Muffles sound.

, Draco eased away from Hermione's grasp. He pulled out the telephone from his drawer, magically lengthened the cord and dragged it to the bathroom. Once the door was closed and a muffling spell cast, he dialled a number that he'd called many times before.

After exactly three rings, the person picked up. "Password, please."

"Dromeda, it's me."

"Oh," Andromeda Tonks sounded relieved and far happier. Then she asked worriedly, "Draco, is anything the matter?"

"I found Granger," he said lowly, then winced when he heard her joyful gasp. "Don't tell anyone about it. You understand what we talked about before."

"Yes, of course. Are they true?"

"She is..." He trailed off. On the one hand, he didn't want his aunt to worry. But on the other, he didn't want to undermine Hermione's state either, nor did he want Andromeda happily whisking Hermione off to saint bloody Potter. "...she isn't well."

Andromeda let out a long sigh. "I feared so. But she is finally safe with you now, Draco. This is marvellous and I am so proud of you – "

"Save the sentiment for another time, Dromeda." Draco rolled his eyes and he could hear his aunt chuckle in amusement. "I'm in a bit of a spot right now. You remember that house at the Quarry?"

"Yes, the place you searched ages ago. Did you find her there?"

"Her, and six other refugees."

There was a pause. And then, "Are they – "

"Greyback and his pack finished them off," Draco said shortly. "Granger was in a secret room below the basement. Her most recent injuries are two weeks old, but the refugees were only there for a week. I suspect that whoever kept her there does check up on her. I made a mistake when I took her away on the night I was patrolling – "

"And you need a cover," Andromeda finished sombrely. "I understand."

"Preferably some traitor of the Order, maybe one whose mind's been messed with so he can't weave a proper alibi. I can't have anyone pinning their suspicions on me."

"Yes, of course, I'll get someone to see to it."

But he heard the self-reproach in his aunt's voice and he let out a sigh. Would this guilt never cease? "Dromeda, this is on me. You're just doing what you have to do so you can save me and Granger. One scapegoat in exchange for Potter's best friend. Sounds like a bloody good deal, so cheer up."

Andromeda laughed, and he was suddenly reminded of how similar she sounded to his mother. The same pleasant, rich tones. His chest tightened and he clutched the phone tighter to his ear as she spoke. "Oh, Draco, you do know how to humour your old Aunt."

"One of my many talents. Gotta ring off now. Keep this between us, will you? I'm afraid the Order isn't ready to know about this yet."

"Yes, I understand. And you're right, they're not." There was a brief pause, before she added, "And Draco - "

He knew exactly what she would say. "Stay safe?"

"Always."

He closed his eyes briefly - Merlin, how he wished it was his mother telling him that. But he'd settle for his aunt too, the only family he had now. "You too."

The call ended. Picking up the phone, he headed out of the bathroom, only to stop short at the sight before him. Shit. How long had he been in there? The Gryffindor witch was no longer asleep, but sobbing silently with her knees pulled to her chest.

"Granger."

At the sound of his voice, her head snapped up. She immediately reached for him, almost stumbling in the process, and he dropped the phone so that he could catch her in time. He hesitated, then slowly wrapped his arms around her.

"I-I'm sorry," she sobbed, clutching desperately onto the thin white shirt he wore. He knew that there'd be crinkles because of her tight grip, but right now, that was the least of his problems. "I didn't mean to – to cry, but I just – "

"Not your fault." He eased her down onto the bed, drawing the covers over her with wandless magic. She stared up at him with haunted eyes, and he knew exactly what it was that had woken her up. "Nightmare?"

She nodded, slipping her hand into his again and pressing it against her cheek. He tried to ignore the warmth of her skin and her shallow breaths on his skin, dangerously delicious as that felt. "This one wasn't – wasn't too bad – it was just... sad, so I woke up crying. I-I have plenty others, some more...horrifying than others but always centered around – around the same person."

Draco tried to resist, but curiosity killed the cat.

"Who?"

She cast her eyes down to stare at their interlocked hands. And when she finally spoke, her voice was so soft he almost didn't catch it.

"You."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

He'd perfected this expression a long time ago - a blank look, features that betrayed no emotion, save for the minute pinch of his lips that hinted annoyance. His eyes, however, missed nothing. As he stood next to the Dark Lord, he studied each new initiate - some terrified, some thrilled. Most of them barely looked a day over eighteen.

Walden MacNair stood at the Dark Lord's other side, reading out loud from a book of regulations that Draco had made awhile ago. Regulations that kept all the Death-Eaters in line and aided the Dark Lord in all his conquests around the world, enforcing only the strictest sort of security and the most painful of punishments to whomever disobeyed.

Bellatrix stood beside Draco, letting out cackles of laughter at the new recruits. Draco had cast a calming charm on her that morning, because he wasn't sure if the Dark Lord would appreciate her antics of insanity on such a formal occasion such as this. So she was silent, save for the maniacal laughter that spilled from her lips every so often. It annoyed the hell out of Draco, but it was better than watching Bellatrix lick the blood of prisoners off her wand.

