The words seem to resonate meaninglessly in Hermione's head, bouncing off the walls of her skull.
"Sorry," she said with a weak smile, "I think I may have misheard. Harry's what?"
Dumbledore looked sorry but there was also an impatient air in his demeanour, something that neither had witnessed before.
"I'm afraid you heard me quite well. Now, Draco?" The headmaster angled his elbow towards the Slytherin as if expecting him to take it.
Hesitantly, Draco took his elbow and looked at Hermione. Before the headmaster could disapparate, Hermione grabbed his arm, "Wait!"
"Time is of the essence," Dumbledore said sharply, but softened his voice at the panic in her face and continued in a kinder voice, "An imposter posed as Rufus Scrimgeour managed to abduct Harry this afternoon."
"I'm coming with you." The change in her attitude was instantaneous. Hermione went from a frightened child to a warrior ready for action in the blink of an eye. Draco was too conflicted to be impressed.
He wanted to help them, but he was afraid... and there was the matter of the fact that if a Death Eater had gotten hold of Harry, they would have used their Dark Mark to summon him instead of travelling to Draco's home. It didn't make sense, but if what Harry's months of confidence has taught him anything, it's that Dumbledore rarely did. He glanced into the headmaster's piercing blue eyes and scoffed internally, the old man was so confident that Draco's loyalties had shifted.
... how presumptuous.
"Could I... owl my mother?" Draco requested quietly but from Dumbledore's expression, he knew that it was a futile request.
"I'm sorry, Draco," and he really did sound sorry, "but we can't risk it. If your owl were to be intercepted–"
"Alright, I know... It was stupid to ask," he said bitterly.
"It is never stupid to love," the headmaster said gently, "now, shall we?"
The two Hogwarts students clutched his outstretched arm.
"Think of home." Dumbledore advised as they felt that a jerk in the pit of their stomach. Draco thought of the high hedges that ran parallel to the driveway and the hidden passages he would often use if he wanted to avoid being seen by his family. Lastly, he thought about his bedroom, filled with green and black and silver, how life was so much simpler back when the Dark Lord hadn't regained his power.
His desire to visit his childhood room was so strong that it slammed the three onto his bedroom floor. Draco, realising what he had done, looked around in alarm. There were protective wards around the house which should have alerted the occupants regarding the entry of intruders in his room.
Draco's presence wouldn't have been registered due to his lineage, that much he knew... but he has never apparated with anyone else outside of his family and he wasn't sure what would happen, his original intention being apparating outside a secret entrance.
When his bedroom door did not bang open, he decided that his presence alone would have been enough to disarm the wards, something that was decidedly unsettling. Anyone could have kidnapped him to enter their family home... though, who might have dared do such a thing?
He did have to give it to Hermione. Despite being in his home and bedroom for the first time, she did not waver from the task at hand. She did not look around, she dived right into the heart of business.
"Do you know where they may be holding him?" She asked, wide-eyed and brimming with adrenaline.
"Likely the cellar," Draco responded.
YOU ARE READING
The Lost Timeline | Dramione | ✔
Fanfiction"Do not make the mistake of thinking I care what you think of me." She looked down and saw her book in his other hand. The unexpected kindness in the midst of poison was more than she could bear and she took it from him quickly before breaking into...
