"How'd you sleep beaver?" Draco shouted, their normal space returned.
Hermione twitched but didn't falter, if anything she moved faster. "Just fine, thank you. Now please leave me alone so I may concentrate" she said shortly.
"You don't even know where we're going" Draco snapped. "How long til we get there" Hermione asked, ignoring his comment.
Draco rolled his eyes dramatically, quite aware she couldn't see him. "by tomorrow we should be camping outside her lair"
Hermione flinched again. "Please don't say lair. It sounds so ominous" She shivered. "Oh I'm sorry captain, would Gigantic Terrifying Castle be more up your alley?" Draco sneered.
Hermione ignored him again and walked faster. Draco was still shouting out insults and digs behind her, clearly upset about last night's endeavours.
She shut her eyes. Trying to clear her mind from his taunts, her hand itching to grab her wand. She tried to keep her mind on the mission. Focused on nothing else. Including where she was going.
Her foot connected with a loose root and she fell, landing painfully on her side. She cried out as she hit the ground, still moaning when Draco made it over to her. But he didn't pay her any attention. His eye was focused on the book that had fallen out of her bag.
The one with the multi-colored front.
She started moving her hand to get it but Draco was quicker. "What is this?" He asked, flipping through the pages. "It's a present.......from Harry" Hermione panted.
"It's all blank, this just seems mean. He gets you a huge book but it doesn't have any words. Damn, why didn't I think of that?" He mocked. She struggled but eventually got to her feet. Once she was steady, she attempted to rip the book out of his arms. He held it tight.
"So there is something special about this book" Draco sneered, his voice taunting her. Hermione growled, not hiding her anger well. "It was a present" she said, gritting her teeth.
"Tell me what it does and I'll let it go"
"Fine" Hermione agreed. Draco let go of the book and Hermione, not realizing how tight she was gripping it, stumbled back slightly. She opened the book, still glaring at Draco. He ignored her and rested his head on her shoulder, looking at the blank pages.
"What do you want to read about?" Hermione asked him. He paused to think for a moment than answered "pick a creature" Hermione nodded in acknowledgement. Although she was pissed at Draco she was glad she had stumbled upon this. She had forgotten it entirely. Not to mention it's magic would go undetected by Voldemort's daughter.
"Ok um....I want information on-" she hesitated, thinking of some less known creature. "-kelpie's" she finished, remembering her own experience with getting a kelpie out of a muggles pool.
The book slammed shut than opened to a random page again. Hermione cleared her throat and read out loud "A Kelpie is a shapeshifting water demon native to Great Britian and Ireland Able to take any form, they usually take the form of a horse with a bulrush mane. After luring unwary travellers onto their backs, they drag them underwater and eat them, allowing the entrails to float to the surface of the water." She stopped at the end of the paragraph and looked to Draco.
His mouth was open and he was staring at the now closed book. "Yep so that's what it does!" She officiated. Hermione stuffed the book back into her bag and once again walked far ahead of him. He caught up in two simple strides. "But how does it do that?"
"Magic"
"You can't get rid of me that easily, Granger"
"I wish I could!" Hermione shouted, turning on her heels, making him stop in his tracks. "You know this is hard for me. Stop trying to make it harder"
"Stop avoiding me and just go for it Mione, you've already admitted you want to"
"I can't" Hermione whimpered, tears littering her gaze. "Stop being afraid. We can make this work" Draco said firmly. Without waiting for her to reply, Draco pressed his lips against hers, begging her to accept. For them to try. For an attempt.
To his dismay, she didn't lean into him. She didn't return the kiss. She gently put her hand on Draco's chest and pushed him away. "Please...." She said quietly. Tears were threatening to overflow and she was trying desperately to stay in control. "Please just stop........" She cried.
Draco stood rooted to the spot as she walked away. His mouth was still hanging open loosely, surprised at being rejected yet again. Yet he wasn't. He knew she would do this but he had been praying that she would let her heart decide for once instead of her head.
But that wasn't possible for Hermione Granger. He should have known.
He trudged after her receding back.
∆∆∆
"It's your turn" Hermione reminded him. After 8 hours of walking, they had once again settled for the night. "For what?" Draco replied, avoiding her gaze as much as possible.
"We need water" Hermione said simply, also avoiding looking at him. Draco nodded although she couldn't see.
Hermione didn't turn her head until she heard the rustling brush from behind her. She turned in time to see the blonde mane dissapper from veiw.
Draco stomped hard on the weed that had been coiling around his foot. It withered off immediately. He sighed and continued on, looking back at where he had left Hermione countless times.
In retrospect, kissing her abruptly had not been his greatest idea. He had seized the moment yesterday when she had had her nightmare, but she still refused to let her guard down. Trying to do it all at once though, definitely threw him back a few paces in their relationship.
He cursed and ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. His feet had stopped moving at some point during his confused thoughts. He started again but at more of a jog. He started to accelerate. She had led him on. He went faster. He started to care for her than she decided she wanted to turn it all down. He went as fast as he possibly could. He didn't get any sort of choice.