Draco tuned her out and let his mind drift to the conversation he'd had with Hermione the night before. His jaw clenched as he remembered - how he was the fixture of every nightmare she had.

"No, don't – don't take this the wrong way!" she'd insisted, when he'd begun to draw back from her. "Please listen. You are never, never evil in my dreams."

He almost wanted to look away, but something in her voice made him meet her gaze to see the moonlight streaming through the window reflected in her eyes.

Hermione simply grasped his hand tightly. "You are always good, Draco."

Draco was pulled out of his little reverie when Bellatrix's laugh interrupted him. And when she cackled again, Draco hit her with a silencing charm. And then she was laughing to herself noiselessly. The Dark Lord glanced over his shoulder at Draco, who simply shrugged.

"It wasn't a fucking comedy, my lord."

The Dark Lord lips curled. MacNair resumed his reading and the Dark Lord continued to put the mark on new recruits. Three more to go. Draco couldn't wait for it to be over and done with so that he could go back home.

To her. To Hermione.

A sudden, muffled whimper slipped past the lips of the current recruit. And everyone suddenly froze, the room going completely silent, focusing on the young girl who had not held her tongue when she should have.

The Dark Lord stopped. "What was that?"

"I..." The terror in the girl's eyes reminded him of Hermione, except that they were blue. "My lord, I..."

The Dark Lord glanced at his right-hand man. "Did you hear that?"

Draco eyes narrowed at the girl. "The very sound of cowardice, my lord."

"So my ears had not tricked me. Unfortunately - " The Dark Lord pinned his cold gaze on her. "You have. Draco?"

Dread tightened in Draco's chest. Each step forward was slow and deliberate - a façade to instil fear. But in truth, he'd hit her with a series of wandless spells that he could recite in his sleep. Impedimenta, to hold her still. Legilimens, to absorb her memories.

Then he looked at her, knowing that he'd remember her terror for the rest of his life, and pointed his wand to her heart.

"Avada Kedavra."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

It had been a horrible day for Hermione without Draco. When he'd left, he'd given her rather specific instructions. He'd return by noon for lunch and, in the meantime, she could do anything she want as long as she didn't leave the room.

"Look after this for me," he had told her, pointing to the phial she was grasping in her left hand, while her right hand lingered reluctantly on the sleeve of his jumper. "I mean it, Granger. This is one of the most important things to me."

"I will," she promised, her voice barely a whisper.

He glanced round the room. Perhaps she was overthinking it, but did he seem reluctant to leave? After a moment's hesitation, he rummaged through his dresser before pulling out a wand and a piece of paper. "In case anything happens, tap the phial three times before saying that incantation. Others phials like it will heat up and help will come."

"Other phials?"

He surprised her by winking swiftly. "You're not the only one who knows how to cast a Protean charm, Granger."

Her eyebrows knitted. "A p-protean charm?"

His expression darkened and he drew back. "Stay safe, Granger."

Without him, she wasn't so sure she was.

She spent the rest of the morning sleeping off the worst of her injuries, only to wake whenever a nightmare seized her. When hours ticked by and Draco still didn't return, she hid the clock in the bathroom to drown out the sounds of ticking. The jumper that he'd left on the bed still smelled of him and she clutched it to her chest, drawing in deep breaths to keep the hysteria at bay.

Stay sane, her mind whispered. Think of him to stay sane. It's how you've managed all this while.

After what seemed like forever, the front door clicked open. Thank Merlin. Hot tears of relief pricked her eyes and she dragged herself to the door. The muffling charm he'd cast earlier had worn off and she could hear everything clearly.

"Brilliant performance, mate." The voice wasn't Draco's. "No wonder you're the favourite."

"Pansy, get him a phial, quickly," another voice directed. This one was calm, and she felt marginally soothed by the sound of it.

"Don't rush me!" A feminine voice this time.

The first voice sniggered. "Is that what you always do to her in bed, Blaise?"

"Shut up, Theo. So Draco, did you see anything?"

"Of course I did, why did you think I rushed back for?"

A huge weight lifted off her chest at that voice and she smiled through her tears. Draco had returned. She pressed her ear against the door and heard thuds as someone ran across the room. Silence reigned for a moment or two, before Draco spoke again.

"Right, that's all her memories. Now I'm going to bed, and don't wake me unless something catastrophic happens - like Theo setting the house on fire."

"Don't bloody jinx it, mate. He did that last Christmas while boiling water - "

The voice faded out as the door clicked open. Draco stepped in, his silver eyes immediately meeting hers as he lowered himself to get a better look at her. "Alright there, Granger?"

A shiver rushed through her - relief? happiness? The familiarity with which he said her name? She really couldn't tell, nor did she care. Her fingers reached for the lapels of his suit and she let out a choked sob. "You came back."

His arms encircled her. She felt his breathing against her hair and his palms carefully ghost up her spine in soothing circles. "I did make you a promise, Granger."

"Yes," she smiled through her tears and thought that she had never felt happier before. "Yes, you did."