One More Year

Chapter Thirty-Five

The wind whipped by Draco as the sky turned yet a darker shade of grey. The beautiful weather from earlier was gone as the clouds swirled around them and a storm started to brew. Even the birds could sense the oncoming assault and were nowhere to be seen. Draco kept pushing forward, driven by the unseen force to find Hermione. Thoughts of her being tortured by Bellatrix kept coming unbidden to his mind. He kept forcing them away but each passing second was another second where she could be being hurt, tortured ... or maybe it was too late already. He shook his head, banishing those thoughts. If she was dead this spell would not be working, but doubt kept creeping into this mind. The icy cold rain started pelting against him, battering his eyelashes. In the distance, thunder rumbled menacingly. Behind him he heard Weasley swear and could hear Ginny's teeth chattering. He had long ago lost feeling in both his hands and his feet. His entire face screamed against the cold wind, whipping against his face.

He didn't think about any of that. He long ago put that pain out of his mind. He was certain this pain was nothing to what Hermione was experiencing. His only thoughts were of Hermione and he continued to stare at his hands that clutched the broomstick in front of him. At first, he had difficulty determining how to judge when his body got brighter but after hours of flying he was able to sense the subtle hues changing before him and he continuously made slight adjustments in his trajectory to accommodate it. He found it easier if he kept his attention on his hands. He found when he looked away he had a hard time looking back and determining if his colour had changed at all. The others flew steadily behind him, letting him lead them to Hermione.

"Are we getting close?" Harry yelled at him for the twentieth time since they started flying. Draco ignored him. He stopped answering him hours ago. How was he supposed to know if they were getting close? Just because he was the one shining like a beacon in front of them leading the way. Hadn't Hermione told him some muggle story around Christmas about a reindeer who lead the way at Christmas time? He couldn't recall the details and at that moment loathed himself for not paying closer attention to her when he had the chance.

They had mainly travelled in silence with the exception of Potter who kept trying to find out how much further they had to go. He was surprised that Theo and Blaise had managed to stay quiet. Hell, he was surprised they even came. Slytherins were not known for their bravery. They must like Hermione a lot or perhaps they felt guilty. Draco tried to push his feelings of anger towards them away but until he knew if Hermione was safe he was going to blame them for their stupid stunt.

He kept pushing forward even after the rain had soaked through his clothes chilling him to the bones. He didn't even feel it. He was numb to any external sensations. His body was too encompassed with worry about Hermione. He kept repeating to himself that she was strong and smart and brave. He knew she was all those things. She had proven it countless times. But he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to thoughts of her sleeping in his arms at night, looking completely defenseless and helpless. Snuggled into him. Murmuring in her sleep. Having nightmares about Bellatrix, unconsciously grabbing her left forearm, eyebrows furrowed in worry, the occasional tear falling down her cheek. Whenever this happened, he would hold her tighter, rocking her, muttering soothing words to her until she eventually calmed down. She was the reason he continued to never sleep. He was afraid she'd have a nightmare and he'd not be there for her to help her through it. He didn't even know if she remembered them in the morning. She was always silent on the subject. But he noticed the way her eyes never sparkled the same way, the way her lips slightly puckered and the way she drank extra coffee the following day as if trying to find a way to keep herself awake. This was the version of Hermione he was worried about. The one that needed him on those days to rub her shoulders, kiss her forehead and hold her tightly.

He shook his head. No. She was strong. That's what he had to focus on. The way she held him together when he was falling apart. The way she believed in him, stood up for him, made him laugh, the way she acted as if she could change the world and everyone in it that hated him. The truth was she was the strong one and he needed her way more than she would ever need him. Please Hermione, hold on, don't leave me.

This was all his fault. He was supposed to be studying with her. Instead he let every person lead him away from her. He gritted his teeth at the thought of Blaise and Theo tricking him into Hogsmeade. He hunched forward trying to speed himself up as his anger threatened to burst from him. He wanted to blame them for all of this. But he knew deep down that he was to blame. He should have returned to the castle immediately after realizing what was happening. Instead he chose to stay in Hogsmeade.

He pushed forward, shaking his head, trying to banish the disturbing images that kept flashing before him and trying to make sense of his surroundings. The clouds were thicker and darker here and made seeing the ground difficult. A bolt of lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the sky. He could just make our forests spreading before him in all directions.

At one point during their flight he heard Weasley asking Potter why they should trust him to lead them to Hermione. Ginny quickly told him to shut it and he hadn't complained further. Draco had waited for him to ask about why Draco meant so much to Hermione that the spell would turn him green, but he had wisely kept his mouth shut about that. Draco had dreaded answering that question. He felt like it was a betrayal to Hermione to tell Ron about their relationship when she had wanted the news to come from her. But as dense as he knew Weasley could be, he also didn't think he could come up with any believable excuse that he'd buy.

He racked his brain during the entire flight for who would want to hurt Hermione. He had catalogued a list of death eater names. Going back and forth between each one. Most of them he immediately rejected as they were in Azcaban or dead. The aurors had done a thorough job, not many were left. Why would any of the ones that had eluded capture risk everything by kidnapping Hermione? Unless they were so angry about you know who's defeat that they wanted revenge. Or perhaps it was a copycat.

He couldn't banish the words from that letter. YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE. What if harming Hermione was just someone's way at getting revenge on him? He knew that very few people knew about their relationship, but if anyone had been paying close attention they would have figured it out.

"Hey mate!" Blaise called, flying up beside him. "Have you realized where we're going yet?" Draco steadfastly ignored him. Propelling himself forward on his broom to avoid having to fly beside him. His anger bubbling just under the surface at Blaise for the prank he pulled. Why even ask that question? Potter just asked the same one.

Draco squinted up ahead, momentarily taking his eyes from his now emerald green hands. In between the rain drops, he spied a meandering river in the distance. It looked vaguely familiar. He blinked, narrowing his eyes at it. He had a sinking feeling. He knew where he was. Blaise wasn't asking where they were. Blaise had already figured it out. He was asking Draco if he recognized the area yet. They were headed straight towards his home. Malfoy Manor. Which meant that the only people who would have brought Hermione there were his parents. Draco's body ran cold, and it had nothing to do with the weather, as a shiver crept down his body. He knew what his parents were capable of.