Are You The One That I Want? (Dramione Love Story)

Chapter 55: A way out

Chapter 55: A way out

The day after Draco had send the letter to his mother, asking for the address of the hidden house, he receives one back from her. She asks him to be careful and to not do something stupid, but the location is added just below. She must've guessed after his request where her husband must be hiding out and she must have figured out Draco was up to something, but without asking what it was he was planning to do with the given information, she asked him to be careful. It was nice to know his mother was actually worried about him. He walks over to the table they have been occupying the past few days in the library, where Blaise, Ron, Harry and Ginny are already seated. He places the letter on the table, which makes the four of them look up at him. 'Do you have the location?' Ginny asks.
Draco nods. 'I have it.'
'When are we leaving?' Blaise asks.
'As soon as possible.' Draco states.
'How are we going to sneak away without anyone noticing?' Ginny asks.
'We'll figure something out.' he shrugs.
Ginny slowly nods, probably already busy thinking of ways to sneak out of the castle. Her eyebrows are pulled together and her eyes stare blankly out in front of her. Draco sits down next to her and just turns to Blaise when Ginny clears her throat and nudges her brother's arm. 'Ronald, don't you have something to say?' she asks.
Ron looks up at her and shakes his head. 'I can't think of anything I-' he starts, but gets kicked against the shin before he can finish his sentence. Ginny clears her throat again, a little louder this time, and glares in his direction. Ron lets out a dramatic sigh and rolls his eyes before turning to look at Draco. 'I apologize for my behaviour yesterday. I shouldn't have accused you of conspiring together with your father and being part of Hermione's disappearance. We're all tired and stressed and I shouldn't have taken it out on you.' Ron states before his eyes turn to his sister. 'Happy?'
She rolls her eyes and slowly shakes her head. 'You're an idiot.'
'It's okay. I understand where you came from.' Draco tells him.
Ron's eyes turn to him again and he raises his eyebrows. 'Well- uh- okay.'
'Now, shall we focus on an important matter?' Draco asks.
'Let's.' Harry agrees. 'I might know a way out of the castle.'

