigail would occasionally glance down at Ginny and then to the clock, but her eyes would always darken when they met Draco's.

"Why are you such a prat to Ron?" she asked him bluntly, breaking the static silence.

Draco rolled his eyes, "'Cause he's a prat, that's why."

Abigail sat back in her wooden chair and crossed her arms. "That's not a very good reason," she told him in a superior tone. "You probably don't like him just because he has a better chance with Hermione then you do."

Draco lifted his eye brows and grinned, "Is that what you really think? Do you really think that Weasel could really win Hermione over me?"

Abigail shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Well, at least she knows his feelings for her are genuine."

"My feelings for Hermione are none of your business," he spat, though he felt a little weary now that Abigail had even mentioned the possibility of Ron and Hermione being together.

"I never said they were," she answered him. "I was only speaking the truth."

"Well-,"

"And sometimes," Abigail continued on the edge of her chair, "the truth hurts."

She was looking at him as if she was trying to make a point, a point that only he and his close advisors knew. "So it does," he replied, "but sometimes, lies hurt more."

Abigail's smile faded at this comment and she sat back in her chair with her arms crossed. Draco followed in suit as he listened to Madam Pomfrey talk with two men from the Infirmary entrance.

One man he could tell was Professor Snape. The other, Draco remembered as Professor Lupin, stood next to him in his shabby robes. Snape held a glass vial that had a purplish glow to it, and Draco figured it must be the awakening potion they were going to use to bring Ginny back to consciousness.

Abigail followed Draco's gaze when she heard the voices talking. She recognized Lupin immediately and a look of horror grew across her face. "Oh my gosh!" she said in a terrified whisper. "Isn't that the Werewolf that use to be a teacher here? They actually let him come back?!"

"He's probably the only one who can save her," he told her as he glanced down at Ginny's pale face. He knew there probably wasn't much time left for her, maybe only a few days at the most.

Abigail took what Draco said into consideration and nodded, then looked back at the two Professors. She knew Professor Snape hated everything, but she couldn't believe the way he acted towards Professor Lupin. She remembered him from her third year of school when he taught her DADA class. She liked him a lot because she felt that he knew what he was talking about. However, when she learned that he was a werewolf, she was reminded of the dreadful stories her mother had told her about the hideous creatures. She could honestly say that she was terrified of the Professor.

"Once the potion gets into her system, it won't take long for her to wake," Professor Snape said to Madam Pomfrey.

"That's right," Professor Lupin added, "maybe five minutes tops."

"What will we do when she wakes, Professors?" Madam Pomfrey asked, for she was a little weary of the potion.

"When she wakes we will talk to her and see what else we can possibly do," Lupin assured her. "We will probably ask her for a description of the owl and where we might be able to find Harry."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing, how hard could it be to find Harry? He noticed that Abigail seemed a little taken aback by the news as well. Draco was beginning to suspect that there was something about Abigail that he didn't know.

"That poor boy," Madam Pomfrey said quietly, "he's probably so distressed over this whole ordeal."

"Yes, well, we will deal with him later," Snape told her carelessly. "Right now we must assist to Miss Weasley."

"Oh yes!" Madam Pomfrey replied, coming out of her depressed trance and then marched in front of the two Professors. "Right this way, Professors. Just follow me!"

The two men followed her all the way to the back of the room. When they saw Draco, they both looked a little startled. It was somewhat of a surprise to Lupin, and especially Snape, to see Draco sitting next to an ill Gryffindor's bed.

"Good afternoon, Professor Snape," Draco smiled and nodded to Professor Snape, and returned the nod with a small one of his own. Draco turned to Professor Lupin and grinned even larger. "And it's nice to see you again, Professor Lupin."

"It's nice to be back," Lupin replied and then set his focus on Ginny. "She's slipping away," he said quietly to himself and Snape, "and she's slipping faster then I thought she would."

Snape shook his head in agreement, "Should we give her the potion now?"

"Yes, we might as well," Lupin answered as he tilted her head back to give her the potion.

Snape slowly tipped the vile of purple potion down Ginny's throat and backed away to watch. Lupin too waited anxiously from behind Abigail. It didn't seem that he had noticed her yet, but when he did, he beamed.

"Abigail Smith," he said cheerfully, "one of my greatest students, how are you doing!?"

Abigail smiled weakly and glanced at Draco, who smirked back, and replied quite calmly, "Very well, thank you. And you, Professor Lupin?"

"I'm doing just great!" he told her, still in a very cheerful tone. "How is your mother?" he asked her suddenly, his voice now very serious.

