Draco had felt it the second the wards were triggered, but he'd stayed seated beside Crabbe and acted indifferent. Some others had started whispering, clearly having sensed the shift as well but most everyone continued on as usual. He'd been suspicious when he saw Mulciber disappear with Avery, but he'd appeared not much later and announced the beginning of their sale. If the wards hadn't hinted to him that something was wrong, Mulciber's announcement definitely had. Hermione was supposed to get all the slaves out before triggering the wards, but Draco didn't have time to question it before five people were dragged on stage and the bidding began.

As promised, Draco apparated straight to Grimmauld Place as soon as he could. The house was empty, but he stayed put. He waited impatiently for upwards of an hour before realising Hermione was not going to show. It took time to ensure each rescued slave was safely taken to the Order, but she'd had two hours before he arrived to get it sorted out. Surely she knew he'd be worried, right?

Pulling out his notebook to write her, Draco froze. The only thing in his pocket was ashes. They weren't warm and they crumbled into dust the second he touched them, so he knew the notebook had been like that for a while.

"No," he breathed. He frantically pulled out a handful of ashes and looked down at it with wide eyes. "No, no, no."

Hermione was smart. If she'd burned the notebook, it meant she'd been caught or at least worried she was about to be. Draco hadn't even told her to burn the notebook, so she'd thought of it on her own. Had she known his would burn too? It was unlikely.

"Granger!" he yelled, turning around in case she'd just been hiding. It would be the worst game he'd ever played if she'd been hiding from him, but he would prefer it over the fear that was rapidly taking over. "Granger, come out!"

Nothing moved and Draco cursed, sending the dining hall table up in flames. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of what to do. Instead, his mind raced with possibilities as to what was happening to Hermione at that moment and he couldn't focus.

"Fucking—Stop!" he screamed at himself. The house echoed silence back and he panted heavily. His mind went silent and he just stood there, staring around the room he'd so often visited to see Hermione.

Okay, he thought to himself, straightening his shoulders. Safehouses. I can find one and ask—Fuck, no, they'll turn me in. A note? Shacklebolt would never believe it.

His thoughts continued to race, trying to decide what to do. He knew he couldn't contact the Order without Hermione because he'd made sure the Order couldn't contact him without her. Fuck, that was proving to be a mistake right now. Someone would notice she was gone without him saying anything, that much was certain. Unfortunately, no one would know where she was or where she'd gone.

"Potter!" Draco exclaimed, suddenly remembering that she'd told him what she was doing.

All too soon, he realised Potter probably didn't know where they met. He'd likely be unable to get to Grimmauld Place as well, seeing as Severus had been the only secret keeper that he knew of.

Draco stayed at Grimmauld Place all night, trying to figure out what to do and hoping she'd appear late. If she didn't arrive within 24 hours, he'd know for certain she'd been caught. Until then, he'd stay put on the off chance she simply forgot or was too exhausted to apparate right after. That didn't stop him from trying to piece together what had happened, though.

He roamed Grimmauld Place several times, searching every room for any hint that she was coming back. When he found her satchel in a bedroom, he frowned and spent over an hour searching the room. He took her satchel back downstairs with him and went through it. He pulled out clothes and his frown deepened. Had she been planning on traveling somewhere or did she always keep clothes in the bag? He couldn't remember encountering the clothing when he'd used the bag once before, but he had been pretty focused on summoning the bombs quickly.

Draco was pretty sure he hallucinated it when he heard a loud crack echo through the house as he was searching through Hermione's bag. He still jumped up and looked toward the direction the sound had come from, preparing to be disappointed.

"What the fuck?" he demanded, staring at Harry Potter who walked around the corner.

"It's fucking you?" Potter exclaimed, looking both irritated and disappointed to see Draco standing there. "I knew there was a reason she refused to tell me who it was. Of course it's you. Fantastic."

"Why the fuck are you here, Potter?" Draco snarled. The last thing he wanted was Potter running his mouth around the Order about who their spy was.

"Looking for Hermione," Potter snapped, glaring at Draco. His eyes caught on the bag Draco was holding and his hold on his wand tightened. "What have you done with her now?"

"Me?" Draco asked incredulously. "Hermione's been missing since last night. I've been waiting for her."

"At Grimmauld Place? With her bag?" Potter asked skeptically. Draco glared at him and dropped the satchel on his chair.

"I don't have to answer you," Draco said, crossing his arms.

"Fine," Potter said with a shrug. He raised his wand at Draco and said, "Then I'll just kill you."

"Do that and you'll never know where we went," Draco warned icily. Potter didn't look happy about it, but he lowered his wand. They glared at each other for several seconds, but Draco refused to be the first to crack.

"What happened last night? After she left the Order," Potter asked.

"We went to rescue muggleborns and blood traitors that Mulciber intended to auction off to Death Eaters," Draco explained.

He wasn't sure how much Potter knew, but he explained it all. He told him about the first time they'd gone and how afterward, they'd moved the sales to a different property. They'd both worked on determining what wards were used and once Hermione had created a potion to get her past them, they attended the next sale which had been last night.

"We parted once we got there—"

"You left her alone?" Potter asked angrily. Draco rolled his eyes. "In a manor full of Death Eaters, you left her alone?"

