Out of curiousity, what Hogwarts House do you belong to? I've tested over the years, and I'm a true-green Slytherin, hence this story. Ravenclaw comes close too. What about you?

x Noelle

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Binds target.

as sunlight hit her face. She blinked for a moment, then lifted her head from the pillow.

The first thing she noticed was that Draco was not next to her.

And the second glaring detail – this wasn't her room.

Panic shot through her and she scrambled up. Grabbing her wand, she climbed out of bed and limped out of the room. Her leg still ached from the previous day's fight, but she slowly descended the stairs. She rounded the corner, heading through the doorway of the kitchen, the stopped short at the sight of the person in there.

The woman turned, her lips widening in a warm, welcoming smile as she took a step forward, wiping her hands hurriedly on her apron as she did so. "Hello, Hermione," she greeted, and Hermione instantly recognised her voice. It was the voice she'd heard over the telephone, the one person she'd spent so many afternoons talking to.

She stared up at the woman in disbelief. "Andromeda?"

Andromeda Tonks wrapped her arms around her. The older witch smelled of flowers and cinnamon – two scents that made Hermione feel comfortable at once. "I'm so glad you're here." Andromeda pulled back a fraction to look down at her. "How's your leg, dear?"

"Better," Hermione settled down on the chair, suddenly realising that there was another person at the table. A toddler of about three years old was seated in a high chair and Hermione felt her breath quicken as she reached out, clasping her fingers briefly around the boy's chubby ones. "Is this – is this Teddy?"

"My grandson, yes."

"You've told me about him on the phone, but I just never..." Tears stung Hermione's eyes when she remembered that Teddy's parents were gone now. "Hello, Teddy," she whispered to him. "I'm Hermione."

"Say hello to Hermione, Teddy," said Andromeda. "Her-My-Nee."

"Mione," Teddy mumbled after a few tries.

Hermione laughed and pulled him onto her lap when he reached for her. Then she turned back to Andromeda. "How did you find us?"

Andromeda settled down on the chair opposite and slid a plate of pancakes across the table. "Draco called me several days ago and told me about the plan. Merlin, that boy's risky as anything. He said that once he and Theo were captured by the Order, the rest of you wouldn't be safe in Godric's Hollow."

Hermione's chest tightened. "So Draco and Theo are prisoners now?"

"I'm not sure. Luna's been out to check and she's due back anytime soon. After the Protean charms lit last night, I knew that Draco had defected."

"Protean charms? You mean – "

"Yes." Andromeda drew out a black cord that hung around her neck. "The incantation I have is different, so it doesn't light unless under critical circumstances. I found you and the others in Godric's Hollow. After we fixed your wounds, we packed and left. It's safe here. The Order's headquarters is nearby and this house has enough protection spells to ward off any attack."

Hermione was about to question further when the back door opened and Luna entered in a flurry. The blonde witch looked exhausted, dark circles lined her eyes but she smiled brightly at them. "Hello, Hermione, how're you feeling? How's your leg?"

"Better, thank you. Have you any news about Draco?" Hermione couldn't help but ask. She could've sworn she saw a knowing smile play on Andromeda's lips and she hastily extended her concern. "Or Theo?"

"Draco, Theo and two other Death-Eaters have been transferred to headquarters. I hear that the Order only managed to capture four. They had to retreat when the Dark Lord arrived with reinforcements."

"What about our side?" Andromeda asked.

The light seemed to go out of Luna's eyes. "Not too good. Apparently, we lost a lot of the new recruits at Gringotts. And some of our best fighters have been captured by You-Know-Who. I hear that Ginny, Dean and the Patil twins are missing."

"Ginny?" Hermione felt a jolt of surprise, and her arms automatically tightened around Teddy. "Ginny Weasley?"

Luna nodded. "I haven't talked to any of the D.A. – "

"D.A.?"

"Dumbledore's Army," Luna explained, and Hermione was glad that her friend wasn't treading on eggshells around her. Hermione had forgotten a lot, and she was still struggling at times, but it was nice to know that there were people eager to help her regain her memory, but not impatient enough to rush her about it. "You, Harry and Ron were the ones who started it during our fifth-year at Hogwarts. Anyway, I haven't talked to any of the D.A. because most of them are either missing or incapacitated. Neville and Ron are searching for You-Know-Who's base."

