𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐀

☾ Chapter 42

☾

It was late in the night when the boys finally returned to the little wooden cabin, deciding to explain to Hermione exactly what their newly formed plan contained.

She watched them enter from the maroon sofa, balled up in her black knit blanket as Blaise placed a heavy black box by the door, presumably full of materials necessary for escape.

They all sat around the fireplace, Draco lifting Hermione into his lap, one of her fantasy novels falling to the floor with a clunk.

"Hey! I lost my page-"

Draco rolled his eyes, using his wand to lift it from the ground, dropping it in her lap.

"Was this your page?" He mumbled, the ink filled pages magically flipping back open with a swish of his wand.

"No," Hermione muttered, arms crossed furiously as he tracing his finger over the book's spine.

It was difficult to remain angry with him when the pattering beat of his heart was pressed against her back, soft breaths close to her ear.

"Are you serious? I could've sworn-"

Hermione smirked to herself, quietly.

"It's the next one."

She quite enjoyed poking fun at him.

"You're a pain in my arse, Granger," Draco groaned, flipping to the next page with his finger, going one further than necessary, merely to test her nerves.

She flared up at him in annoyance as Blaise began to speak, resting his stubble covered chin in the palm of his hand.

"You may not have known this, Granger, but all death eaters have a tracker chip surgically implanted into their arm so The Dark Lord can watch them during their excursions, especially those using apparation," Blaise exclaimed, a feather pen twiddling between his fingertips, black ink plastered across the white parchment in front of him on the coffee table, "This chip can be removed undetected inside the camp's territory, but once a death eater leaves the barrier without a tracker they will be reported and... Well, sentenced to death by The Dark Lord."

Hermione shuddered, hugging her knees to her chest. Sentenced to death was something she most definitely didn't want to hear.

"Your first job is to remove the tracker from Draco's arm. After that, Theodore and I will discard of the chip, and you and Draco will run for the barrier."

It was far simpler of an escape than she had initially realized. Perhaps she was overthinking things, but it seemed far too easy.

"That doesn't sound so bad," Hermione furrowed her brows in thought, grasping onto Draco's hand gently, "What's the catch?"

Blaise tapped his fingers against his jaw, searching his brain for any potential threats that remained in his plan.

"I'm almost sure there's no catch until you're outside the barrier. It's fairly easy to escape, it's quite pathetic more people haven't managed to do it. In my irrelevant opinion, at least."

Hermione's jaw tensed, fists clenching around her book with force. Hearing that it's supposedly easy to escape the camp made blood boil in her veins.

How many had already suffered for their freedom, only to die trying to free themselves from constant oppression?

She was already a mudblood. Why wasn't that enough?

"What happens to those who escape?" Hermione asked pressingly, expecting a horrible and inhumane answer.

"They're free, but also chased for the rest of their lives," Blaise murmured sadly, "I wouldn't consider that freedom. But if you both succeed in the plan we're about to tell you about..."