Hermione felt herself pulled into a warm chest as soon as the feeling of apparation wore off, but she pushed away from it quickly. The chains around her wrists clinked loudly and she stumbled over the tail of the chain, but someone caught her. A terrified sob tore through her throat and she looked up at the person that was holding her, expecting to see Rookwood or Dolohov leering down at her. Instead, she looked up and saw Draco looking at her worriedly.

"Draco!" she cried in relief. Her shoulders shook as she began to cry and she swayed.

"Hey, hey," he said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "You're safe. We're at Grimmauld Place."

Hermione tried to pull herself closer to him only for the chains around her to pinch her skin painfully. She inhaled sharply and Draco let go of her with one hand so he could pull out his wand and vanish the chains. Immediately, Hermione pulled herself to his chest and locked her arms around him. One of his hands lifted off her shoulders and a second later, he summoned his cloak and wrapped it around her back.

"Hermione!"

She flinched at the sound of her name, hugging Draco tighter and hiding her face in his robes. They smelled like him, but when she'd learned what Draco smelled like, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that the smell was safe and his body was warm against hers unlike the cell wall she'd been pressed against for hours.

"Don't fucking touch her," Draco snarled at someone behind her. His arms tightened around her and she wished she could hug him tighter in return.

"You said she'd be okay!"

"I said I'd get her out!" Draco yelled. Hermione found she couldn't breathe, but Draco didn't seem to notice her struggling as he continued to argue with whoever else was at Grimmauld Place. "I can't—Fuck off, okay? I can't do this with you right now—"

"I can't breathe," Hermione whispered, pulling her head off of Draco's chest. She stayed in his arms with his cloak wrapped around her back, but she couldn't find the air she needed.

Draco's eyes dropped down to her immediately and he reached up to gently cup her face. He looked panicked as he grabbed one of Hermione's hands and held it to his chest.

"Follow me," he instructed. Hermione's fingers twitched against his chest and he glanced down at her hand. When he looked back up at her, he had a pained expression on his face, but only said, "Breathe with me."

Hermione's breath shook as she focused on following his breaths. She stared at his chest, watching it rise and fall and making her chest do the same. The house was silent except for their breathing and Hermione's vision narrowed down to only Draco. Her fingers twitched again and her breath hitched, but Draco just held her hand tighter and brushed her cheek with the thumb of his hand that was still cupping her face.

"I—Thank you," she said quietly when she felt like she wouldn't spiral again.

Instead of releasing her hand from his chest, Draco pulled his other hand away from her face and held her hand between the both of his. He turned her palm face up and without a word began massaging her hand like she'd done for him so many times before. Hermione stared down at their hands and felt new tears prick her eyes, but she didn't panic.

"How many times did they crucio you?" Draco asked softly. He glanced up at her and Hermione ducked her head. "Hermione?"

"I lost count," she murmured. Draco pressed his fingers into her palm harder when her fingers twitched again and the sensation was grounding. "Five? Maybe six times?"

Something in Draco's eyes broke when she told him and Hermione looked away again. He massaged her hand until it twitched no more then reached for her second hand and massaged it just as long.

"Are you okay, Hermione?"

Hermione choked on her breath and spun around to face who had spoken, pressing herself against Draco's chest. She pulled the cloak closed around her and felt Draco reach around her to hold the cloak closed as well.

"Harry?" Hermione gasped, blinking in surprise as she registered the dark messy haired boy in front of her. Harry gave her a small smile and nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What are you doing here?"

"We were worried about you, so I came to check on you this morning," he explained. He jerked his chin toward Draco who stiffened behind her. "Imagine my surprise when I see this git going through your bag and hear you were missing all night."

"It's not Draco's fault!" Hermione rushed to explain. She took a step toward him but Draco's hand on her stopped her.

"I know that," Harry admitted sheepishly. "He knew where you'd be, but he had to blow his cover to get you out. I promised to vouch for him to the Order if he was successful."

Hermione blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected them to work amicably together, but clearly something had changed between them if the way Harry wasn't glaring at Draco was anything to go by.

"I brought you food, by the way," Harry said awkwardly. He stepped aside and Hermione saw a plate of potatoes sitting on the countertop. "I figured maybe you'd be hungry once Malfoy brought you back."

"I've never been more," she said. She reached for the plate only to remember what she was wearing. "I—Maybe I should change first."

"Your bag is back in your room," Draco told her. Hermione looked away from Harry to face Draco. "Shower and change. The food will still be here."

"Will you?" Hermione asked. The prospect of staying at Grimmauld Place alone was all too suddenly terrifying.

"Yes," Draco promised. He reached up and brushed her hair behind her ear, his hand stopping at the nape of her neck. "I won't be leaving."

Hermione nodded and hurried out of the room, pausing to give Harry a tight hug as well. She pulled the cloak up so it wasn't too long and ran up the stairs to find her clothes. Once she'd found them, she moved into the bathroom and took a scalding hot shower. She waited until the last second to pull off the scrap of a dress and hang the cloak nearby. She scrubbed her skin raw, trying not to think about Rookwood or Mulciber from hardly two hours earlier when she'd been forced to shower. Another sob lodged itself in her chest and she struggled to wash the shampoo from her hair before scrambling out of the shower.

She dried herself hastily and pulled on her clothes roughly. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror, Hermione noticed dark purple fingerprints around her throat and frowned. She gently fingered the marks, wondering what she would do about them when she spotted Draco's cloak. She wrapped it around her shoulders and looked in the mirror again. The collar was high enough it covered the marks. Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately buried her nose in the fabric, inhaling deeply in an effort to calm herself quickly. Her heart beat slowed and when she opened her eyes a few seconds later, she held her hand over the old dress and burned it before going back downstairs in search of the food Harry had brought her.