Survivor

Chapter 11 - The Return.

Upon re-editing this chapter, I can see I was a bit brutal to Ron :D He definitely isn't my favorite character. Can you tell? H.x  

The next few days had passed with a mixture of boredom and awkwardness. Hermione was sick to death of staring at the same four walls of her hiding place. Each day, students would return with tales of the Carrows and Snape. Some of them would be cradling fresh bruises and adorning new cuts. Little had occurred. It was obvious that Snape hadn't been discovered yet and no one had leaked the secret, that in fact, the missing and presumed dead Hermione Granger was stowed away safely within the walls of the castle. 

That was until the day The Lady In The Portrait had appeared and the door had opened. Hermione was content sticking to the rear end of the crowd, as two familiar figures appeared. One with red hair and the other with black. There had been even more of an uproar than when Hermione had returned, and she had been the one that everyone thought dead. Hermione felt a presence next to her and looked up to see it was Draco. He looked as uneasy as she felt. 

Harry and Ron remained at the front of the crowd, basking in the glory of their return. Ron, whose hair covered his eyes, was holding a large branch and had a limp. Harry looked dirty but otherwise uninjured. Hermione was glad that they were okay, but she knew that their arrival would only spark trouble. 

"Stop. QUIET. Shut it!" Harry was trying to call everyone to attention. Hermione had blinked and Ginny had attached herself to his side at the front of the crowd. She couldn't help but wonder whom Ron was scanning the crowd for. 

"I know that its all very exciting that we're back, but we need to know, what has been happening here?" Harry asked. "DON'T all shout out. One person at a time." His forehead creased as his patience wore dangerously thin. 

Draco caught Hermione's gaze again. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to her ear. "I don't care what they say, I'm sticking by your side, Draco." 

The young man blushed as though she had been whispering sweet nothings into his ear. He stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and nodded at Hermione. Meanwhile, the crowd were shouting out to Harry and Ron about the atrocities that had happened while they had been away. 

"The Carrow's torture us."

"They broke my nose."

"McGonagall is Powerless."

"Snape is back." 

"I haven't been able to sleep for weeks."

The moaning continued and Hermione wondered if she could slip away, unnoticed, to somewhere else. The astronomy tower? Snape's office? A broom closet? Draco seemed to be having similar thoughts, judging by how stiff he stood. 

"Hermione's back!" Screamed a voice. 

There it was, her cover was blown. 

"And Malfoy." 

Apparently she was dragging Draco down with her.

She tried not to hang her head in shame. She tried not to shy away out of the spotlight. But perhaps it was because she had been living with a recluse this entire time, she couldn't help herself. 

Her cheeks burned as the crowds parted, allowing Hermione and Draco to come into full view of the two men on the stage. Of course, Ron was the first one to act, leaping off of the stage and pelting towards her like there was no tomorrow. "MIONE." He shouted, gleefully. 

He smelt of firewood, must and body odor. It was not a flattering combination of scents by anyone's standards. Hermione held her breath as Ron embraced her. The wool of his worn jumper was scratchy and uncomfortable against her face. She felt guilty, but all she wanted to do was escape. What if Severus saw her like this? what would he think?