Chapter 1
DRACO
The distinct click of the dragon hide boots echoed through the hallways that lead to the Slytherin common room. After the previous night's events, no one expected anyone to be down here. Almost as if the area was tainted by the alumni whose bodies now lay throughout the grounds, or who sat in chains, warded on the astronomy tower. Draco sighed, he shouldn't be here, he should be in France where his parents had fucked off too as soon as Potter rose from the dead. Yet he was foolish enough to finally make a stand and aid the Order as the final moments of the battle bloomed before them. It seemed to have afforded him some leniency with the Aurors who were now rounding up the remaining death eaters and snatchers that lingered on the grounds
he stopped in front of the door that only revealed itself to members of his house. he's not game enough to push it open he just stands there looking at it. So many memories, bitterness, hate, joy, rivalry, superiority, fear, longing. he ground his teeth and turned, he knew he could never really look back at it at this life he was living. He walked, with an ugert pace away from this and away from his old life.
he turned the corner to the stairs up to the main entrance only for his eyes to meet with a pair of brown eyes that he'd hoped never to see again. She gasped but said nothing. They both stood there, frozen, eyes locked, a world of words left unsaid between them. She was the one who broke it first, she turned and walked away from him, back in the opposite direction, slow steps at first, that he could hear pick up pace as soon as she had rounded the corner. he stayed there until he couldn't hear her steps anymore. only then did he finally take another step and continue to walk out of the castle for the last time.
He walked until he reached the main entrance and continued until he walked out of the main gates. He didn't stop until he was past the town of Hogsmead, where he finally dissapperated.
HERMIONE
She didn't tell anyone her plan, she had made it up when she saw Harry paraded dead in front of everyone. his miraculous revival and the dark lord's subsequent defeat changed nothing for her. She was done, pigeonholed as the golden girl, future Mrs. Weasly, the brightest witch of her age and she felt utterly trapped by all of it. since then, she'd been walking through it all like a zombie. Ushered by Ron, smiling as Harry and Ginny reunited. tears over their fallen friends. it had taken all she could manage to ask Ron to leave her alone for a minute, allow her to greive in privacy for a few moments.
she hadn't expected to run into him, but she had, and she knew at that moment that he felt the same as she did at that moment. At that moment she knew that he had seen the real her, which is why she ran. she ran until she was deep in the forest. there was nothing so scary within it now, half of the monsters that used to call it home now lay dead across the grounds. She ran until she was past the wards and as soon as she was she apperated as far away as she could.
HARRY
It had been three years since Hermione disappeared. right after they had made it, right after the bad guys were defeated and she was safe, they all were safe in this new world that they would rebuild together.
From what they had worked out, she had gone for a walk around the castle, Ron said she'd asked for a bit of space to greive, which he gave her, she knew where to find him in the Gryffindor tower. she never came back. It was Ron's biggest regret. He lost his brother, his ex-girlfriend, so, so many mentors and friends. and yet he let her out of his site and neither of them have seen her since.
They assumed she had been targeted by a renegade death eater, an opportunist who had either killed her or taken her. Yet they had no leads, they had interrogated every death eater who had been captured after she vanished, and there was never anyone with any clue of her fate.
It had destroyed Ron. He went from bottle to bottle lost in his grief. Harry had watched him until he too was lost to him and his family.
the only odd detail Harry could never quite get over was how Malfoy had also vanished that same night. He supposed that his change of allegiance despite how late it came afforded him a bit of leniency when it came to being detained. Most of the others suspected of crimes, including Parkinson, Zabine, Nott, and Bulstode, had been sequestered to the top of the astronomy tower. in the year after the battle, they had all been acquitted. similar to Harry himself, they didn't get a choice in their participation, they might not be the bestest of friends now, but they had an understanding.
The Malfoys were different, Lucious and Narcissa had deserted the Dark Lord after Narcissa had assisted Harry in his bluff, telling the dark lord he was dead when he was still breathing.
Draco had stayed, refused to fight for the death eaters, and had stunned and disarmed as many as he could. The Aurors had allowed Malfoy to avoid handcuffs. It was understood that he would be placed under house arrest the following day, but when sunrise came, no one could find him. He hadn't been at his parent's estate or at their property in France where they found Lucius and Narcissa and placed them under house arrest.
Draco's location, Much like Hermione's was a mystery, and Harry couldn't shake the feeling that the two were linked. Find one and perhaps he would find the other. it was only a matter of time.