My Soul Mate

Chapter Three - Running Away...

---

"Macnair..." hissed a cold voice.

A tall, thin figure stepped out the circle of Death Eaters. "Yes, my lord," said Macnair, with a slight bow.

"You know about Draco Malfoy assassinating someone and kidnapping the Mudblood," said Voldemort, "don't you?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I can't fathom why he would do such a thing," mused Voldemort thoughtfully. "It is beyond my knowledge. So, I want you to find him, Macnair. The affair is fishy, and I must get to the bottom of this."

"As you wish my lord," said Macnair. "Shall I do this alone, my lord?"

"You may take Nott and Rookwood with you," said Voldemort distractedly. "Those are the two wastrels here, apart from Crabbe, Goyle and Wormtail."

"I will, my lord."

"Start tomorrow morning, Macnair," said Voldemort. "That should be convenient enough, shouldn't it, Macnair?"

Macnair, who was obviously supposed to agree, said, "Quite convenient, my lord. But my lord," he added with apprehension, afraid of questioning the Dark Lord, "where should I even begin to look?"

However, Voldemort smiled, evilly, of course. "You know that traitor's residence, don't you?"

"Traitor, my lord?" asked Macnair confusedly.

"Yes," hissed Voldemort.

"Er, Karakaroff is dead, my lord," said Macnair apprehensively.

"Not Karakaroff, you fool," snapped Voldemort, annoyed.

"You are speaking of Severus Snape then?" said Macnair nervously.

Voldemort's upper lip curled. Macnair gulped.

"No," said Voldemort. "For your information, my imbecilic Death Eater, I am speaking about Alexander Malfoy."

"Oh!" said Macnair. "I am truly sorry, my lord."

"You better be," said Voldemort petulantly. "And before you distracted me, as I was saying, look for Draco Malfoy in Africa."

"I will, my lord."

Two figures, one in the circle and one canine, twitched at these words.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

There was a sharp tap on Draco's shoulder. He was asleep on his bed and the time was around six in the evening. There was another tap.

"Hey..." mumbled Draco sleepily. "Go away..."

But there was yet another tap.

Draco opened his eyes wearily. He saw the same black owl that had delivered him the letter from Wormtail that very morning perched on his chest. His forehead creased. However, he detached the letter from the bird and it took flight. Draco gave the password and the text materialized in front his eyes. Why would Wormtail contact him so soon, he wondered. Could there be any good news?

But little did Draco know that the news was no good at all. (Note: This sentence sounds...unnecessary almost. Not quite unnecessary, but it could be phrased to be more effective; it sounds awkward the way it is. A suggestion: But optimism never came without the risk of disappointment. OR: But of course, there was never good news these days.)

Master Malfoy - Get out of the place where you are, immediately. The Daily Prophet has reports you have committed murder and kidnapped Hermione Granger. Whoever spots you or Granger will be awarded five hundred Galleons. The Dark Lord has read the evening mail and is getting very suspicious. If he gets wind of what happened, then we are both dead meat. He is sending a missionary out to find you and I think he has pretty good idea where you would be. He spoke of Alexander's residence. If you are there, then please get out. No one escapes the Dark Lord, no one.

Wormtail.

Draco stared at the letter for a few minutes. "Holy shit!" he swore. He would have to get out before he was caught. But where would he go? He racked his brains; where would he go? Voldemort knows about this place. What if he was caught here?

And what if he wasn't?

Draco uttered an "Oh!"

What would the Death Eaters do if they didn't find Draco there? They would, of course, try and find him in the other parts of the world, everywhere apart from here and Britain, wouldn't they? Draco smirked. He knew he was cunning. All he would have to do was hide somewhere nearby other than the house. Voldemort's missionaries would not be able to find him here and would go back. And then, Draco could return.

The idea seemed brilliant. But he would have to move quickly, before anybody arrived. He rushed out of the bedroom into the dining room. Hermione was sitting on the davenport, sipping tea quietly.

"Granger," he said.

Hermione jumped a bit, but regained her composure and turned to him. "Awake yet?" she said. "You slept for more than five hours, you know," she commented.

"I know," said Draco curtly. "But we don't have time for bloody small talk right now." His voice was getting panicky. "We need to move out of here. Right now."

Hermione stared at him. "What?" she asked blankly.

"We need to get away from here," said Draco, rather loudly for his own liking. "Immediately."

"But why?"

