My Soul Mate

Chapter Five - NarrOw Escape...

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"And oh Granger," said Draco as he stepped into the dark cave, illuminated only by a slat of moonlight falling inside it. "Did I thank you for saving my life back there?"

Hermione snapped out of her trance at her archenemy's words. "W-what?" she stammered.

"I didn't thank you for saving my life," said Draco. He turned to face Hermione, who was gawking at him with more intensity than she had previously with the dragon. "Anyway, thank you."

Hermione gaped at him, dumbfounded. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was serious, but thinking that that might be too rude, she closed her mouth. "We-welcome," she stuttered again.

Draco gave her a small smile and stepped further into the cave. It was quite dark. Hermione looked around as she too stepped in. It wasn't a big one, hardly about half the size of her dormitory at Hogwarts. Where the moonlight fell, she could see a small bed. Surprisingly, the sheets didn't look dusty. Of course, she reasoned; the cave was sealed and made invisible, since the Plotting Charm Path had ended into nothingness. There wasn't any chance by which the bed could get dusty.

Hermione could hear Draco mutter some incoherent words that she couldn't recognize. After Draco was done, she waited for the effect of the charm to take place. A few moments flew by, but there was no noticeable effect whatsoever.

Perplexed, she asked him, "What did you do?"

"Sealed this place and made it invisible," Draco answered. Then he resumed muttering under his breath.

Again, there were no perceptible effects. But before Hermione could ask, Draco told her, rather a bit proudly, "And now, this cave is Unplottable and no one can Apparate or Disapparate over here."

Hermione was impressed by Draco's magical prowess. She had never learnt how to make a place invisible or prevent it from people Apparating or Disapparating. But she wasn't going to show that to Draco.

"Lumos!" said Draco.

A thin streak of yellow light issued immediately from his wand. He looked around for a torche. There were two - one at the bedside and one next to the entrance. He walked towards them and lit them, one by one. The whole cave lit up brightly.

Hermione looked around again. Apart from a small bed, there were a wooden table and two wooden chairs. No other furniture was found in the cave. Uncertain what to do next, Hermione took a seat on one of the chairs.

Draco gazed around the cave walls satisfied, but as Hermione watched him, his brow furrowed and he suddenly looked quite strained.

"What's bothering you now?" asked Hermione lightly.

"Danger has only been delayed," said Draco softly more to himself than Hermione, looking out at the sky. "Not quelled."

Hermione nodded to herself. But she knew that the Death Eaters couldn't possibly find them there. Nevertheless, did anyone ever escape the Dark Lord? Moreover, such measures taken by Draco also ceased the chances of the Ministry finding them.

Draco sighed and walked towards the wooden table and sat himself on one of the wooden chairs too. "But I guess we are safe now," he said heavily.

"I suppose so."

Draco checked his watch again. It was almost eight - past dinnertime. He should have eaten something. He didn't have his breakfast and his lunch was rather inadequate. However, he had an uneasy feeling in his stomach and didn't feel like eating right then. He was completely preoccupied by a number of things.

It seemed that Hermione was thinking along the same lines too, since at that moment she said, "Aren't you hungry?"

"No," said Draco.

"Alright, but I am," said Hermione wantonly. She brandished her wand and a plate with two sandwiches appeared. She grabbed one and started eating, looking around yet again.

Feeling that it would be discourteous of him to look at Hermione as she ate, Draco got up and walked back towards the opening of the cave. He looked out at the cloudy sky, hardly visible behind the tall and dark treetops and. Nonetheless, the portion of the sky, which was cloudless, had been embedded with a few twinkling stars and a crescent moon squinted behind the clouds. A cool breeze was blowing and Draco hugged himself. The insects were buzzing and there was a light rustle of leaves nearby. A nightjar was making a quaint noise along with the owls and the tailor birds. Yet, there was a sort of peacefulness within the woods and Draco felt rather calm, ever since his arrival in that forlorn place.

He began recalling everything again. The hideous day when Voldemort branded him as a Death Eater ... the catastrophic evening when Hagrid died ... his futile attempts at acquiring Manumission from Servitude, the endless nights he had been up thinking and plotting...