Harry told Draco to meet him at the end of the stairs that lead up to the Gryffindor Tower that evening. Now that they had received the location, they had to act quick. After days of searching they had finally a lead to follow and there was no time to waste. Hermione had been gone for too long already and in that time there had been a massive gap between trying to find her, thinking she was found and starting to look for her again. Draco tried to push the horrible thoughts away, but every once in a while one managed to slip past his thick wall. What if they got there and she was actually there? What would he do with his father? And what if they got there and she wasn't alive? He knew he should be preparing himself for the worst possible outcome, so that if it were to be true, he'd at least have tried to prepare his mind to having to cope with her loss. But was it right to think that way when there was still a possibility she was still amongst them? Would he know if she'd be dead? He hadn't immediately caught onto the fact the Hermione that was living with him, wasn't the real one. How could he have not known from the start? Of course he had pushed the things that weren't adding up onto the fact that she had been going through an unimaginable hard time, but he should've just known, right? He rounds the corner and stops at the end of the stairs. Two Gryffindor students pass him and walk up the stairs, giggling amongst themselves. Draco folds his arms in front of his chest as he leans back against the stonewall. Only a minute or two passes before Harry walks down the steps. 'It's dinner time now, so most students are in the Great Hall. Ginny and Ron are there at the moment to not raise suspicions. Stay close and be quiet.' Harry tells him. 'You ready?'
Draco nods. 'Let's go.'
Harry passes him and starts to walk down the corridor, Draco following him hot on his heels. Harry stops, holding his hand up to indicate for Draco to keep quiet. He peers around the corner and waits a few seconds before gesturing to Draco to follow again. 'Stay close.' Harry mutters over his shoulder. Draco follows him around the corner and down the stairs. Whenever it's too late to hide for some students crossing the hallways they slow down to a normal pace and chat amongst each other to make it seem casual, but luckily Harry was right and most students are having dinner in the Great Hall. They're almost outside when someone calls them. They both stop in their tracks and turn around. 'Hey guys! Haven't seen you around much lately.' Chris says.
Draco and Harry share a glance before offering him a smile. 'Yeah, been really busy. You know how that goes.' Draco shrugs.
Chris raises his eyebrows, but the smile on his face doesn't falter. 'I guess? So where were you heading off to?'
'Oh just-' Draco starts, his eyes flickering to Harry.
'To get some fresh air. We've been studying our arses off in the library all afternoon. Figured some fresh air would clear our heads.' Harry shrugs.
Chris slowly nods. 'Well, have you talked to Hermione lately? She seems a bit down if you ask me.'
Harry shakes his head and Draco shrugs. 'Not really, I'm afraid. We've been too caught up with schoolwork and studying.' Draco says, furrowing his brows. 'I'll make sure to talk to her tonight.'
'Is something wrong?' Chris asks.
Draco shakes his head. 'No?'
'Is there trouble in paradise?'
'We're just busy. You know how Hermione is, constantly studying, every moment of every day. Luckily we're both eager students, so I'm sure she understands, just like I understand when it comes down to her long hours of studying.'
Chris looks at Draco before turning his eyes on Harry and back again. 'Right.'
'Well, it was nice chatting with you, but we should really get some fresh air before the night is over. There's still a lot of studying left to do.' Draco states. 'We'll see you at breakfast.'
'Okay, well good luck?'
'Thanks Chris.' Harry smiles before turning around and walking alongside Draco out of the castle. It's dark outside and a cold breeze blows against their faces, but it doesn't stop them. They walk down the path further and further away from the castle, down towards Hagrid's house before passing it and stepping into the forest, hidden in the shadows. 'What are those?' Draco asks, stopping in his tracks.
'These are Thestrals.' Harry tells him, patting one of the bony black horses on the neck.
'Okay, what are they doing here?'
'They live in the forest.' Harry shrugs, looking down at the watch around his wrist.
'Since when do you wear a watch?'
'Since I needed to check the time.'
'Why?'
'We'll have to get our brooms, now don't we? I figured it'd be the easiest way out.'
'And how were you planning on taking Hermione with us after we've found her? Something tells me that if we find her, she won't be in the best state.' Draco states. He should've asked for the specifics that afternoon before he jumped into this mess.
Harry rolls his eyes and looks up at Draco. 'I was kidding Malfoy, we're going by Thestral.'
'How come I've never seen these- things before?' Draco asks, ignoring his comment.
'You can only see them when you've seen death.'
Draco slowly nods, his eyes turning back to the creatures surrounding them.
'We'll have to move quickly after Ginny, Ron and Blaise are here.' Harry says.
'I'm here.' Blaise breathes, appearing in sight. 'And ready to go.'
'Good, just-'
'What are those?' Blaise asks, stopping in his track when he sees the Thestrals.
'Thestrals.' Draco answers. 'They're our ride.'
'I thought I heard Weasley talk about a flying car incident in our second year?' Blaise asks. 'Can't we go by flying car?'
'No, that would attract too much attention. This is the quickest way next to brooms, but we have to take Hermione back with us and like Draco smartly pointed out earlier, she might not be in a state to fly a broom on her own.' Harry states. 'And two rides in that flying car is enough.'
'Twice?'
'Yeah, there was an incident in the forest with massive spiders-'
'We're here.' Ginny pants, appearing alongside Ron at the open space in the forest. Both of their cheeks and noses are already flushed red from the gold and loose strands of hair have slipped from Ginny's ponytail. Everyone is dressed warmly, scarfs wrapped around everyone's necks and a thick coat zipped up. 'Shall we go?' Ginny asks, already stepping to one of the Thestrals. 'There's no time to lose.'
'Did you bring what I asked for?' Harry asks.
Blaise nods, half turning to grab something from his rucksack. 'I have to admit, it was an odd request.' he said, pulling a paper bag from it. He threw it to Harry, who caught it and opened it. He threw a piece of meat to everyone before catching the attention of one of the Thestrals and throwing his own piece to it. The creature caught it and gratefully chewed on it.
'How do you fly these things?' Blaise asks.
'You sit down, hold on tight and the Thestral will do the heavy lifting.' Harry explains, pulling himself on the back of one. Draco and Blaise exchange a glance before sighing and both turning to a Thestral. The skin of the creature feels like leather and even though it's skeleton is clearly visible under the layer of skin, it has something special, something beautiful. They look like creatures of the night. After a minute or so everyone is sitting on top of a Thestral and ready to go. Harry pulls his scarf tighter around his neck as he asks over his shoulder if everyone's ready. His Thestral starts to run and the others quickly follow. They have enough space in this part of the forest to spread their wings without slamming them against the tree trunks and within a few moments they're slowly flapping their wings and taking off from the ground. As they fly higher and higher, the wind grows icier and icier. Draco holds on tight onto the neck of the Thestral, hating to admit it, but scared to fall from its bony back. It's going to be a long ride. 

A/N

They're on their way. The question remains; is Hermione where they think she is? And did Draco and Harry's quick departure from Chris raise suspicions? And when will the hooded person's identity be revealed? Stay tuned and find out ;p  

Ugh I'm sorry, this chapter sucks :/ I'll do my best to make the next one waaaaay better!

Thank you once again for waiting patiently!

Lots of love

xx