"Because Voldemort is - " Draco stopped. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I mean, the Ministry is coming here."

Hermione stared at him. "The Ministry is coming here?" she voiced. "That's great!" she exclaimed.

"No it's not," said Draco irritably. "Let's just get out of here, okay?"

"What!" laughed Hermione. "Are you crazy?"

"What makes you ask?" countered Draco.

"If the Ministry comes and finds you, then I'll be free. You know free, with my family and friends," Hermione pointed out sardonically.

"And you think, Granger," he told with equal sarcasm, "that I want the Ministry to find us?"

Hermione's smile vanished.

"How silly!" said Draco cynically. "The Ministry comes here and I hand you to them with smiles, and then I can surrender myself! That sounds great!"

Hermione gaped at him. Of course, she thought, how could he let that happen?

"So you see, Granger," continued Draco, "If you don't move now with me, I will use the Imperius Curse on you and make you strip. I'll have all that you can offer a man, Granger. So, it's up to you."

Hermione's breath caught in her chest. She stared hard at him. She tried to say something but she was so terrified, that she couldn't utter a single word.

Draco smirked at her horror. Taking advantage of the situation, he said, "So, Granger," he walked towards the exit door and pushed it open. "Coming?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

Hermione nodded. She got up and limped all the way to the door.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Calm down, mate," said Ron in a balmy manner. "Everything will be all right..."

"All right?" voiced Harry blankly, as he paced the dormitory nervously, "All right? How can everything be alright? Dueling Voldemort - it's not babysitting, Ron."

"You can't train if you behave like this," said Ron firmly. "Dueling You-Know-Who needs courage, Harry."

Harry slumped onto his bed. "I guess you're right," he said and started fidgeting with his sheet. "But that's not all, you know..."

"That's not all?" repeated Ron surprised. "What do you mean? Has anything happened that you know and I don't? Has anything happened to Hermione? Or Sirius ... Why aren't you telling me?"

Harry looked taken aback. "Hey, calm down," he said, "Nothing like that."

Ron's face relaxed and he stopped babbling. "What then?" he asked Harry curiously.

Harry sighed deeply. "It's just..." he said sadly, "Hermione's not here. I don't know where she is or how she is or how Malfoy's treating her ... and then fighting Voldemort ... and then ... I won't have you by my side after tomorrow. I'll be left all alone..."

Ron looked at him compassionately. He got up and sat himself next to Harry.

"Harry..." he said, "I'll miss you too ... but you know that this has to be done, don't you? At least for Hermione."

Harry nodded. "I know that," he said in a choked voice.

"We'll keep in touch as much as possible," said Ron, in order to cheer him up.

"Yeah..." said Harry half-heartedly.

But inwardly, his heart had shattered into thousands of pieces.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Hurry up," hissed Draco anxiously at the limping form of Hermione, as she walked stiffly towards the door. "I haven't got all night."

Despite of her fears, Hermione spoke up. "It's not my fault I've hurt my leg," she told him defiantly. "I didn't ask you to put that bloody spell on me."

"Oh no, it is," said Draco as he closed the door behind him. He turned back to Hermione, now standing out on the staircase. "I told you not to try and run away. But that's of no concern now; you will pay for your audacity one day, Granger. For now, though, you had better be polite to me."

Hermione glared at him. But secretly, she thanked Draco for her injury; she might be able to slow them down long enough for the Ministry to catch them.

But it seemed that Draco could read her mind. "Now as much as I despise you," he said reluctantly, "I guess I'm going to have to do this." He pointed his wand at Hermione's right leg and muttered an incantation unknown to Hermione.

Immediately, Hermione's leg healed.

"Oh, shit!" swore Hermione quietly.

"Here you are, Granger," said Draco in mock cheerfulness. "All set? Good. Let's go."

He started walking.

"But I can't," called Hermione from behind his back.

Draco turned to her, his eyes now afire. "You don't want me to put the Imperius Curse -"

But Hermione cut him off. "No!" she exclaimed. "It's just that I am still bound to this house."

"Oh!" muttered Draco sheepishly, his dignified exterior vanishing. "I'm sorry," he said under his breath, softly enough so Hermione didn't hear. Draco pointed his wand again at Hermione and uttered the counter-curse. "Okay then," he said much loud this time. "Now, come on."

"All right," Hermione said tediously.

She climbed down the rickety steps without hurting herself.

"Where do we go now?" she asked.

