Coloring outside the Lines (Dramione)

Chapter 6: A good plan

The morning came and went. Hermione could not seem to focus in her classes as she was too busy thinking about what kind of plan she and her friends would come up with to figure out which Death Eaters were still doing Voldemort's work and where they could be found. Even though it was anything but unusual for Hermione to find herself in situations that could get her killed, for some reason this one seemed to really freak her out. Maybe it was because Voldemort was dead and yet still had an army ready to do his bidding.

After lunch Hermione, Harry and Ginny went to the library to meet Draco. Neville and Luna had questioned why they needed to meet in secret to discuss a dance, but Ginny had told them that the theme of the dance was going to be top secret and they couldn't find out until it was announced to the school. That seemed to deter them from the friends' path. Plus, Luna and Neville were so infatuated with their relationship that they never really seemed to notice when their friends left them to do their own thing.

Harry and Ginny walked into the library holding hands and Hermione was almost jealous, but she pushed those thoughts from her head as they found Draco sitting at a table towards the back of the completely silent library.

"Hi Draco" Hermione said as she sat next to him. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze as a way of silently greeting her back. His strong hands sent a shiver down her spine. Draco seemed oblivious to this and greeted Harry and Ginny in turn.

"So" Harry whispered "have you come up with a plan yet Hermione?"

"Why must I always be the one to come up with a plan to save us?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Because Hermione... you're the smart one" Draco laughed.

"Well, if you must know, I've been thinking about it all morning. All the Death Eaters in You Know Who's closed circle have been captured or killed. Some of them, like Lucius, are being held in Azkaban at this very moment. However, there were plenty of Death Eaters that weren't close to the Dark Lord and a lot of them still can't be found. So I have a feeling it's one of those people who are trying to prove themselves to the Dark Lord even though he's dead." Hermione said.

"Is that all you've come up with?" Ginny asked.

Hermione shot her a look and said "I've been a little preoccupied trying to figure out how on earth we are going to pull off finding Death Eaters and not getting ourselves killed, thank you."

Draco smirked and said "I've actually got a little bit of a plan that can get us started."

"Well Malfoy, go on and tell us." Harry said grudgingly. He still wasn't too fond of the idea of working alongside his old school nemesis, but it was necessary. Draco had an insight to this sort of dark magic like nobody else Harry knew.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I use my Slytherin charm and dashingly good looks to get some of the oafs in Slytherin house to fess up about whether any of their family members were part of Voldemort's army." Draco said.

Hermione looked at him and said "Actually Draco, that could work very well. How about tomorrow we try it out?"

The group decided that the next day, Draco would go into the Slytherin dungeon, followed by Hermione, Ginny and Harry under the Invisibility Cloak and ask around seeing if any of his fellow Slytherins had Death Eaters in the family. He would say that he needs to know because the surviving Death Eaters were setting up a safe place somewhere where they couldn't be found by the Ministry. Draco had leverage on this because he still carried the Dark Mark on his arm and little First Years would definitely be willing to tell anyone anything they needed to know if they were shown the mark.

Draco had pleaded for Blaise to know and help and the group had grudgingly said yes. Blaise could be trusted according to Draco, and if Hermione trusted Draco then Harry and Ginny followed her judgement.

The group split up and went their separate ways to their different classes. The rest of the day flew by very quickly and finally, it was night time, the time that Hermione dreaded the most.

She sat on the couch in her common room and stared at the fire. Draco sat next to her and looked at her. She looked scared. "What's the matter Hermione?" He questioned.

"Oh nothing" she lied.

"I know you're lying. I can see it in your face. Plus when you lie, you scrunch up your nose a little bit. Like a little kid." Draco said as he thought about how cute she looked when she scrunched her nose.

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, I'm scared to sleep. I haven't gotten a good sleep in months and it's really affecting my ability to work. And I must be top of the class, but if I can't sleep because of the nightmares, then how am I supposed to keep my grades up?"

"Well Hermione, I don't know if this helps, but even with you sleep deprived you're STILL top of the class by a long shot. And eventually the dreams will go away. If I'm being honest, I'm scared too." Draco said solemnly.

Hermione looked at him with an inquisitive face, urging him to continue.

He continued, "Well you see my father is currently in Azkaban. His trial is in 1 month and I'm scared of what the outcome will be. I want him to get the Dementor's kiss. Life in Azkaban isn't enough for everything he's done. He deserves to have the life and soul sucked from his body."

Hermione tried to meet Draco's stormy grey eyes, but his blonde hair fell in curtains over them and it was impossible for her to see them. Instead, she placed her hand on his knee and gave it a little squeeze and said "I can assure you that the court will decide which punishment he deserves more, and I'm sure you can persuade them if you try."

"Thank you Hermione. I really needed to tell someone that, you really are a wonderful person." Draco said. As he said those words and met Hermione's gaze, his cheeks flushed with red as he blushed and he quickly looked to the floor.

The two said goodnight and went to bed. Ready for the plan they had set in motion for tomorrow evening.

*******

It was 3 in the morning and Draco awoke to the sound of Hermione's screams once again. He walked into her room to find her crying as he did almost every night.

He walked over to the chair by her bed to sit with her until she fell back asleep but before he sat down her weak voice said "Draco, come lay down with me?"

Draco smiled to himself. "Of course Hermione" he said as he laid down next to her. She buried her face in his chest and took in his pepperminty smell as she closed her eyes and drifted back off into darkness.

*Authors note* Sorry if this chapter is kind of badly written, but I've got some big ideas for future chapters :)