Cold

Chapter Two: Diagon Alley

June 23rd

Just over a week had gone by since Draco Malfoy had been forced into living in the same house as the people he hated the most. Over a week had gone by since he stepped foot out of his room. He was extremely restless.
     He would give anything to stretch his legs outside, to walk around Diagon Alley. He knew it wasn't safe. But maybe he would be able to sneak out.
     Draco decided he'd wait until dark, when everyone was sleeping. Then, he'd go out for an hour or so. Just for fresh air. With any luck, he wouldn't run into any Death Eaters.

    As soon as midnight came, Draco pressed his ear to his door, to make sure no one was near. He heard nothing. Turning the knob with extra care, he opened the door as slowly as he could. It creaked slightly, but not enough to wake anyone up. If only he was allowed to do magic over the summer! Draco could have used a silencing charm and snuck out much easier.
     Draco creeped down the stairs with just as much care as he opened the door with. He listened intently, making sure no one was downstairs. Unfortunate for him, there was a small but heavy box on the side of the third to last stair.
     Without warning, Draco's right foot jammed into the box. He was careful enough to not make any sound, but not swift enough to stop the box from tumbling down the last of the stairs.

     "Who's there?" a voice called from the back of the house.
     Draco put a hand to his face, annoyed. Remus Lupin walked up to him from the hallway. "Sneaking out are you?" he asked coolly.
     Draco took the hand from his face. "I couldn't sleep. I wanted something to eat," he lied.
    "Right," Lupin said. It didn't look like he believed him completely.

     Draco didn't bother to say anything. He just turned around, went back up the stairs, and went back to bed. He would try again tomorrow night.

June 24th

Instead of slipping Draco his food and leaving the way she usually did, Mrs. Weasley kept the door open, wanting to talk to him.

"Remus said you tried to escape last night?" she raised an eyebrow. She knew Draco wasn't a nice kid but she still felt the need to keep him safe. No kid deserved to be killed by the Dark Lord.
Draco said nothing and didn't look at her. "It's not safe out there. You could be found! And thinking of going at night! By yourself!" Mrs. Weasley scolded him.
Draco finally looked up and said, "You try sitting in the same room for a week with nothing to do." He knew he was being unappreciative, but he didn't ask for this.
Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Why don't you go to Diagon Alley today. As long as you bring someone with you."
Draco made a face. He hated having to be protected. "Never mind," he said. "I don't care."

Except, of course he still needed to get out of this house. He went back to his original plan of sneaking out. Unless...
Unless he could just walk out right now. He heard the front door open every once in a while anyways, so as long as no one was right by it, no one would think anything of someone leaving.
Not wanting to waste anymore time in his stuffy room, he pushed his plate to the edge of his desk and walked out of the room.

He didn't run into anyone on the way to the door. Within a few minutes, he made his way out of the building.
Draco forgot how refreshing the outdoors were. He made his way to Diagon Alley and strolled aimlessly around, enjoying the freedom.
     It wasn't long before someone said his name behind him. It was a girl's voice. He turned around.

     "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "You're not supposed to leave the house."
     "None of your business, Granger."
     "What if someone finds you?"
     "Why do you care?" Draco spat.
     "Malfoy, we might not be friends, but that doesn't mean I want you killed."
     "Just go away, mudblood. Go bother someone else." Draco ordered her. Hermione took a step back at his use of the word 'mudblood'. Not that she didn't expect it. She just hated it.
     "Fine. Get yourself killed. It'll be your own fault," she said in her most superior voice.

Draco then realized that if he didn't take Hermione with him, Mrs. Weasley would have a fit, and he didn't feel like being yelled at again. "Wait," he said.
Hermione turned to face him again, confused. "What?"
"Come with me. Or I'll get yelled at. And don't tell them I came here by myself, either."
"And if I do tell?" Hermione challenged.
Draco took a few steps towards her until his face was an inch away from hers. "You won't," he threatened. It was his turn to sound superior.
Hermione said nothing. She just pushed him away and gestured that it was okay to walk with her.

And so they walked, Hermione a step behind. Complete silence between them; Hermione didn't know what to say and Draco didn't want to say anything.
Draco was about to turn around to go back to Grimmauld Place, when he heard shouting up ahead. Curious, he stopped and waited, seeing if it would happen again. Hermione bumped into him, not expecting him to pause.
"Move!"
"Get out of the way!"
The words were closer this time, and right behind them came the bodies who shouted them.
Two wizards on broomsticks were flying through Diagon Alley! Hermione found herself in the exact place one of them was heading for. She gasped at the same moment she felt someone's hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the way.
Heart beating, Hermione looked up. The hand had belonged to Malfoy. He let go of her and looked away. Hermione didn't even have time to thank him before he turned back around and put his hand on her mouth.

"There's a group of wizards up there. I recognize them from the Manor. Death Eaters. We have to go."
Draco then relocated his hand back on Hermione's wrist and ran, pulling her with him. They ran like that all the way back.

Finally, they reached the front of the building and Draco let go of her.
Both of them breathing heavily, Hermione said, "Wow. Uh, thank you. For saving me back there." She straightened up and continued, " I can't believe those men would be irresponsible enough to fly right through Diagon Alley!"
"Granger?" Draco said. Hermione looked up at him. "Just shut up."