"Hide somewhere nearby, I suppose," said Draco thoughtfully.

"What?" said Hermione surprised, "Wouldn't we - and by we, I mean you - be caught if we stayed somewhere nearby?"

"Not necessarily," said Draco, creasing his eyebrows, and started to make his way through the dense jungle.

Hermione followed him. "Why do you think so?" she asked curiously.

Draco pushed the prop roots of the many Banyan trees that were on the way. The sun threatened to set any moment and the light was becoming increasingly poor in the already dark tropical forest, making it extremely difficult to see, and even harder to walk.

"Why do you think so?" repeated Hermione.

"Because if Voldemort's missionaries don't find us here, then they'll leave Africa and then we can go back to the farmhouse," said Draco distractedly. But after a moment, he realized his mistake, but the damage was done.

Hermione froze in her tracks. "What did you say?" she demanded, horrified.

"Wha-what?" stammered Draco, stopping and turning back to look at Hermione as he realized what he'd said.

"Vol-Voldemort?" shrieked Hermione. "Voldemort?"

"I didn't say anything like that," lied Draco smoothly, quickly regaining his cool dignity.

"You did," pressed Hermione. "I didn't say that I was happy about this but you did. And for the second time this evening."

"You're out of your mind, Granger," said Draco curtly.

"I am not!" said Hermione hotly.

"I did not say anything like that!" denied Draco.

"You did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"All right, shut up, now!" said Draco with all the terminality he could muster. It was only after a few moments that Draco realized the racket they had been making. If the Death Eaters heard them ... "If the Ministry is coming this way then I'm done for!" he hissed aloud at Hermione.

"I don't care - " started Hermione, but Draco cut her off.

"I don't have to remind you what I can do to you now, Granger." said Draco dangerously. "You had better keep your voice down."

A look of terror shown in Hermione's face for some evanescent seconds but was soon replaced by forced calmness.

"All right, all right," said Hermione, defeated. "But tell me, how does the 'Ministry' know that we're even over here?"

"Well..." started Draco hesitantly. "Well ... the ... the Ministry's Auror team is quite intelligent, Granger. It's quite plausible that they've come upon some clue or something."

"Don't be silly," said Hermione. "You expect them to hear the news and after a few hours they hit upon a clue that tells them that we're here! Tell me, Draco Malfoy, what clues did you leave behind. I don't think you announced at Hogwarts that you would be spending time with me in Africa, let alone in some forlorn house!"

Draco didn't know what to say. But one thing he did know was he couldn't bluff Hermione anymore.

Hermione took a deep breath and walked a few paces towards him. "Look Malfoy," she said with forced tranquility, "you can't outsmart me. I have a lot of questions to ask you. And the things I know are: one, the Ministry hasn't got wind that we're here, two, it is not the Ministry tonight after us, instead, its Voldemort. Don't try and trick me, Malfoy," said Hermione when Draco uttered a defiant sound. "Clearly, you're running from Voldemort. Why? I don't know. But you know that I have no interest in a rendezvous with the Voldemort and his sidekick Death Eaters. So tell me what the hell is going on!"

Draco remained silent.

Hermione urged him further. "I thought it was Voldemort who ordered you to kill Hagrid," she said thoughtfully. "But now, I don't think I do so anymore. I even doubt if Voldemort has anything with you kidnapping me. I am right, aren't I?"

Draco still did not say anything. Hermione took that as unspoken assent and continued.

"But the thing that confuses me most is why a Death Eater running from the Dark Lord," said Hermione pointedly. "Tell me, Malfoy, what is this all this about?" she demanded.

"Bloody hell!" Draco finally roared, his fuming silence broken. "What do you want from me, Granger?" he said frustrated. "Fine, I agree that the Ministry has got nothing to do with this, Voldemort has! Fine, I agree that Voldemort didn't order me to kill Hagrid or kidnap you! Oh joy!" he went on sarcastically. "Hermione Granger is again correct, ten for ten! Get her the Witch of the Year award, why don't we?"

Hermione goggled at him. She was extremely surprised by Draco's rebuttal.

Draco looked at her oddly. He really didn't know what wanted except that he wanted to get out of the place right now. "You might want to move, Granger," he said. "Now."

But Hermione didn't even budge. "I am not going anywhere," she said, "until I get my answers."

"What answers?"

"A hell lot of them," said Hermione. "Let's start with, why did you kill Hagrid when it has nothing to do with Voldemort?"

