The moment the five men landed with their feet on the beach on the outskirts of Tinworth and Regulus had his bearings, he took off running for the cottage.
Manners were long gone when he threw open the door to the home, four sets of eyes moving to look at him as he promptly strode in, his eyes locking on Hermione's and sinking down to his knees in front of her, one of his hands reaching up to push her hair out of her face and cradle her cheek, a small sob escaping him as she gave him a small smile, her hand reaching up to cover his, her other hand running through his hair as he pressed his forehead to her denim clad thigh, hiding his tears.
The rest of the group come tumbling in behind Regulus a few moments later, and the deafening silence turns into a full blown argument.
"Are you out of your bloody mind? Who bursts into somebody's house like that!" (Sirius)
"Sorry Bill! Glad to see you!" (Remus)
"Hermione, you're alright!" (Harry)
"What the bloody hell is Malfoy doing here?" (Ron)
"Hermione! Why are you covered in sand?" (Sirius)
"How long have you been here?" (Remus)
"Where's Dobby?" (Harry)
"Why the bloody hell, I ask again, is Malfoy here?" (Ron, again.)
"Holy Salazar's balls, Granger wasn't kidding, you're not dead." (Draco to Regulus)
"Hermione..." Harry paused. "What's that on your arm?"
The room fell silent as all eyes were on Hermione and Regulus looked away from her face to down at her arm, the word 'Mudblood' staring back up at him, almost mockingly.
"Who did this to you?" he questioned, his facial expression hardening as he looked up at Malfoy. "Did you do this?"
"Wouldn't put it past him," Ron muttered and Remus gave him a sharp 'shh!'
Hermione looked up at Harry, her eyes welling with tears. "Harry... I.. I'm sorry, Dobby is dead," she sniffled. "It's all my fault. It's all my fault, I should've never and.... He... and then we... and we buried him."
Harry's face fell at Hermione's words, a pain in his chest he could not describe, remembering the same punch to the gut when he saw Hedwig die when the Ministry removed him from Privet Drive at the end of the summer. "It's not your fault... Bill, thank you for-"
"Draco. Draco helped me bury him," Hermione cut Harry off, pushing Regulus away as he tried to wipe the tears from her face. She was feeling overwhelmed and she hoped he understood that as she stood up, watching the young man take her place on the chair instead of staying on the floor.
"Draco Malfoy saved my life," Hermione informed the whole room, looking at Draco as his eyes were fixed on his shoes. "If it wasn't for him, Bellatrix would have killed me."
"Should have known my cousin would do something as sick as that," Sirius commented, referencing Hermione's arm.
"I'm going to murder her. I'll go to Malfoy Manor right now and slice her head from her shoulders," Regulus snarled, reaching for Hermione's hand. Draco shook his head, "They're long gone by now, mother and Bella, to report to the Dark Lord... of my betrayal." The words felt thick on his tongue, knowing that the behavior he spoke of was all Bellatrix and none Narcissa. His mother had wanted to flee the moment she had found out Draco was supposed to receive the mark, they had plenty of money and even more connections, they could have disappeared to a safe house hidden in the middle of Italy, or in the middle of Swiss, tucked away in the Maldives somewhere, anywhere.
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Between Fine Lines
Fanfiction"The world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are." --- Harry returns from the cave with Dumbledore, except this time they co...