Draco sighed. He didn't know what trouble he had landed himself in. He was distressed and under strain for a long time. He could neither eat nor sleep. He was afraid this might lead to severe wreckage in his health. Only a matter of time, he consoled himself, only a matter of time before I lay my hands on Manumission from Servitude, and then I will be free ... at least from Voldemort. I'll tackle the other side later...

Draco still didn't feel hungry. It had been a long day and he was very tired and exhausted. Perhaps the ever-extant apprehension in his mind had ceased his appetite. The moon was still shining behind the caliginous treetops and the stars winked naughtily at him in sky, wherever devoid of any bluish-orange clouds. Draco breathed in heavily and turned back to find Hermione sleeping on the bed. He smirked contemptuously at her, thinking how boorish she could get, the Gryffindor Ace. He checked the time ... it was a quarter past ten. Draco wasn't surprised. Time was flying by in a reckless manner lately, as he usually kept engrossed in his worries and tensions. He looked at Hermione again. Nevertheless, he had to admit; she looked very peaceful ... and pretty.

Her wavy, reddish brown hair glowed angelically in the light emitted by the torches and draped half of her face like an auburn colored curtain. Her coral colored lips were slightly parted and one of her hands was stretched on her stomach and the other, on the bed.

Draco's derisive smirk was replaced by a smile, unbeknownst to him, as he walked forwards and sat on the chair and rested his head on his hands and fell into a heavy slumber.

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Harry woke up at half past five the next morning, with a formidable and anxious feeling in his mind. He was supposed to meet Dumbledore by the great lake at six that very aurora and there he was, rubbing his eyes and yawning on his bed in the boys' dormitory. He couldn't help it though; he was worrying late into the night about Hermione, wondering if he really wanted to go out with her. He liked her no doubt, but he dreaded that going out with her might ruin the friendship between him and her. And perhaps with Ron too.

Harry got up from his bed and took his shower. After dressing hurriedly, he ran down the stairs of the Gryffindor tower, into the Great Hall, and then to the grounds by the great lake.

But it was already ten minutes past six by the time he reached there.

Dumbledore was there, in light blue robes, smiling at Harry's flushed and panting form. "Good morning, Harry," he said pleasantly.

"Good morning, Professor," said Harry, in between his gasps. After calming down a bit, he added, "I'm sorry I'm late, Sir. I have been having a lot of things in my mind since yesterday morning."

"Ah yes," said Dumbledore politely. "We all have been quite disturbed lately... No matter, we must start training, Harry."

Harry looked at Dumbledore uneasily.

"I understand, Harry," said Dumbledore kindly. "This must be really burdening for you. But you understand Harry, don't you? It has to be either you or Lord Voldemort."

Harry nodded. But before he could stop himself, he blurted out. "How can anyone think that I can duel Voldemort!"

"Harry, Harry," Dumbledore said soothingly. "There are very few people who can duel Lord Voldemort. He had spent many, many years in research and practice. He is superior to all, even me, Harry. He has killed numerous wizards of great magical prowess, in the blink of an eye. It is practically not possible to duel him."

Harry gaped at Dumbledore, dumbfounded. "Th-then what I am going to do?" he asked in horror.

"Learn how to use and repel the Dark magic. Before facing Voldemort himself, Harry, you will have to encounter his Death Eaters. Some of them are very powerful, keep that in mind. Even though most of the Death Eaters are locked away in Azkaban, Voldemort is cunning enough to get them out of there. He will unfetter all of them. The Ministry can't possibly stop him."

"But that still does not explain how I am to survive Voldemort."

"The answer will come to you, Harry, when the time is right. I shouldn't tell that to you now."

Harry narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore as he felt anger working its way to him. "I s'pose you know what happened the last time you refrained from telling me the truth," he stated a bit sarcastically.

Dumbledore didn't look in the least abashed at Harry's words. "I do know," he said patiently. "But rest assured, Harry. I can tell you now, but I don't think it would be good for you to hear it now."

"Please, Professor. I am sixteen! I can handle things. You know I can!"

"It will be difficult for all to bear, no matter what their ages are, Harry. So I suggest we get on with the training."

