CH-4

My aunt narrows her eyes. "That is suspicious. Did she know your identity?"

"I didn't take my mask off, if that's what you're asking. I don't remember anything. The last thing I remember is chasing after her."

"Well, the Dark Lord doesn't care much for that Mudblood right now."

"So my father said. How was the ambush at the Leaky Cauldron?" I ask, trying not to look too interested. I just hope that Granger didn't join the fight there and get herself killed, not after I risked my neck to get her to safety.

"Those Order of the Phoenix members… they're like cockroaches. Impossible to kill," Aunt Bella says with narrowed eyes.

"It didn't go so well, then?" I prod.

"I saw the half-goblin professor go down dueling Antonin."

Dolohov. He was responsible for several deaths in the Order.

"Professor Flitwick?" I inquire, and she nods.

"Yes, yes, that was his name. And what a shame. I was dueling your cousin, Nymphadora, but that blasted werewolf got in the way, and then they bolted."

"Yeah, shame, that is," I echo. After a moment of silence, I ask her, "Where is the Dark Lord?"

"Oh Draco, dear boy, don't fret. Of all my…" she pauses to think of a word, "…students, you've always been my favorite. I will make sure you are taken care of. After all, you can't be blamed for a Mudblood's weak heart. You'll make her regret her decision the next time she's within reach, won't you?"

I nod, a wicked grin stretching my lips.

"You bet I will."

"What's on your mind?"

I start and look up to see Blaise.

I've been sitting on the top landing of Number 12 Grimmauld Place for about an hour, leaning against the wall between two bedrooms, not speaking to anyone. We're all recovering from the hit we took last night. Through some sort of miracle, none of the rest of us died last night—all of us either returned here or made it to another safe house and sent word, except for Blaise.

But now I know he's all right.

"I um… nothing," I reply. "When did you get in?"

"A few minutes ago," he says, sitting down next to me.

"Why did it take you so long to get back?"

"I dragged a few Death Eaters off on a wild goose chase to get them out of the Leaky Cauldron. Just got back from Romania."

I shake my head. "You're crazy."

"Hey, it worked. That's all that matters."

I nod.

"How's Harry?" he asks.

"He'll live," I say. "The potion worked."

"Of course it worked. All the potions that you make are perfect," he says, smiling.

I fake a smile. "Hardly."

We fall silent, and I lean my head on his shoulder.

"What's bothering you?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"If you're not going to talk to me about it, at least tell Harry or Ron."

I heave a sigh. "Last night, I went to Hogwarts for—"

"Yes, I know," he interrupts me. "Molly talked to me when I came in."

"Well… you know that they have a patrol in Hogwarts, right?"

Blaise nods. "Nasty task, trying to get in. But it's even harder to get out," he says. "I'm pretty surprised that they sent you all by yourself."

I shake my head. "There was no one else. The thing is… last night, I shouldn't have escaped. I almost made it to an Apparition Point, but I was caught."

He shifts to put an arm around me. "How'd you get out, then?"

"I was released."

He raises an eyebrow. "By who?"

"That's what I can't stop thinking about. I don't know who it was. All I know is that he had a Death Eater mask on. And he gave me this."

I tug lightly at the cloak that's still around my shoulders, and he removes his arm from around me.

"Oh… I hadn't even noticed that."

"Yeah," I say, giving him a small smile. "No one else really noticed it either. Clothing isn't exactly a priority, what with all that happened last night."

"Can I see it?"

I lean forward, remove the cloak from around my shoulders and pass it to him. He looks at the material closely.

"How tall was he?" he asks me.

"I don't know… I only saw him from a distance. He looked… maybe your height."

"Hmm."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?"

He shakes his head. "Why are you so worried?"

"I just… I'm pretty sure that he saved me because he knew who I was."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing? Maybe Voldemort's losing support from his own Death Eaters."

"See, that's what I thought at first, too. But I keep getting this feeling that it could be a trick. What if that man saved me on Voldemort's orders? What if my survival is actually important to their plans? What if they plan to use me against us somehow? I'm scared," I admit.

"Don't be afraid," he says, putting his arm back around me. "How can you worry about them using you against us? You'd never betray us. You know that better than anyone, don't you? There isn't a way for that to happen."

"I can't help but wonder. There's no other explanation."

"Except the one that we both came up with first," he says. "Don't over-think this, Hermione. Listen to me. They cannot use you against us, not unless you decide to let them do it. As long as you stay… well, you, then that'll never happen. You don't have anything to worry about."

I nod. "Thanks, Blaise."

Hearing his reassurances makes me feel better, but I still can't shake the feeling that something bad is coming my way. He could simply be saying these things to ease my worries. He could be thinking something else entirely.

Blaise saved me and Harry when we were in a tight spot, maybe two years ago. We had heard rumors that Lucius Malfoy would be in Rome, and we'd gone to figure out exactly what he was up to. Ron didn't come with us that time—he had agreed with me that it was time to let go of our relationship and go back to being friends, but we were still a little uncomfortable around each other. It had hurt my feelings that he'd given in so easily, but we both knew that our feelings weren't strong enough to last.

Harry and I had been hiding in a dark alleyway, cornered, with Lucius Malfoy moving in on us. We'd both been under the Invisibility Cloak, Disarmed, but Lucius knew that we were there, and it had been only a matter of time before he found us.