Chapter 5 - Danger ahead
Hermione could hardly believe what she had done. She had left her home, her parents, everything she knew. She was silently following Harry through the dark streets, not even knowing where they were heading. She was starting to think it was all a big mistake.
She had to walk really fast to keep up with Harry's pace. He didn't seem in the mood to talk, and she thought it was better that way.
Finally, after more than an hour, they arrived at a building. It was old and dirty, and it was in the outskirts of Paris. If I had had my wand we could've apparated instead of walking, she thought, while Harry led her to the third floor and knocked on the door from which the number 3 hung.
"Who's there?" a female voice said.
"Me, Neville," said Harry.
That ridiculous name again. Why couldn't he choose something like Jack, or Mike? The door opened and Harry went inside, with Hermione behind. There, holding a wand was Fleur Delacour.
"You're late," she stated, looking at Harry.
"We had to walk," he said simply. Hermione felt a pang of guilt, even though she knew she couldn't do anything about it.
"I see," Fleur said. She kissed Harry on the cheek. Hermione looked around. It was a small room. There was a table and a small bed... One bed. Was this Fleur's house? Or did she share it with him? Looking at them now, whispering really close to each other, Hermione had the feeling that they were a couple.
"Where are your parents?" Fleur asked, looking at her, and, despite herself, Hermione gave a hard look. But why?
"The Grangers thought it might be too risky," Harry answered for her, leaving the suitcase in the floor. Hermione felt her eyes filling with tears, and Fleur took her hand in a friendly gesture. Harry stared at both girls for a while. "I'll be back as soon as possible," he said.
"You're leaving?" Hermione asked, not caring about the tears that now were falling freely down her face.
Harry smiled warmly at her. It was so unusual for him to do it, that Hermione felt comforted right away. "Don't worry, Fleur will keep you busy," he said, and then disapparated.
Fleur put a locking spell in the door and turned to Hermione. "Do you have your documents with you?" she asked.
Hermione took them out of her pocket and gave them to her. There was her muggle ID - her parents had insisted she should have one - and her Witch ID. Fleur stared at both of them. "We'll put this one away," she said, pointing the Witch ID. Then, she went to the table and started working on the muggle ID. She opened the plastic and started changing the name.
"Wouldn't it be easier if you just use magic to do that?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, but a wizard can tell easily if an ID has been altered with magic. That's why we have to do it the muggle way," Fleur replied as she started to scratch off the black print.
In ten minutes, the ID was ready. It now it read: 'Hermione Longbottom' under 'Name'.
"Harry thought it was better if you two pretended to be a married couple. It could stop a lot of questions," Fleur explained. "You look tired. You should rest for a while."
Hermione layed on the bed. But before she fell asleep, she couldn't help but thinking that this was Harry and Fleur's bed...
* * *
She woke up with a startle and the first thing she saw were Harry and Fleur talking softly in the corner. She cleared her throat to let them know she was awake.
"I'm glad you've woke up," Fleur said, grabbing her blue cloak and approaching to Hermione. "I was going to go to work now, but I wanted to wish you good luck on your journey first."
Hermione stood up and gave Fleur a hug. Even though she was jealous of her - of course, she didn't want to admit that - that woman had helped her a lot. "Thank you for everything."
"We'll have some breakfast and then we'll leave," Harry announced when Fleur was shut the door behind her. "Oh, by the way, you need to change your clothes."
"What's wrong with my clothes?" asked Hermione, surprised (and a little offended on her fashion sense, to be honest). She was wearing blue jeans and an old, black, woolen sweater.
"You look like a teenager with them," he replied.
"Last time I checked, I am a teenager," she stated. "And so are you."
Harry sighed. "We're travelling as husband and wife. We have to pretend that we're a little older, don't you think?"
That made sense, of course. Harry told her that Fleur had left some clothes for her in the bathroom. Hermione found there a long, black skirt, a white blouse and a black sweater. She tried them on. They were at least one size bigger, but she didn't mind. She twisted her bushy hair in a tight bun and added a little make up to her face. She wasn't very fond of using it, but now, it was the only thing that could disguise her measly eighteen years.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Harry was putting his own clothes in her suitcase.
"Thanks for asking," she commented with sarcasm.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But I thought that it would be better travelling with just one suitcase." He looked at her. "You look nice."
Despite herself, she smiled. "Are you kidding? I look like my mother."
Harry seemed older too. He was wearing blue pants and a green sweater. He put a hat on his head, which hid his scar. They sat down with a cup of coffee and Harry started explaining what they were going to do. They would have to reach Spain disguised as regular muggles. He wasn't even going to carry his wand along... It could compromise them in case they were caught. They would use the train, and then they would have to walk through a path in the mountains. He hoped they wouldn't have any encounters with the people from the FOS.
