Bloodlust

Chapter XXXVIII

Hermione swung the door open quickly after hearing the familiar voice.

"Ginny?" Hermione called, lowering her wand.

"Hermione..." Ginny uttered, tears welling up in her eyes. She chuckled as she opened her arms.

"What are you doing here? Where have you been? How did you find me?"

Ginny looked healthier now than the last time she saw her. The strain of the war still clung to her features. Although she looked better now without the bloodstains on her skin, without the bruises and fresh cuts on her body, and somehow there was a glint of hope in her eyes. Her hair is also shorter, now closer to her chin.

"I have orders to get you out of here," Ginny replied.

Hermione's eyes swept around her surroundings and pulled Ginny inside her cottage. She added layers of protection charms around.

"Who sent you?"

Ginny gave a sharp exhale and answered, "Malfoy did."

The tension on her shoulders relaxed and the twisted feeling in her stomach unravelled. However, her anger towards his lies remained.

She changed into jeans and a sweater and wore the wand holster on her hip that she found inside one of the drawers. The hood of her long black cloak hid her face. Hermione halted from her steps, turning sharply. She gripped tightly on the sling of her satchel and aimed her wand at the cottage.

"Pestis Incendum," Hermione whispered as the wand did her command.

Huge raging flames gradually took the form of predatory birds, snakes, and dragons consumed the area.

She felt Ginny's panic from her hurried steps as she ran back towards her.

"It's for the best," said Hermione and watched the flames burn down the building until there was no left of it, including the garden.

"There are no orders for this."

"I know," she replied and cast the counter spell before they left.

Ginny spent the little time they had on informing Hermione about the things she needed to know. Not more and less than she must know. The Order moved Headquarters. She could tell from the directions where Ginny led her. They stopped at a safe house in the woods and discovered they were currently somewhere in the countryside of France. The house was empty, unlike the cottage house.

"We should rest here for a while. You need energy for the travel later," said Ginny and placed a bag of ration food on the table she conjured.

Hermione stayed by the window, watching the seemingly endless forest while Ginny tried to convince her to eat and lie down. She could feel the weight of Ginny's eyes on her back, and she could already hear the series of questions she wanted to pour on her.

"What is it?" Hermione finally asked, and Ginny went to sit with her by the window.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione..."

"About what?" she said after a chuckle, hoping to lift the mood of their reunion.

"We left without you... I'm so sorry," Ginny cried, "George dragged me out of the battlefield, saying Harry did not survive the Dark Lord. We hid in Italy with the little galleons we had. Ron and I wanted to look for you, but George insisted we leave while the borders were down. We weren't sure if you survived–god," her voice broke and buried her face in her palms, "It was so hard having no clue about what happened to you. But a few days later, we learned that Malfoy was with us, and eventually, he told us that you were with him. The Order agreed with him about keeping his alliance a secret from you. We also learned that we can't be tracked outside the borders, so Kingsley decided to move the headquarters far from the Ministry."