Before Harry could argue, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and indicated Harry to do the same. Sulking, Harry obeyed.

"Now Harry," continued Dumbledore. "As you must have noticed back in the Department of Mysteries, the Death Eaters use a strong and fatal spell that requires no incantation."

Harry nodded, remembering only too well how a certain Death Eater has brandished his wand at Hermione, emitting a silver light that had struck his best friend's chest, leaving her unconscious for hours. At the very thought of it, he felt white-hot fury surging through his body.

"So naturally," went on Dumbledore. "Silencing the Death Eaters will have no effect on them whatsoever, even if we could prevent being hit by other curses. However, considering that there would be many Death Eaters and we can't possibly Silence them together, they might overcome this barrier by mutual co-operation or by the Shielding Charm, Protego, since Silencio is a mild curse.

"The curse in concern is called the Verletzt Curse. It is, by no surprise, invented by Lord Voldemort himself, and this is a handy spell, for them as well as for us, should any one be Silenced. The Verletzt Curse knocks out a person coarsely. Therefore, it is best to avoid the curse, since it can not be rebounded by any simple Shielding Charm."

Dumbledore stopped for a moment or two before continuing, "But as I'm sure, you must have noticed how all despotic curses had rebounded upon the originator yesterday morning, when used over Draco Malfoy."

Harry gritted his teeth hard. Again, the very thought of Malfoy kidnapping Hermione had rage coursing in his body.

Dumbledore noticed Harry's face hardening. But he chose to ignore it. "That is the only way of dodging the Verletzt Curse, Harry," he reasoned. "So I suggest you learn."

Harry nodded his head.

"This is how the shield is made, Harry," Dumbledore said as he stood back and rolled his sleeves. Then, he exclaimed, "Schild!" Turning to Harry, he told, "Now try stunning me, Harry."

Harry raised his eyebrows; nonetheless, he stood back too and squared his shoulders before saying, "Stupefy!"

Immediately, a streak of mandarin red shot towards his headmaster, but almost instantaneously, Harry saw the scarlet light rushing towards him. Thanks to his Quidditch reflexes, Harry ducked and dodged the spell quickly.

"Very good, Harry." said Dumbledore appreciatively. "But I advise now you learn the advanced form of Shielding. Point your wand towards yourself, and say 'Schild'. The spell needs high magical prowess, but I believe you have it. So, perform the spell on yourself."

Harry bit his lip and nodded. Pointing his wand towards himself, as per his headmaster's instructions, he said aloud, "Schild!"

Harry felt a gripping sensation flowing to every part of his body, in every direction, as though several large hands were pressing him tightly.

"All right, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Let's see how powerful the Shield you have created is," And then, without warning, he brandished his wand and said, "Stupefy!"

Again, a streak of red light issued and hit Harry, but to Harry's amazement, the curse had no effect on him but rebounded upon Dumbledore, the same effect taking place again with him. The red light of the Stunning spell disappeared into the Forbidden Forest.

"Ah good, Harry, good," Dumbledore lauded. "I want you to practice this spell with the DA members today."

Harry nodded, feeling pleased.

"Then I'll take my leave, Harry. Have a nice day."

"Goodbye, Professor."

Dumbledore walked away, leaving Harry alone. Harry stared at his wand, a furious determination in his jade eyes. "I'll get you, Malfoy," he whispered to himself. "I'll get you."

Meanwhile, Dumbledore was a bit saddened. He felt sorry for Harry, who didn't know what cost he would have to pay for survival.

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It was half past eight that very morning. Ron and Harry were seen near the huge oak paneled doors of the Entrance Hall in Hogwarts.

"So how long will you be gone for, Ron?" asked Harry sadly.

"No idea, mate," replied Ron. "We are first going to check at Africa. If Hermione and Malfoy are found there ... I don't know, we might be able tackle that Slytherin git. But if they're not..."

"If they're not?"

"I dunno ... might be that we will come back, 'cause Dumbledore hasn't given any instructions regarding that."

"And what is that about 'we might be able tackle'?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, you see ... Malfoy did get away from Hogwarts in front of Dumbledore and the whole faculty."

Harry didn't like Ron's reply, but nonetheless, it was true. "He is a full fledged Death Eater, I am sure," he said.

