The Secret War | Dramione

Chapter 10

ABOARD THE DRAGOMIR

Hermione heard the muted rumble of the ocean, the creaking of wood, and the gentle hum of magic that powered the Dragomir forward. She opened her eyes. There was a red canopy above her. She drew back the curtains, and looked around. She blinked suddenly, her face illuminated by a dancing blue light...the water reflected from the porthole of her cabin.

She guessed the ship was several feet below sea level.

Hermione wondered how long it would take to reach the French coast of Étretat.

She was lying in an intricately carved bed, made of fine, polished mahogany. Across from her was a desk and a velvet chair. There was a symbol of a red dragon on the back of the chair, set against gold cloth. The ship's name was emblazoned on the top.

Gold brackets hung on the paneled walls, holding long, thin tapers.

Hermione noticed that the flames were burning low, and she had no idea when they'd last been lit.

Just above the desk was a gilded mirror.

Hermione's reflection stared back at her. She was pale and wild-haired. She looked down at her arms. Her cuts had been healed. It felt like she'd slept for days. But even so, her head throbbed painfully.

She vaguely remembered someone pulling her from the deck, but after that everything had gone black...

She scratched at her collar. She was dressed in a white nightgown, but she didn't remember putting it on.

And where was her wand?

Hermione moved to the edge of the bed and stood up.

She grasped onto the bedpost to steady herself, her legs shaking slightly.

She searched frantically for her wand, hoping she hadn't dropped it in the lake.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she found it at the foot of her bed, on top of a heavy, wooden chest. Her clothes were there too. They were torn and singed, and there was something sticking out of her trousers.

Hermione pulled out a crumpled letter from the front pocket, and she was suddenly hit by a vivid memory of Fawkes.

He had dropped the letter into her lap during the battle, and she'd seen Dumbledore's seal on the back.

She climbed back into bed, the letter in hand.

"Lumos," she whispered.

She opened the letter, expecting the ink to have run, but Dumbledore's writing remained intact.

He had written the letter in code.

Hermione worked out the message, her eyes scanning the parchment.

The letter was short, and there were no words of advice or even a goodbye from Dumbledore—just an address and a date.

Rue Duquesnoy 5, 1000 Bruxelles

September 3rd

There was an illustration of two doves at the bottom of the address.

It took Hermione a few moments to work out the meaning.

Her parents. He had moved her parents two days after she'd returned to Hogwarts. They were safe...in Brussels apparently.

Hermione clutched the letter to her chest. At least they were out of harm's way. But Dumbledore had told her next to nothing about his plans—only that Harry was in Spain, but he hadn't said what he was doing there or how she was supposed to help him.