R U N N I N G

R U N A W A Y S - Hermione's POV

"I think we might be outlaws.
I think I might be in love"

Draco's head whipped up to look at me, "Run away? You want to run away? How Hermione? How do you plan on us running away? Wherever we go, our parents will find us. What exactly are you proposing?" he questioned me. I could tell he was scared of what I would say.

I looked at him confidently and took a deep breath, "I have a plan. It's going to involve lots of planning and waiting, possibly even lying, but it'll work, and we'll be free of both of our families! We can do this Draco. We can get away from it all" I told him excitedly. I could feel his hesitation before he even opened his mouth.

He stared at me, waiting for me to continue with said plan, "Dray, you don't want to be the heir to Malfoy & Riddle, and I don't want to be the heiress to Granger Law. I've been planning to run away since I could think. The only thing that changed my plan, was you because I didn't want to leave you, but now, we can go together. I've been saving up every single penny my parents gave me, plus I'll have access to my trust fund the day I turn 18. We'll still be in school, but I can transfer everything to a separate account and we can disappear the day after graduation!" I explained.

I could see the emotions flitter across his face as he thought about what I said, "Okay... but that's assuming I can get away. I turn 18 after school is out love. How will that work out? This would also mean I wouldn't have access to my trust fund, because I won't have access to it until I'm 21. So if I leave before, my father will take back the money in the trust fund. Which means we'll only have yours. How will we get by?" he asked.

"Draco, the last day of school is June 1st, graduation is 5 days after your 18th birthday, making it the 10th of June and the school expects us to stay here. Plus, remember, the ceremony is optional. If we pick up our diplomas on the 6th and just skip the entire ceremony, you'll be free to go anywhere you want. As for the trust fund, there is one thing you could do but I don't know if you want to know..." I told him, losing my confidence.

He waited for me to continue, "Well... your mother... she could change the terms of your trust fund and your father wouldn't even find out. All she has to do is sign the paper. She could even change it so that at 17 you have access to it. Which means you'd have access to it while you're still there for summer break. Your mother could help you..." I felt horrible mentioning his mother but knew she could and would most likely help us.

His eyes glazed over at the mention of his mother, "I'll have to tell her about us when we go home for the summer. She'll want to meet you. She always has and I've always been too afraid to let her meet you because of how my father is. She knows all about us, but doesn't know we're together..." he told me softly.

I wiped the stray tears on his face carefully so I wouldn't hurt his cheek any further, "If it will make her happy, I'll gladly meet her and tell her all about us" I answered sincerely.

He gave me a ghost of a smile, "I'll need to tell father you'll be coming home with us then. He'll be happy since he thinks us staying together is his doing. You'll also need to tell your parents about your plans to come to Malfoy Manor. I wouldn't want them to worry about you."

"I'm telling them I'm going to spend the summer at the burrow with Ginny. They won't care. Actually, I know for a fact they don't care" I told him, a devious yet sad smile on my face.

The holidays came and went, and we continued to work on our plan to run away together. We decided it was best for Draco to just come clean to his mother about everything, including the threats his father had made about me accepting his proposal. He understood that it would be difficult for him, but it would secure his trust fund, which in turn would secure our plans of running and covering our tracks even more.

Eventually, we told Blaise our plan, "What the fuck do you mean you're running away? Where will you go? You can't just run away! We still have to finish year 7!" Blaise roared.

"Calm down mate. Look, we're planning on just leaving the London area. We'll still be in Europe but 'Mi's already looking at flats in areas we'll be far away enough to not be found. You and Ginny could come with us... if you wanted to of course. We could get a bigger apartment so the 4 of us could be comfortable" he told Blaise.

Blaise looked at him, raising his eyebrow, "Draco, Ginny is only a 5th year. She's not a 6th year like us, which means that when we graduate next year, she'll still have one year left and I'm not leaving her alone in London. I'm getting a flat downtown and Molly said Gin could stay with me during the holidays" he explained.

We nodded understanding his point, "B, we have to leave after graduation. It's for Draco's safety. It's not just because we feel like it. Trust me, the last thing we want to do is be far from you and Ginny, but Dray's father is..." I stopped, not knowing if Draco would want to share such sensitive things.

"My father is abusive mate. He's spent my whole life smacking mom and me around. That black eye I had when you guys got back from break? Hermione didn't accidentally hit me while we slept because she got scared of a random noise. He did it. He was pissed that he caught me kissing Hermione in the library when I should've been studying. Why do you think I always come back looking like hell after the summer break? He beats me, starves me, and just fucks with my head" Draco took over and explained.

Blaise looked between us in shock, "He hits you? What the fuck Draco? Why didn't you ever say anything?" he questioned bewilderedly.

Draco shrugged, "I'm used to it, but that's why we have to leave. He's capable of a lot and I don't trust him. He's already threatened me with consequences if I don't ask Hermione for marriage and she accepts. Plus if he can do all that to me, imagine what a danger he is to 'Mi. I can't take such a huge chance, Blaise. She deserves better" he explained.

Before we knew it, school was out, and we were back on platform 9 ¾. Draco and I said goodbye to our friends and made our way to where his driver was standing. When we arrived at the car, his father was sitting inside with a cross expression. It would surely be a long summer.