Chapter Seventeen

                                    

                                          
Night fell and Severus and Hermione hurried through the grounds of the castle. Hermione still had no idea what was going on, but Severus obviously thought that it was important, and she trusted him wholly. As they walked through the gates, Severus quickly grabbed onto Hermione's arm and they apparated away. They landed in a dismal little village, it was dark and dirty and every house was identical. Severus hurried down the street and Hermione followed him quickly, they came to a house, one that looked no different to the rest and Severus unlocked the door, ushering her inside and looking behind them for witnesses. As soon as they were inside, he relocked the door and they walked through the dimly lit hallway and stepped into the small living room. Hermione noted that the inside of the house looked worse than the outside. The dull, dirty wallpaper was rotting and peeling away at the corners. The furniture was dusty and worn, the coffee tables stained and slanted. The entire house looked as though it could fall apart at any moment; Hermione thought it might
                          
"you live here?" She asked, disbelieving
                          
"Only during the summer. It was my parent's house, I know it's not much, but it's all we have for now"
                          
"about that, why did we have to leave again?"
                          
"Because I can't do it anymore, Hermione"
                          
"you brought me here to break up with me?"
                          
"What? No, of course not. I mean I can't do both the Dark Lord's and Dumbledore's bidding anymore. I can't keep living these two lives, not when I have a better life I could be living, and this is the only place we could escape to where we can't be found. Not even Dumbledore can get here"
                          
"so, you mean, we're running away?"
                          
"for now, yes. From here we can still contact the order, via floo, and keep track of progress, with both of our minds together we can try to figure out the location of the Horcruxes and help Potter on his journey"
                          
"but, this isn't supposed to be right, we're supposed to be out there, fighting. I was supposed to go with Harry; I'm supposed to help him. Harry and Ron won't survive a week without me"
                          
"they will have the both of us, only we'll be helping from here; from safety. Hermione, you have to understand. If we return we'll be in terrible danger, I won't survive this war, I never expected to, but now, I have a reason to, I want to and I'm going to go to any means necessary to ensure that I do"
                          
"yes but running away, Severus"
                          
"Hermione, trust me"
                          
"no, you keep asking me to trust you but you won't tell me anything. I can't just keep blindly following you without reason. You have to talk to me, Severus" he sighed, he had to tell her, she was right, she wasn't going to stay here, unquestioning, when she could be out there with her best friends, saving the world, damn her Gryffindorness
                          
"ok, Hermione, listen. I'm going to tell you something and you have to promise not to speak until I'm finished, ok?" She nodded, waiting for him to continue
                          
"at the beginning of the year, Draco Malfoy was recruited by the Dark Lord to be his newest follower, the youngest Death Eater this cause has ever seen. I believe he did it as punishment for Lucius losing the Prophecy in the Department of Mysteries last year. He then granted Draco with a task. Draco has to kill Dumbledore"
                          
"what?"
                          
"Hermione, please, not a word, remember? Anyway, naturally, Dumbledore knows this, he also knows that Draco won't have the heart to commit a murder, but Draco has been repairing a broken vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement, one that has a twin inside Borgin and Burkes. They are aiming to create a pathway between the two, so that Death Eaters can storm the castle. Dumbledore's great almighty plan was to have me murder him, so that the Dark Lord would trust me completely and hopefully, once he'd taken over the school, he'd appoint me Headmaster so that I could do my utmost to protect the students"