"Yeah. Oh, Harry," said Ron. "Since you left last night after mentioning Hermione," he allowed a small grin to come up to his face, "Sirius told me one more important thing."

"What's that?"

"You-Know-Who has nothing to do with Malfoy murdering someone or kidnapping Hermione."

"What!"

"Yeah,"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed. "I wonder why is that,"

"Whatever it is, means that Malfoy is up to something, evil no doubt, and You-Know-Who didn't anticipate."

"Might be."

"Oh, and here come Sirius, Moody and Dumbledore."

Harry looked up. It was indeed them. Dumbledore was walking forwards, Sirius and Moody behind, in deep conversation.

As they reached Harry and Ron, Harry said, "Hey, Sirius, you didn't tell me about Voldemort last night."

Sirius looked up, his brows grooved. "Oh, that," he said as he realized what his godson was saying and then grinned. "Well, we went out of topic, didn't we? So I forgot."

Harry narrowed his eyes again. "You think it's funny, don't you?"

Sirius, still grinning, nodded.

Dumbledore, sensing tension brewing up, said at once, "Well, well, I think that you should go, otherwise you may miss them."

"Them?" asked Harry confused.

"The bloody Death Eaters, Potter," grunted Moody.

"The Death Eaters?"

"Yeah," said Ron quickly. "I told you, you didn't hear out Sirius completely."

Harry glared at him. "All right..." he murmured through clenched teeth. "But I still don't know why you will miss them."

"Licit then," said Dumbledore, smiling benignly at Harry. "I'll explain it all to you. But I recommend that they should go now."

"And I recommend constant vigilance," barked Moody.

"Okay," said Harry, now smiling slightly. "Bye Ron, and Sirius. Good luck!"

"Bye Harry!" chorused Ron and Sirius.

Moody patted Harry on his shoulder and walked out of the Entrance Hall, Sirius and Ron following him.

"So, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You would like me to elucidate some doubts you have, concerning the Death Eaters? Then I propose I walk you to your first class while explaining it all to you."

"Class?" said Harry surprised. "We are going to have classes?"

"Harry, we cannot defer education, in any case. Everybody will attend the usual classes and life will go back to normal."

There was such finality in his headmaster's voice that Harry couldn't argue back. So he let Dumbledore walk him to his first class - Transfiguration.

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The sun's direct and hot rays glared at him as Draco opened his vivid bluish-grey eyes. He blinked a few times to get used to the sudden illume.

He found that his head was still resting on his arms; last night, he had fallen asleep on the wooden table, sitting on a settee. Draco shook his head as he lifted himself up and stretched. He yawned widely and then looked around.

Hermione was already up. She had removed her school robes and Gryffindor tie and they were lying neatly folded in a corner on the bed. She revealed to be wearing a grey, fitting skirt and a white shirt. She had even braided her hair into the French style. But it was what she was doing that caught Draco by surprise.

She was facing the wall near to the bed and knocking on it, straining her ears and then shifting right and knocking and then back again.

"What are doing?" Draco asked her, stifling another yawn.

Hermione jumped a bit and spun around. "Oh, you're awake," she said, looking caught off guard.

"That's what people do after sleeping," said Draco sarcastically. "Anyway, what were doing?"

"Me? - Oh, nothing," said Hermione. Hastily changing the subject, she added, "Well you know what time is it?"

Draco arrogantly checked his watched and then started.

It was a quarter past nine. "Merlin! Did I sleep so late?" he exclaimed.

"It seems so,"

Draco got up and unclasped his robes. "I must get going," he said.

"Where?"

"Back to the house, to check on it."

"Oh,"

Without any further words, Draco flung his robe and loosened his tie and walked out of the cave.

Hermione sighed in relief. She was almost caught ... well not caught as such, since she wasn't doing anything wrong. She had woken up at about six in the morning. She naturally did; it was her daily habit to do so. It was hot and she had opened her robes. Then she had noticed that the torches were still lit. She went to extinguish the one two or three feet apart from the bed when she tripped over the torch stand and knocked out the torch. It made a loud clinking sound. Hermione cringed at the loud sound and went to extinguish the other ember. It was only then when she realized the hollow sound emitted from the wall, as if it were empty, unlike solid walls. Since then she had been knocking on the walls to see if her suspicions were true.

