Lies, Buried and Bound - A Dramione Story

Part Three

The third moment - she thought, patting her hair down to somewhat wring it of water - was a complete accident. Though, deep down, she knew she would make the same choices over again, given the chance.

—

She and Ron were tasked with Fleur, Bill, and Tonks to infiltrate the castle grounds by other means. Apparation wasn't possible within the grounds of the castle and even if they could, the wards were certainly built with alarms that would set off at unauthorised entry and movement. Surely Professor Snape would not have thought of setting wards against Portkeys, if such a thing existed. The grounds were crawling with Death Eaters.

"Alright, I've given each of you your own special Portkey which will bring you to your designated locations around the castle. You must hold it using a piece of your clothing, otherwise you might transport prematurely."

Kingsley Shacklebolt passed around various objects of Muggle making. "Ron, you've got the lunch pail. Its coordinates are set to bring you to the grounds outside of the greenhouse walls."

"Alright." He slung it over his sleeve.

"Fleur, you've got the shampoo bottle. It should bring you just outside the Quidditch pitch."

"Très bien." Fleur held the bottle with her scarf.

Hermione wondered if this would work. Two of them would be stationed outside of the school - or rather, outside of the believed wards. The other four would try to infiltrate from the inside.

"Tonks..." She was wracked with nerves and couldn't exactly seem to stop the trembling. "... Cooking pan..."

"Sounds good, thanks."

"Miss Granger, I have here for you... Miss Granger? Are you alright?"

"You good, 'Mione?" Ron asked, tearing her from her short-lived reverie.

She gave an unconvincing nod, however, they had no time to reconsider or hesitate. They were all aware that stealth was imperative, otherwise their plans would crumble to a crapshoot.

"I've got an alarm clock for you. It should bring you to the ring of stones outside the clock tower. You're within the grounds, but at a safer distance if you need to Apparate out of there. Okay?"

The stones.

"Okay."

Shacklebolt handed her the clock, which she held delicately through the sleeves of her fuchsia sweater.

She had nearly kissed him.

The clock slipped on her fabric and landed on the pavement with a clang.

"Damn it!"

One of the bells on the red rim snapped off completely and rolled away.

"Hermione - pick it up - but carefully. You must fix it, otherwise you might alter the coordinates to your destination."

She nervously bent over to pick it up and positioned it back on the metallic peg. "I'm trying. How far would it place me from my location?"

Bill sighed, unsure. "Dunno. It really depends on the digit that's been altered and in which direction. It could be anywhere from hundreds to tens to just a few metres away."

She clicked the bell back into place with her covered palm and stood up.

"Alright. Now, Bill, this is sort of unfortunate, but I pulled a toilet scrubber, now don't worry, it's perfectly sterile - "

Now every time she passed those stones or climbed down to Hagrid's she thought of the times she'd both hit the living daylights out of him and she had so terribly yearned to kiss him.