"Naturally," Andromeda hummed in agreement. "I imagine Ronald Weasley would be very upset about his missing sister."

"Not as upset as Harry. Harry's already a shell of himself ever since he lost to You-Know-Who, but now he's just completely given up."

A disappointed silence settled between them. Even the ever-optimistic Luna seemed at a complete loss. But Hermione had participated in her fair share of defeats for the past three years to know that there was still hope at a time like this. At times, it wasn't so much a war against You-Know-Who than it was a war against oneself. She wondered if Harry Potter had his own monsters to face just as she had hers.

She picked up Teddy and placed him back in his chair, kissing him gently on the forehead when he murmured her name again. Then she turned to Luna. "We'll figure out a way. We just have to get Draco and Theo out of their cells, and the six of us can think of something – I'm sure of that."

Luna shrugged. "Perhaps. But Draco's one of the Death-Eaters that the Order has tracked for a long time now. I don't think the Order will release him."

"But we need them. Both of them!"

Andromeda patted Hermione on the hand. "I'll talk to the Order after breakfast. I promised Draco that I'd get him and Theo out, even if it may take a little time."

Hermione sighed. A little time? How long was that going to take – hours, days or weeks? Her mind was reeling as she thought about the situation. Once Pansy and Blaise got up, perhaps she could convince them to go on a little rescuing mission with her.

After Luna had left, Andromeda turned to Hermione. "Listen," the older witch's voice was lowered in a conspiratorial whisper. "I don't know whether I'll be able to convince the Order to let Draco and Theo go. But they're probably being held in the east wing of the headquarters, somewhere on the second floor. Take Pansy and Blaise with you, and get them out if you can. We'll hide them here."

Hermione let out a relieved sigh. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I can't bear seeing my nephew and his friend locked up like that." Andromeda shook her head, before reaching for a familiar piece of fabric draped over a chair and handing it over to Hermione. "Here's your Cloak. Good luck, Hermione."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Hermione spent the morning with Teddy. He was a happy child and she couldn't help feeling rather wistful when she looked at him. Once upon a time, she had been as happy as he was – living in a small flat with the people she loved. But now that 17-65 had defected, she was constantly worried. Would it always be like this? Always the having to make the best in a war, having to fight, having to survive?

Hermione pushed those thoughts aside momentarily and focused on making Teddy laugh. Draco had told her some time ago that Teddy was a Metamorphmagi just like his mother, Nymphadora. Hermione was thrilled to learn that when Teddy laughed, some parts of his hair streaked pink before fading back to its original colour when he stopped.

Sometime later, Blaise came down to the kitchen. After thanking Hermione for getting him to safety the night before, he started to make lunch. It was just in time too, because Pansy soon stumbled down the stairs.

"We were just talking about going to rescue Draco and Theo," Blaise said to his girlfriend.

Pansy nodded, using her wand to conjure a blue butterfly for Teddy, who laughed happily and watched in fascination. "I'm with you on that," she said, nodding at both Hermione and Blaise. "The five of us have to stick together. It seems so strange without the other two."

"Then we'll need this." Hermione showed them the paper that Andromeda had given to her.

The three made plans over lunch. Before they left, Hermione gave Teddy to the house-elf, Grus, like Andromeda had told her to. Then Blaise cast a Disillusionment charm on himself and Pansy, and they made their way towards headquarters.

Hermione had her Cloak wrapped around her, along with a small satchel with an Extension Charm that contained healing potions, just in case. The journey was filled with a tense silence, and Hermione soon realised that Pansy and Blaise were dead set on reuniting with Draco and Theo, even at the expense of putting their lives in danger.

"Do you think we're getting close?" Pansy asked after awhile. "We're past the seventh willow tree now."

"Hold on," Blaise said, before he muttered the incantation that Andromeda had given them. The air in front of them shifted. A soft shimmer of magic, that seemed to be some kind of shield, faded away to reveal an old building behind.

"Merlin," Pansy breathed. "How did they come up with this?"

Blaise let out a chuckle of disbelief. "I have no idea. McGonagall's work, probably?"