"She's well," Abigail replied, "I just received an owl from her yesterday."

Professor Snape had been listening in on their conversation and sighed with disgust.

"Well that's wonderful!" Lupin said to her sincerely. "And when-,"

"And when were you planning on doing us a great favor to search for Potter to bring him to us, Miss Smith?" Snape broke in rudely, yet he didn't seem to care.

Draco snickered and glanced out the window. He looked out just in time to see Hermione vanish into the Forbidden Forest. His eyes grew wide and he swallowed a large lump in his throat. Abigail had noticed his sudden change in behavior and glanced out the window as well. She too saw Hermione vanish and smiled sweetly at Draco.

"No problem, Professor Snape," she said as she stood from her chair and literally bounced with joy out of the room.

The three men placed their attention back on Ginny. Professor Lupin glanced at the clock in the center of the room and looked over at Professor Snape. "We should leave soon, Headmaster Dumbledore wanted to see us when you arrived."

Snape glanced at the clock and shook his head. "Mr. Malfoy," he said to Draco in a very stern tone, "would you please watch over Miss Weasley until we return?"

"Yes, Professor Snape," he responded.

"Excellent, 50 points to Slytherin!" Lupin shouted excitedly.

Draco and Snape just stared at Lupin with mild shock as he started to march out of the room. Snape just rolled his eyes and sighed before he followed him out. Draco knew this was going to be a very long afternoon...and he was hungry.

~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*~'*

Hermione watched as Ron disappeared into the large tree entrance. He had only gone about five or so feet before he completely vanished in the dark shadows inside.

"Come on, Hermione," she heard Ron call, so she walked inside the tree. Once inside she noticed it was completely empty, except for Ron of course. He was standing in the darkest corner near the exit. Hermione walked up to him and looked at him quizzically.

"Now what? Nobody is here," she told him while she allowed her eyes to wander the monstrous hollow tree.

"Jeeze Hermione," Ron poked, "I always thought you were quicker then that."

"What?" Hermione asked, completely confused and slightly hurt.

Ron sighed and moved a large pile of dead grass, twigs and leaves out of the corner to reveal a small dark hole in the side of the tree. "This is another entrance to the cave Sirius stays in."

"Why didn't we just go through the cave entrance?" Hermione asked a little perplexed.

"He moved farther down in the cave so that no one would be able to find him. And this way is quicker," Ron told her. "He seems a bit more paranoid then usual."

"Further down in the cave?" she repeated. "What does he have to be paranoid about?"

Ron shook his head and ducked down to the hole. "I don't know, but he seemed pretty sure that there was something else he was hiding from other than the Ministry."

Hermione bit her lower lip as she remembered the Death Eaters that were prowling the forest. She glanced warily over her shoulder as she waited for Ron to move through the hole.

"Your turn, 'Mione," he called on the other side of the hole.

Hermione crouched down and took one more look around before she crawled through. She was surprised at how small the hole was and how long it was as well; it almost made her feel claustrophobic.

She saw Ron kneeling on the other side, and when he saw her he held out his hand to help her up. She took it gratefully and stood. There was a small fire burning at the very end of the cave, and leaning over it was Harry's Godfather.

Hermione felt a sudden dread sweep over her once she realized just what she had to do. She had to tell Harry's best friend and his only family that he had betrayed them. She didn't even know how to start the conversation and she had no idea whether or not they would believe her.

"He's right down here," Ron said to her, for some reason avoiding her eyes. Hermione just followed Ron down the narrow cave way. She couldn't help but feel paranoid as she walked down the dim passageway.

As the fire grew larger, the outline of a man began to take form. Sirius looked even more miserable based on his silhouette then he did when they first met him third year.

"Hey, Sirius," Ron said cheerfully as he walked into the main part of Sirius's new home.

Sirius looked up from his cauldron that hung over the fire, cooking some sort of herb stew. His expression was a mix of happiness and fear when he glanced from the two friends standing in his cave, both casting him curious glances.

"Hello there, Ron," he replied with a smile. He then turned to Hermione, "It's nice to see you again, Hermione."

"You too, Sirius," Hermione responded a little off handedly as she allowed her eyes to wander the cavern.

Hermione noticed that the small cave end was not all what it seemed. It was a lot larger then she had previously expected and seemed to travel for miles more, with a dynamic ceiling that made her wonder just how far down in the earth they really were.

"Sirius," Hermione started curiously, "exactly what are you hiding from that has forced you this far into the cave?"

Ron, who had been searching the new area, looked from Hermione to Sirius in agreement. Sirius dropped his spoon that he was using to stir his stew with and wandered up to the two.