Hermione nodded. She knew it was going to be dangerous. Harry was taking a huge risk to help her, and she couldn't understand why. She remembered everything that Ginny had told her about him, and now she understood what she had meant with the whole 'hero' thing.
* * *
Hermione shifted, uncomfortable in her third class seat on the train. She had taken the one next to the window. She had her eyes fixed in some women's magazine that Harry had bought in the station. He was sitting right next to her, with a muggle newspaper. She wondered how he could stay so calm, while her legs couldn't stop trembling.
The first part of the trip was uneventful. That was, until the train stopped when they were reaching Chalans. People started whispering immediately. She stopped breathing when three men stepped on the train and started asking for the passenger's IDs. The muggles didn't seem to understand what was happening, but they took out their documents immediately. The three men were obviously wizards, and, to make it worse, from the FOS. They looked threatening. Harry gave her a soothing look, that didn't help to calm her nerves.
"Your ID, miss," one of the wizards ordered, staring at her. Hermione froze. She couldn't move, think or breath.
"Honey, your documents," she heard Harry's voice. Then, he grabbed her purse and took them out. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, staring calmly at the wizard, who was giving a questioning look. He handed him the documents and said, "My wife isn't feeling very well... She's pregnant, you know?"
The wizard grabbed the ID. He gave a hard stare to Harry, but he didn't make any questions.
* * *
Sixteen hours after leaving Paris' station, they finally arrived in Lyon. The rest of the journey had been in silence, and so it was their walk towards the residential where they were going to stay. Hermione waited while Harry paid for the room, and they went upstairs.
Harry opened the door and his face fell. The room was really tiny. The small bed hardly fit in there, and it was the only thing in the room. He turned to look at Hermione, obviously uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I supposed there would be a place on the floor for me to sleep."
Hermione smiled. She entered in the room and lay on the bed. "Don't worry Harry. I'm too tired to try to seduce you tonight," she teased.
Harry hesitated and then entered in the room, closing the door behind him. He lay on the bed, next to Hermione, trying hard not to touch her, but it was impossible, so he gave up. They turned their backs to each other and tried to get some rest.
Hermione spent the next two hours trying to sleep, but she couldn't. She was too embarrased about what had happened in the train. Where was her courage!? They could have caught both of them and all because of her... Harry hadn't made any comments, but she was sure he was disappointed.
That wasn't all she had on her mind. The remorse of leaving her parents was almost killing her. After all, they were trying to protect her. In a wrong way, she reminded herself.
"Are you awake?" she heard Harry asking, in a soft voice.
"Yeah," she answered without turning around. "I'm so ashamed," she muttered.
"Why? Because of what happened on the train?" Hermione nodded. "Don't be. Nothing happened. Anyone would've panicked at a time like that."
"You didn't."
"Well, not today, but the first time I faced the FOS, I did."
Hermione sat on the bed. Harry was looking at her. "Harry, why are you doing this? I mean, why are you helping me?"
Harry rubbed his forehead. He took a whole minute before answering. "Because I had to," he said. Hermione gave him a questioning look, and he sighed. "This is what I do. It's my job to help muggle-borns running away from Slytherin and the FOS."
"I thought you were on the joke-shop business," Hermione said, half joking, half serious.
"I am in that region of business as well. My work with the Weasley twins is one thing," Harry replied. "I've been working with Godric Gryffindor since I left Hogwarts. Ron too... And Mr. Weasley," he said and, even though it was dark, Hermione noticed the sadness in his face.
"What do Ron and the others say about..?" she asked softly, but her voice sounded shrilly.
"They are getting desperate," Harry cleared his throat. "They are moving every string to take them out. You have no idea how many times I had to stop Ron from coming to France and entering in La Santè... Gryffindor has tried to do something but it's almost impossible. If Slytherin finds out about our actions, we're doomed."
A deep silence followed. They remained in their positions, not looking at each other.
"You're sad about what happened with your parents, aren't you?" Harry asked after a while.
Hermione sighed "Yes... I can't forgive myself for abandoning them."
Harry looked at her. "You didn't abandon them. They had you trapped in there, Hermione. You could've--"
"Don't say that," she interrupted him "You don't understand them."
"Yes, you're right, I don't. I can't understand why they were so afraid to leave the country, when their daughter was in danger."
Hermione frowned, but didn't respond. It hurt her deeply to hear that attack to her parents... But what hurt her more was that she didn't understand either. She lay down again and turned her back to him.
"I'm sorry," Harry apologized, a couple of minutes later. "I shouldn't have said that. It's just that when things are hard for me, I act like an insensitive git."
* * *
A/N: Short chapter, I know. The following ones are longer, I promise.
Thanks to Emily for her Beta Reading!