"Hold on, let me get something straight. This place is invisible with the shield. But is it also intangible? Like, if we were Muggles, could we walk right through it?"

"Beats me." Blaise shrugged and stopped them as they neared the side door. "Okay, Pansy, you go look for Draco and Theo's wands. Andromeda said the confiscated wands are kept in the basement. I'll find Draco and Theo. And Hermione, you'll watch my back, alright?"

"Got it," Hermione said.

They unlocked the door with another spell and stepped inside. Hermione's stomach twisted with anxiety. The hall was empty, but there were distant sounds of chatter and footsteps. Pansy slipped off to the basement, and she followed Blaise. Soon, they stopped at a narrow hallway, where two men guarded the door at the end.

"Wait right here," Blaise whispered.

Hermione felt him step away from her. Red lights shot out at the guards and they collapsed. Then Blaise tugged her forward, unlocking the door with another incantation. The room was dimmed, lined with guards in front of each cell. But relief filled her when she heard a familiar voice in the background.

Theo.

Before she could do anything, a sharp siren pierced through the building. The guards sprang to action, pointing their wands towards the door.

"Who's there?" One of the guards said, waving his wand so that the alarm stopped abruptly. Hermione vaguely recognised him as Oliver Wood, from one of the Hogwarts yearbooks she'd read back at the apartment. "Show yourself, or we won't hesitate to hex you."

Blaise pushed Hermione behind him and removed his Disillusionment charm. The room went silent. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes and several of them lifted their wands.

"Okay," Blaise said slowly, "you guys know me, right? Blaise Zabini? Fellow Hogwarts schoolmate? Come on. Justin, Katie, Michael – you remember me, don't you?"

"You received the Dark Mark." Michael shook his head. "Doesn't matter if we remember you, Zabini. We can't trust you."

"But I defected. I did make myself clear last night at the Manor, didn't I?"

"Even then." One of the other guards directed his wand at Blaise. "Stupefy!"

A deflection spell sent the guard flying back. Immediately, a barrage of spells flew at Blaise. He pushed Hermione into the corner, and held up a protective shield in front of them. She fell a step back, just as something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. Fingers sneaked between the metal bars of a door. The wand from the guard who'd been flung back disappeared into a cell. A split second later, the walls of that cell blasted open.

Rodolphus Lestrange stepped out, a borrowed wand in hand. Hermione remembered him so vividly because he'd stood by laughing when Bellatrix had tortured her in the Malfoy Manor years ago. The tension skyrocketed as Rodolphus joined in the fight, and everything after that happened far too quickly for Hermione to register. Spells flew across the room in every different direction as Rodolphus single-handedly battled the six other guards in the room. A particularly fiery spell from Oliver was easily evaded, but it exploded into the cells behind Rodolphus.

And then Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Draco, Theo and another Death-Eater step out from their cells, matching looks of wariness on their faces. The three Death-Eaters were immediately made new targets, but Draco and Theo easily avoided them. The last one, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky, and Hermione gasped when she saw him crushed under a powerful Reducto that Katie Bell shot at him.

"Stay here, Hermione, I have to help them!" Blaise told her, and rushed to deflect the spells shot at Draco and Theo.

She kept an eye on Draco from her corner of the room, noticing how he swiftly exchanged words with Theo and Blaise. She saw Blaise handing his wand over to Draco, before rushing towards Rodolphus and physically taking him down, kneeling roughly on Rodolphus's arm so that the man couldn't cast another spell.

"Zabini, what the hell are you doing?" Rodolphus choked out, his face red with rage.

Everyone fell silent, and Blaise looked at the Order members. "Now do you believe me? I'm on your side."

Oliver and Michael faltered, but one of the other guards didn't. "They're Death-Eaters! He's You-Know-Who's right-hand man! Why're we still hesitating?" He drew his wand to cast another spell at Draco.

A sudden wave of protectiveness surged through Hermione and she quickly discarded the Cloak, rushing over to place herself between the guard's path and Draco. She could physically feel their shock, hear the echoes of gasps in the room. Everyone stared at her with open-mouthed amazement, but she fought the claustrophobia and panic in her chest and took a deep breath.