They were.

The sound made from knocking on the part of the wall next to the torch was definitely vacuous then the sound made from anywhere on the other parts of the wall. This meant that there was something behind the rocks, some sort of emptiness. Like a secret entrance ... well not as large as an entrance, but at least a secret locker or something. Hermione wanted to check it out, but refrained from doing so in front of Draco.

But now was the chance. Draco wasn't there. Hermione pointed her and at wand at the wall and muttered, "Reducto!"

The concerned part of the wall blasted and revealed a locker type thing indeed. Excited, Hermione reached for the knob. She turned it and it opened. Her forehead creased in surprise. Why wasn't the locker locked? she thought.

The locker opened to reveal a sheet of worn out parchment with text in Ancient Runes.

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"Bloody hell!" Draco swore as he made his way back to the house. He had been sleeping so late. No diligence at all...

Draco walked on with a cat-like grace. He didn't intend to catch the Death Eaters' attention. After about half an hour or so, another old cave came into view. This was no cave, of course. It was the very wooden house, charmed by Draco to look as a cave.

Ignoring its appearance, Draco stepped into the 'cave' and immediately, the house materialized in front of him. Draco looked around cautiously. There weren't any signs of anyone being there, not even on the dusty floor. Draco sighed in relief. Stepping into the house was a great risk, should he meet the Death Eaters there.

He slumped into the davenport in the living room. His heartbeat had increased almost twice its rate in apprehension. He took out a pocket-handkerchief and wiped his transuded forehead.

"Move your ass up there, Nott!" barked a cold voice.

Draco froze. There was no mistaking this voice. He had heard it many times before.

Macnair

...

"Come on you morons," said Macnair's voice disgustedly. "We can't hope to catch Malfoy in this rate!"

Draco started at his fellow Death Eater's words. The voice sounded too close for his liking. But there was no misconception - the Death Eaters were surely out there. Out of the house.

"Macnair," said the voice of Rookwood. "Isn't this place where Alex's house used to be."

Draco had almost stopped breathing. He was inside the very house the Death Eaters were in front of. If they stepped in...

"Yes, this is it," said Macnair, "but it's a cave in its place."

"So where's the house?" asked Nott.

"Well..." said Rookwood, his voice strained. "It must be somewhere nearby. We must have got into the wrong path."

"I am not sure, Rookwood," said Macnair icily. "This might not be a cave at all..."

"You mean to say that Malfoy has charmed it?"

"Maybe,"

"Come off it!" laughed Rookwood. "Since when has Draco Malfoy learnt magic advanced enough to charm the appearance of a place?"

Draco closed his eyes in a silent prayer. Inwardly, he was glad that Voldemort and Lucius had trained him in private. So those goons need not know that he could perform advanced forms of magic.

"I won't say that you haven't got a point, Rookwood," came Nott's voice.

Believe him, Macnair, prayed Draco ... believe him, go away...

"Well ... I never saw young Malfoy training..." said Macnair, giving in a bit.

Go ... come on, oh why did I put Anti-Apparating spells in this goddamned place!

"I'm telling you, Macnair," urged Rookwood. "Nothing's to be done here. We must have come into the wrong place."

"Yeah," chimed in Nott. "Let's try somewhere else..."

There was a moment of silence.

"Alright," came Macnair's voice. "But where do we go now? We can't even split, considering the brains you two have got."

"We'll search together," said Nott offhandedly.

"Okay, lets go right first."

Draco sighed in relief as he heard footsteps moving away. He was almost caught. God, he was lucky.

He took out his pocket-handkerchief again wiped his sweaty temples. The affair was getting more dangerous by the minute. He needed to get done with it quickly before matters got out of his hand. But where will he find that blasted book? Draco closed his eyes in despair and exhaled heavily.

"They're gone!"

Draco's eyes shot open. Oh no! The voice sounded too familiar to be true.

"Well, what do you think, Sirius?" another familiar voice growled.

"I guess we should follow the Death Eaters."