He broke through the nearest bush, landing on his knees on the damp ground. He panted to the ground. After he caught his breath, he looked up. There was a small pond in front of him.
It looked somewhat clean despite it being a pond. The water glittered in the light of the full moon up above. Draco licked his lips once, suddenly overcome by thirst. He grabbed the flask out of his pocket, uncorking it and rushing to the edge.
He got down on his knees but flinched back up momentarily. He hadn't completely been expecting the wet, mossy ground. Of course, now it seemed obvious. He looked at the stained knees of his pants. It was worth it. He got back down to the ground, this time avoiding the feeling of dampness.
He slowly lowered the flask in the water, trying hard not to disturb the calm stillness in the pond. His pinky finger dipped below the waters surface for a second. That small touch lit his entire body with a burning desire. To drink it all. To use magic to enlarge the flask so he could drink forever.
He restrained himself. This was simply for water. It was simple water. He couldn't give himself away for water. He couldn't give Hermione away. His pinky was still submerged in the pond. It hadn't moved but a large ripple suddenly sliced through the nothingness. Draco ripped his finger out, staring at it as if it had somehow betrayed him.
"Your finger is not to blame," a soft voice cooed.
Draco looked up slowly to the figure in front of him. A girl was standing not 20 feet in front of him. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. Her long blonde hair, that turned light brown towards the end, went down to shoulder blades. She had a long dress that covered up her probably exposed feet. It enunciated curves well. A crown glittered on top of her blonde head. He looked down to her face. Her blue eyes were filled with delight but her lips were pursed in a confused expression.
He brought his jaw back up and than noticed the strangest fact yet. She was standing on the water. It shouldn't have intrigued him. He was a wizard and a bloody good one at that. But she was standing on the water as though it was solid concrete. It mesmerized him.
"Who are you?" Draco muttered, unable to tear his eyes away. She smiled, her smile only making it harder to look anywhere else. "I am Bianca, the girl who owns this lake and everything in it." She announced. Her voice had taken on a depressed tone.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, unable to feel the water splashing up and around his feet. "I'm so so lonely here by myself" she cried, tears glittering in her icy blue eyes. She looked up and a strand of blonde hair fell out from underneath her tiara. It fell in front of her eyes, making her image, somehow, more vulnerable.
His heart lurched for her. She was all alone. A beautiful home but at the end of the day, alone. It sounded unnaturally familiar. "Can I help?" He asserted. Her eyes glowed and the tears disappeared. She grinned sheepishly. "Well you could stay here... With me" she suggested happily.
Draco almost done into the water right than and there. But he didn't. For a split second, she meant nothing. Her seduction and her beauty and her loneliness meant nothing. The part of his brain that had been quieted while near the water jumped back into control.
Hermione
"I can't" he affirmed, looking her straight in the eyes. Her face fell and anger flashed accross it. In seconds, the anger was gone but he had seen it. "Why not? You could stay young forever with me!" She protested, her face having returned to pleading and vulnerability.
"I have someone waiting for me. I can't leave her." Draco concluded, scooping the now full flask out of the water and corking it. He turned and started to head back to the broken leaves and bushes from which he'd come. Her voice made him momentarily turn back. "Draco..."
"How do you know my..." Draco turned to her again and his voice trailed off. Her image had changed entirely.
He could now see her feet, they were covered by a pair of beat up black converse. Her long legs were covered by simple black leggings, but they were covered in dirt and grass at the knees. She was wearing a flowery blouse that stopped halfway down her forearms. Though most of it was buried beneath her shirt, a golden chain was visible around her neck.
She had thin pink lips that were pulled into a shy smile. Her hair, now brown, was bushy and wild down to her shoulder blades.
Her eyes had changed to a dark brown, bordering on black. Eyes that were focused on Draco now. He found it harder to look away from those brown orbs, harder than the blue eyes they had been moments ago.
He was looking at Hermione. She smiled at him, making his heart flutter inside his chest. "Like me better now?" she asked quietly. It almost seemed like a statement, as though she saying it out loud to confirm it's truth. It had.
"Your not real. You're not the real Hermione" Draco muttered, trying to remember what she used to look like and what he had been doing before turning around.
"But I could be" she whispered. Draco had once again stepped out into the water. Hermione walked to him across the water. "She doesn't understand how you feel for her. I do. I will stay by your side Draco. Just you-" She was directly in front of him now. Her hand had cupped his cheek and her lips came to his ear. "-and me. Forever."
"I can't" Draco stammered again, he could feel his resolve weakening. He knew it wasn't her. But being with her was all he wanted. To be offered it...
"You can just come with me" She whispered. Her lips traced a line from his ear to the side of his mouth. "Just say yes." She said, this time so quiet he wouldn't have heard if he hadn't been as close as he was.
And no one else was close enough to see him nod. All they would have seen was Draco Malfoy stepping deeper into the water, kissing Hermione Granger.
∆∆∆
She opened her book, trying to read the words. Her eyes continuously left the page, darting to the direction where he'd last been. It had been almost 45 minutes since he'd left. It didn't feel right. None of it felt right. Of course, she had been feeling off since the night of the party at Blaise's castle.
