My Sacrifice to Make

I Wanna Feel You, I Want It All

End of November, 2001
Caracol, Belize ~ Draco

When Draco opens his eyes, he doesn't see the stone walls of the pyramid's hidden room they stepped into. Instead, he's staring at the pink and orange hues of the setting sun's sky through the leaves of the ceiba trees. He blinks a few times, trying to make sense of the sight above him, before he feels the solid, damp ground beneath his back.

With a start, Draco pushes himself into a seated position and whips his head to fully look at his surroundings. His heart sinks when all he finds around him is a multitude of different trees, their luscious green leaves covering every free space in this area. There's no indication of how far away from the temple ruins he was thrown from only moments ago. He could be hundreds of kilometers deep into the jungle without even knowing it.

But that's the last thing on his mind. The only thing he can think about is the fact that he's alone in the middle of the jungle. Hermione is nowhere to be found.

Draco is on his feet the second he makes this realization, wand in hand and heart threatening to beat out of his chest. Terror floods through his entire body as he runs through different scenarios of the horrible things that could have happened to her.

Crack!

The wizard spins around at the deafening sound, his wand arm instinctively reaching out in front to point the hawthorn wood at the intrusion. But the moment he sees chocolate curls cascading around her shoulders, Draco rushes toward her.

"Hermione! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

When he reaches her, Hermione throws her arms around his neck and Draco immediately wraps his own around her waist. He buries his face into her hair at the same time she nuzzles into the crook of his neck, whispering into his skin that she's fine. His heart rate steadily begins decreasing as he deeply inhales the floral scent always emanating from her – the same scent that never fails to ground him.

"You were able to apparate to me? How did you know where I am? I don't even know where I am." Draco asks her when he finally loosens his hold on her, allowing her feet to connect with the damp jungle ground again. Hermione slowly slides her arms down the length of his upper body as she removes them from his neck. She allows her left hand to rest against the hard plane of his chest, her fingers lightly playing with the material of his shirt.

"I used this," she says simply, gently pressing her ring finger into him.

Draco stares down at Hermione's face, but her attention is focused on her hand. He feels the beginnings of wings fluttering in his stomach at the implication of her words. Surely she can only be talking about one thing. He knows this, but there is still a part of Draco that worries he may be wrong, that he shouldn't get his hopes up for what this could mean.

Instead of tearing his gaze away from her, the wizard slowly brings his hand up to the spot in which hers rests. His fingertips search out her third finger, and he gradually trails along the length of it until he reaches the cool metal of a ring. His heart skips a beat in anticipation as he runs the pad of his pointer finger along it, feeling the slight indentations of the carved scales and the smooth surface of the emerald eyes.

"When did you put it back on?" He mutters, not trusting his voice to speak in a normal volume as he's overcome with emotions. Draco continues tracing along the metal, not wanting to ever let go of her.

Hermione tears her focus away from their joined hands and raises her head to finally look at him. "I never took it off."

With this declaration, Draco wraps her hand in his own, his thumb running over her ring. The sparks of their combined magic begin igniting the moment he does so, and the familiar, comforting warmth spreads through his body.