"I" said Draco calculatedly, "am not answerable to you."

"You are answerable to me, Malfoy," said Hermione. "Hagrid was my friend and you killed him cold-bloodedly. So either you answer me or I won't move. I'll stand and wait for the Death Eaters," Hermione threatened.

"And let them come and lay you and kill you?" asked Draco incredulously.

"And tell them where are you."

"You wouldn't!"

"Look Malfoy," said Hermione matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't think before twice hurting me. It'll either be you or your fellow Death Eaters. Frankly, I don't care which. It's just my luck that I am safe and sound now."

"To hell with you, Granger," said Draco. "Here I am trying to save you from Voldemort and you ... I could have hurt you any time in the last ten hours, Granger. But did I? No! I want you out of trouble and you! I don't know what to tell you, Granger."

"The truth," Hermione demanded calmly.

"What truth?" yelled Draco in frustration. "Stop beating around the bush, Granger."

"You're beating around the bush," retorted Hermione equally. "You will have to tell me. Why did you kill Hagrid? What had he done to you?"

"This is not a courtroom, Granger," said Draco coldly. "I have kidnapped you. I didn't bring you here to tell you the truth."

"Fine, I am not going anywhere then."

"All right! I am going. Good night!"

"Good night!"

Draco turned on his heel and stalked away, breaking twigs under his shoes in his enraged march.

Hermione stared at Draco. He was impossible and she hated him like hell. Hermione frowned. There was something wrong going on. Draco was running from the Dark side, apart from the Light. He killed Hagrid on his own and under no one's command. But why? The affair was too fishy.

And Hermione wanted to get to the bottom of this. She would have to get Draco answer her. But how? After the scene she had created, she wondered if Draco would even want to look at her face, let alone tell her the truth.

The answer came to her like a piece of wood, jagged with shards of glass in the middle of the ocean; she didn't want to take it, but she knew there was no other choice...

She would have to seduce Draco Malfoy.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

There was a sharp rap on the door with a Griffin handle.

"Come in," said Dumbledore.

Sirius pushed the door and stepped inside the office. Though he hadn't been there for two years, he felt certain that the time he'd spent there during his school days was enough to last him a lifetime.

"Sirius!" said Dumbledore. "Good evening! I believe that Alastor contacted you."

"Good evening, Dumbledore," said Sirius gravely as he took a seat. "Yes, Moody did."

"I did not expect you so soon," said Dumbledore. "Your journey is scheduled to start after breakfast tomorrow morning."

"I know that Dumbledore," said Sirius. "But I have important news."

"Go on then."

"When Moody told me about everything, I transformed and tried to find Hermione and Malfoy's traces, if there were any. I didn't succeed for a long time. I don't know how, but I got lost and I found myself on a hill. Below were the Death Eaters and Voldemort."

"What!" said Dumbledore sharply.

"Yes, Dumbledore," continued Sirius, his expression graver than ever. "And you wouldn't believe what they were saying."

"Do you?"

"I almost couldn't." said Sirius. "Alastor told me that Voldemort had ordered Malfoy to kill, though whom, we do not know."

"Yes, he did."

"He didn't."

There was a moment of silence during which Dumbledore gazed at Sirius regally, not doubting him, but reluctant to believe that Voldemort had nothing to do with the murder.

"I am not kidding, Dumbledore," said Sirius earnestly. "Voldemort ordered Macnair to look and fetch Malfoy so that he could get to the bottom of this."

Dumbledore looked graver than Sirius. "And..." he prompted.

Sirius leaned forward and spoke in a mere whisper. "Voldemort mentioned Alexander."

"Alexander?" asked Dumbledore, confused. "I happen to know many named Alexander, Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes slightly. "Alexander Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy's brother."

"That Alexander Malfoy who was a Death Eater but turned against Voldemort, resulting in his murder?"

"Yes. He was my classmate."

"He was a good person," said Dumbledore somberly. "He wanted to be free..."

"I know," said Sirius. "He was a good friend too. But I have more to tell you, Dumbledore."

"Continue."

"Voldemort ordered Macnair to look for Draco in Africa, where Alex was in hiding."

"Did he?" Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

Sirius nodded.

"Then you will set out to look for Hermione and Malfoy in Africa, tomorrow, Sirius," said Dumbledore. "They might be there..."

"All right."

"Now I suggest you spend the night here, Sirius," said Dumbledore. "Come, I'll take you to Harry..."