"Oh, fuck off. I'm angry about it too, Potter," Draco snapped. Potter glared harder at him and Draco's lip curled. "Do you want to hear the rest of it or just accuse me blindly?"

After a tense moment of silence, Potter grumbled, "Continue."

Draco did, though there wasn't much more he could tell. He'd felt when the wards were triggered and he'd seen Mulciber disappear. When they'd brought five slaves out, he'd known something was wrong but he couldn't do anything without looking suspicious.

"The Order breaks in and I go asking around?" Draco scoffed at the thought. "My aunt already knows there's a spy. That would have been the cap on the potion."

"Mulciber didn't say anything about a break in though?" Potter asked. Draco shook his head. He'd found that odd too, but not nearly as odd as the announcement of a special sale the very next night.

"They're usually several days apart," Draco explained. "Unless he's just tempting Hermione to return or the Order to try something, there's no reason to hold another so close."

"I don't like it," Potter grumbled. Draco didn't either, but he was not about to agree with Potter on something so obvious. "And you've been here all night?"

"Yes," Draco confirmed, telling him he'd stayed in case she arrived late. "This morning, I thought she might have returned to the Order to sleep first."

Potter shook his head with a frown, but it wasn't directed at Draco this time.

"No, she wouldn't have been able to," he said. Draco's eyes narrowed and he frowned in confusion. Potter noticed his confusion and frowned as well. "She didn't tell you?"

"Clearly not," Draco bit. Potter's eyes narrowed at him. "What?"

"She was expelled from the Order," Potter said. Draco stopped breathing for a second. "Kingsley's hand was forced when he found out she'd been running missions with you that weren't approved by him or the council. After she used the killing curse, he couldn't let her stay."

"What was her plan?" Draco asked. Surely she hadn't planned on roaming around on her own in hopes of not getting caught.

"Stay here," Potter said, gesturing to the house. "The Order stayed at Grimmauld Place years ago so we can get in, but no one knows it's in use. I would never have come here if she hadn't told me to meet her spy here if she didn't return."

Draco took a deep breath. She'd been expecting something to go wrong if she'd told Potter where and how to find him. If Potter was right and she'd been expelled from the Order as well, she would have returned here upon finishing with the rescued slaves. As much as Draco hated it, he had a feeling she had never actually left Newcastle.

"You've gotten quiet," Potter said, interrupting his thoughts. "What are you thinking about? How to kill me?"

"No," Draco drawled irritatedly. "Unlike you, I have bigger problems than whether someone's going to kill me."

Potter scowled and Draco smirked.

"We're both worried, so how about you stop being a prat and we can figure this out," Potter suggested bitterly. Draco was glad he didn't have to be the one to suggest it, so he nodded sharply to show he was in agreement. "Good," Potter grumbled. He stuffed his wand in his pocket then looked back up at Draco. "You were the one who was there so clearly you'll have the best plan. What do you suggest?"

Instead of making a biting comment about Potter asking for his help, Draco considered the idea that was beginning to form in his head.

"Everything points to her being held at Newcastle still," he said hesitantly. Potter didn't react so he continued. "You can't get in without triggering the wards, but I can get her out."

"And if you can't?" Potter asked. Draco scowled at the thought.

"I'll get her out," he insisted. Potter seemed to recognise the edge to his voice so he let it go. "My cover will be blown though. There's no way I get out with Hermione without it happening, so I'll need your cover."

"Of course," Potter agreed immediately. "You'll have Hermione's too. That is, if you can get her out—"

"I'll get her out!" Draco yelled, clenching his hands at his side. Potter's eyes widened and Draco inhaled sharply, closing his eyes so he wasn't tempted to curse him on sight. Still very tense, but making a point to not snap at Potter, Draco repeated calmly, "I will get her out, Potter. You don't have to worry about that."

He opened his eyes and glanced at him, not bothering to hide how upset the situation was making him. Potter gave him an unfamiliar look, but nodded. Refusing to sniffle as his nose started to tickle, Draco brought his hand up to his face and wiped his nose. He ignored the panic that had taken up residence in his chest so he could focus on making a plan and pursed his lips.

"Let's start over," Draco suggested tightly. He forced himself to unclench his fists and looked at Potter, squaring his shoulders as he said, "Hermione is missing, Potter, and I'm very worried."

"I'm—" Potter hesitated and took a second to roll his shoulders as well. He nodded to himself and looked back at Draco. "I'm worried too."

"I have a plan, but you'll need to trust me," he said. If Potter couldn't, they wouldn't be successful. "Newcastle is a fortress and the only reason Hermione and I got in was because she trusted me. Can you at least swear not to fight me every step of the way?"

"I can do that," Potter said after a pause. He gave Draco a wary look, though, and warned, "Just for this once. You're still not my favourite person and seeing as Hermione was with—" Potter cut himself off at the dangerous look Draco sent him. "What I mean is yes, I'll work with you this once. But after that, we go back to hating each other's guts."

"Obviously," Draco replied. Although he was still not a fan of Potter and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to learn they'd willingly worked together, he held out his hand. "Just this once."

Potter eyed him warily but stepped forward and shook his hand, agreeing with him.

"Just this once."