"Shit!" whispered Draco. It was that wretched Weasley, the paranoid Moody and Sirius Black, Potter's godfather. All that he needed now was more trouble.

"I agree, Sirius," said Ron.

"Alright Weasley," said Moody. "We might as well chivy those dogs before we lose track of them."

"So let's go," said Sirius.

Draco sighed in relief again. It was a narrow escape. Bloody serendipitous of the situation and fortuitous of him to elude botheration in this manner.

But he didn't know how long the colporteurs would remain in that place and it was important for him to keep trail of them. He bit his lip. He had no idea how to manage this without being caught. Six people or at least five would out number him, leaving that pathetic Weasel out. He was strong, but not strong enough to take three trained Death Eaters and a powerful wizard like Black and a potent Auror at a time.

Oh let them be, he thought, giving up. They won't stand a chance against finding Granger or me in the cave and will leave as soon as they find themselves unsuccessful.

And speaking of Hermione Granger...

Accursed predicament.

He didn't bind that Mudblood to the cave.

Draco got up and ran out of the house in the southward direction, hoping against hope that he would not be caught. He wasn't, thank god. How could he be so careless? If she got away and told her darned friends where he was...

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Hermione gasped softly as the piece of parchment fell to the ground. It looked old very. She bent down to pick up the vellum and studied the text. Even though the ink had faded, there was no mistaking that the words were written in Runes. Hermione scanned the sheet. By deciphering some of the words, like blood and water, she guessed that this was the recipe for some kind of potpourri.

Hermione looked at the parchment excitedly, wondering what sort of concoction it led to, but she would not know until she had unraveled the entire thing. She got up and reached for the pocket of her robe, searching for a quill. Luckily, she had one of the eagle feathers. Propitious of her that she had charmed the quill with never ending ink.

Hermione decided that she would interpret the writing in private, when Draco would not be there. God knows when she would return Hogwarts and she couldn't wait till then. Draco was not there now, but who knew when would he return. So Hermione pocketed the parchment in her robe and repaired the wrecked wall.

As soon as she had, she heard heavy footsteps outside the cave and in stepped Draco, looking very anxious. When he saw her, he said, "Oh god!" and slumped onto the bed.

"Are you alright?" asked Hermione, taken aback.

Draco clutched the side of his stomach as a stitch had formed there. "Yeah..." he gasped. "You're still here..."

"Where will I go?"

"No, stupid ... I didn't bind you to this cave ... and ... you didn't leave."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Well, considering the events of last night," she snapped at him. "I have lost all interest in wandering about myself among those animals."

Draco grinned at her. "You're so innocent..."

"I am not! I am supposed to be the smart one, or did you forget?"

"It's hard not to."

"Shut up!"

For a moment there was silence during when Draco kept grinning and Hermione fumed. But she was truthful though, last night had scared the hell out of her.

"So did you find the Death Eaters?" Hermione asked, sitting on a chair.

"Yeah," said Draco as he brandished his wand and a plateful of sausages appeared. He bit into one and started eating.

"What were they doing?"

"I went into the house to find no one," said Draco, in between eating. "But then, I heard Macnair, Nott and Rookwood."

Those bastards, who escaped from Azkaban, thought Hermione furiously. "And then?" she urged him further.

"I had charmed the house to look like an old, collapsible cave. They were fooled and then, they went away. No sooner had they, when reached three other morons."

"Who?"

Draco bit his lip. It wouldn't hurt to tell Hermione the truth, but he had a nauseous feeling about it. Nevertheless, he said, "Moody, Black and Weasley."

Hermione gaped at him. "Are-are you serious?" she stammered.

Draco looked down and nodded mutely.

Hermione couldn't say anything. She closed her eyes as she felt hot tears brimming into them. Her friends had been there and they missed her. How hapless could she get...?

But she was determined not to show any of her misery to Draco. Swallowing hard, she asked again, "And then?"

Draco looked up surprised at how coolly Hermione took it; but Hermione was avoiding his eye. "They went away too," he said quietly. "Unable to find you or me."

That was the end of it. Hermione buried her head in arms, leaning on the table and sobbed quietly. This was getting hard for her, but what other way did she have?