"Please don't," she said quietly. "They're good people, I promise. They've kept me safe all this while."

"Shit," Michael breathed, staring at Hermione in disbelief. "Hermione?"

"What're you doing here?" One of the others said. "We thought you – "

A scuffle made everyone turn around. With a brutal shove, Rodolphus flung Blaise aside. In a flash, Rodolphus had stormed up to her and pressed the tip of his wand to her neck.

He was going to kill her.

"You filthy mudblood," he spat, eyes narrowing as he pressed the wand tighter against her throat, her hands futilely coming up to push him, anything, to get him away from her. "Avad – "

But the words never left his lips, and Hermione suddenly felt herself wrenched out of the way. Then Draco was face to face with Rodolphus, his silver eyes glinting with barely-restrained fury as he wrenched the wand from his uncle's grasp.

Rodolphus's eyes widened. "Draco, what are you – "

Hermione knew that Draco had killed before. But she'd never actually seen it in action. His eyes went blank – a terrifying lack of emotion with a hint of self-loathing, and his fingers tightened on the wand until his knuckles were white.

He spoke with such calmness that it almost seemed like he was speaking normally, and not uttering the most deadly of all spells.

"Avada Kedavra."

Rodolphus's eyes glazed over and he collapsed onto the floor. Draco stepped back and turned to Hermione, his eyes softening. "Are you alright?"

She let out a choked sob and launched herself into his arms. Her mind still reeled from the shock of being so close to death. But Draco was here and that was all that mattered. "Thank you," she whispered, and shivered when he pressed his lips to her forehead with a tenderness that made her ache.

"Told you I'd keep you safe, Granger."

A gasp from one of the guards pulled Hermione back to the matter at hand. She turned to the Order with a pleading look. "Draco, Blaise, Pansy and Theo are all good," she repeated. "I've lived with them for the past few months. They've kept You-Know-Who off the Order's scent for three years. They won't betray you – you have my word."

Anthony Goldstein's eyes narrowed. "Did they Imperius you?"

She blinked. "What?"

"It's got to be that," Anthony said to the others, disregarding the angry growl that escaped Draco's throat. "Either that or Amortentia."

"I'm not – "

Before she could finish, Anthony flung a hex at Draco, only to have it deflected by Blaise. The fight promptly resumed. Draco summoned a stray wand from one of the guards and Hermione tossed hers to Theo, while Blaise kept her protected with powerful shields of his own.

"This is getting out of hand!" Blaise yelled amidst the commotion.

Hermione wholeheartedly agreed with his words, and was just about to open her mouth to reply when a formidable presence stepped into the room. She vaguely recognised him as Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a group of Order members followed him behind, dragging a screaming, shrieking Pansy across the floor, tied up tightly in shiny black ropes.

At Pansy's screams, the fighting ceased. Shacklebolt slammed the door shut and Hermione's heart sank. Andromeda had warned about the anti-apparition wards. Now it was too late to run.

"What the hell is going on?" Shacklebolt thundered.

Hermione sidled closer to Draco and slipped her hand into his. He curled his fingers tightly around hers and moved to stand stand in front of her.

"These Death-Eaters say that they've defected, sir." Oliver Wood was the first to break the silence. "And, apparently, they've been housing Hermione Granger for the past few months."

"Hermione Granger?"

Everyone turned to her, and she tried to meet their wide-eyed gazes without flinching. Shacklebolt's eyes narrowed. But before he could say anything, Luna burst into the room. "Sir," she rushed out. "They're telling the truth! I've been living with them for several weeks now and they've done nothing to hurt me."

"Step aside, Ms Lovegood," Shacklebolt returned. "I will not allow Death-Eaters to roam about in the Order's headquarters. We found this one trying to break into our vault of wands to steal them." He shot a pointed look at Pansy before turning to the guards. "Put them into the cells. All of them."

"What?" Theo yelped, struggling as one of the Order members shot an Incarcerous at him. "But we've defected! We're fucking good now!"

Hermione tried to grab Theo before he could be taken away, but Oliver held her back. Then Draco was pulled away from her. His silver eyes flashed fury, but for some reason, he seemed reluctant to use any magic to fight back.