"There are things in this forest you have to be careful of," he told them seriously. "There are some new creatures wandering these trees now that you two need to look out for."

"Like what?" Ron asked.

"Death Eaters," Sirius replied and then jumped back in surprise after he looked at Hermione.

"Hermione, what have you done to your hands?" he asked her as he ambled over to his trunk that was full of random articles of cloths and other accessories.

"They're only a few scratches and burns," she told him, "that's all."

"Scratches and burns," Ron repeated, "from what?"

"That's exactly what I was going to ask," Sirius said while he took one of her hands into his own and started wrapping a bit of torn cloth around it.

She winced a little while he wrapped it and noticed Ron's worried look. "I was doing extra credit in Potions and I made a mistake, and then it just blew up on me," she lied horribly.

"Extra credit in Potions!" Ron shouted. "Since when has Snape given anyone extra credit, especially a Gryffindor! And since when have you needed it?"

Sirius chuckled slightly and started wrapping her other hand. "And if I'm not mistaken, since when have you made a mistake on anything, Hermione?"

Hermione blushed and looked away. She felt her stomach grumble and she sat on the ground. She realized not only had she missed yesterday's dinner she also missed today's breakfast and lunch as well. She had been so caught up in the current events; she had managed to ignore how hungry she was.

Ron sat next down next to her and sighed. "You said you needed to talk to me about Harry?"

Hermione looked turned to Ron and frowned. "Yes, but I think it could wait a bit."

She hated being the carrier of bad news and she didn't want to start a conversation just after meeting up with Sirius again like this. Plus she was very hungry.

"What about Harry?" Sirius prodded as he pulled out a few bowls, and like an answer to Hermione's prayers added, "Stew?"

"Yes!" Hermione quickly replied.

"Er, sure," Ron replied as well while glanced at Hermione with a look of shock in his eyes.

Sirius filled two bowls of his stew and handed them each one. Hermione dug into hers immediately, despite the suspicious stares of the other two men, and continuously searched over her shoulder.

"Hungry, 'Mione?" Ron asked sarcastically as he slowly started on his bowl.

Hermione nodded yes and continued eating. "I missed dinner yesterday and breakfast and lunch today."

"Why?" Sirius asked a little surprised.

"You weren't in the library were you?" Ron asked. "And if you were, please don't tell me you were with Malfoy."

Hermione placed her empty bowl in front of her and sighed.

"Draco Malfoy?" Sirius said. "Why would Hermione want to be with Draco Malfoy?"

"Beats me," Ron told him with a small ounce of anger in his voice.

Sirius looked at Hermione as he waited for her response. "He's really not that bad once you get to know him, Ron."

"Once a ferret, always a ferret."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's last comment and stood. "I'm going outside," she told them, "I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked, paranoia creeping into his voice.

"Just right outside the cave," she said. "All I want is some fresh air if that's ok with Ron."

Ron muttered something inaudible and continued with his stew as Hermione strode off down the cave passage way. She didn't have any light to guide her, but found that her anger towards Ron managed to speed things up for she soon found the entrance to the cave and marched out.

The afternoon sunlight broke through the trees and lit up the whole area, making it appear almost heavenly. She wished she could share this feeling with Draco, and she wondered how he was.

She pulled her wand out and examined it carefully, all the while thinking if the summoning spell worked on Humans. She could only imagine Draco's face is she were to try it on him.

She laughed and lifted her wand, "There's a first time for everything."

Before she could mutter any spell however, a hand from behind pulled her wand out of her grasp. She turned around and came face to face with Harry and nearly ten to twelve Death Eaters.

"Not today there isn't," Harry told her with a slight pain in his voice.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted. "What is this? What are you doing?"

"If you go willingly they won't hurt you," he told her without any emotion. "However, if you choose not to, then they will have no choice."

Hermione stared into Harry's eyes. They weren't the same anymore. They didn't hold that bright vibrant shine that they had in the past. Now they were dim and dark. This wasn't the normal Harry, something was wrong.

She glanced over her shoulder to see if there was anyone to help her. She was going to yell for Ron, but she knew that would get Sirius into trouble if she did. So she took her second choice and decided to run.

Hermione didn't get far, for the moment she went to turn, one of the Death Eaters cried, "Crucio!" and she felt pain sear up her body.

She felt hands grab at her and a man say something about a job well done and leaving to Hogsmeade to Apperate. She couldn't see anything; it was almost as if she had gone blind.

She heard Harry ask the man something about Ginny and if she would be alright. The man said something about a sure death and then everything went black.

One down, three to go.