Hermione set the book down and got off the ground. She was tired of waiting. It was time to see what was keeping him. She followed through the broken brush. Her mind was full. She was buzzing with so many thoughts, it felt she was about to explode.
She kept going over their conversations. Would it even matter if they were together or not? They would both be chased either way. Would he still love her if he knew the secrets she hid?
She could see the clearing up ahead and could feel a slight mist in the air, indicating there was water up ahead. She stopped. "That's odd" she mumbled. "If water was this close... Why was he here for so long?" She wondered.
She stepped out of the seclusion of the forest. Out into the open. It was directly in front of her. It was a small lake. If she really focused she could see the other side. It looked like any other body of water except that in the black of night, it shone as bright as it would in the blaring sun.
It also made the water incredibly clear.
But she wasn't looking at the water. Ten feet into the water was Draco, soaking wet up to his neck and wrapped around another woman. She tore her eyes away, blinking back tears. She forced herself to think rationally.
You told him you would stay away, he's moving on.
But the tears still came. Big and wet and soaking her face in seconds. She didn't dare look back for a decent amount of time. She tried to understand why this was destroying her so thoroughly.
But before she could dive to deep into this thought, the real rational part of her brain stepped forward with it's own questions.
Where had this woman come from?
Why had she conveniently shown up where Draco was getting water?
Why were they in the water?
In seconds, the dots connected and the answer became clear. She felt stupid for getting torn up about it. She was surprised Draco had fallen for it.
She turned around again and ran to the edge of the water. Half of his head was emerged now, but luckily his ears hadn't gone under yet.
"MALFOY!!" She screamed, praying he could hear her through the girl's spell. "SHE'S A KELPIE!"
Draco remained deaf, not even twitching. The kelpie however stopped for a second. Hermione could tell she had heard her. She attached herself to Draco once again, much more possessively and brought him entirely underwater.
Without a second thought, Hermione waded in a few feet and dived in after them.
She swam as fast as she could to the figures in the water. She found that, surprisingly, she could see clearly. It was probably to keep Draco seeing her spell, Hermione decided. But she couldn't breath. Of course she couldn't, once you were dragged down here you weren't supposed to be able to come back up.
She got to Draco and the kelpie. Her hand froze over his shoulder. In order to lure their victims into the water, kelpie's took the forms of their hearts desire. This kelpie's particular form was, Hermione herself. Hermione might have stayed like that for an hour, getting over the shock that she was Draco's hearts desire.
But she had to move. Fast. Draco could be running out of air and not realizing. She wondered what she could do to get him to come back to reality. To her. The kelpie had copied her attire completely, leaving no room for errors. Hermione could only come up with one possible solution.
Her lungs were burning but she didn't dare go back up for air. She couldn't leave him to her. She grabbed his shoulder and managed to pull him away from the kelpie just enough to put her own lips to his.
∆∆∆
Draco's sense of time was faulty. He had no idea how long he'd been standing there, making out with Hermione.
He hadn't even noticed that he had been gradually getting soaked. He heard bushes and plants being pushed out of the way but he gave them no notice. He was finally here. He was finally with Hermione and she wanted him back. She wasn't pulling away. She wasn't resisting.
They were underwater now, like some sort of love story. There was a very audible splash but he still refused to break away. This was all he wanted. To be here. With her.
He only moved away when a firm hand gripped his shoulder and ripped him away from Hermione. Only he wasn't being ripped away from Hermione. He was being ripped from Hermione by Hermione.
What? His brain screamed, protesting to return to the Hermione he had left.
Except the girl who had ripped him away kissed him.
Her lips collided with his but instead of pulling away or reacting, he melted into her. She was so much different than his previous Hermione. She was real. He experienced the oh-so-tempting taste of red apples and caramel. His hands went to her hips and pulled her closer against him.
Only now did he truly reconize the difference. The other Hermione had been fake. Why had he found any of that kiss enthralling?
Than the memories came spilling back. The first Hermione wasn't Hermione at all, she was Bianca, the lake girl. He had tried to leave her so she had turned into Hermione. He remembered his brain being a fuzzy mess.
He would have stayed there, kissing the real Hermione if it wasn't for the bite.
He felt a throb of pain erupt in his left side below his rib cage. He pulled away and looked down. There was an obvious bite mark that went through his shirt and into his skin. He turned to Bianca.
She had turned to something as far from pretty as possible.
She was now a dark black demon horse. Her bones showing through her skin and her mane blood red. Her teeth were sharp points and staining the water around them with Draco's blood. She looked absolutely terrifying. Draco turned back to Hermione. Her eyes had grew to the size of saucers.
Neither of them had their wands. They were back at the campsite.
He backed away from the demon in the water, taking Hermione's hand and pulling her with him.
Bianca sat there for a few seconds before lunging at them. At their entwined hands. They split. Hermione swimming to the left and Draco darting to the right.
Bianca swam after Hermione without a second thought, beyond furious at Hermione taking her dinner. Hermione instinctively reached for her back pocket for her wand. When her hand scraped air, she cursed. Remembering leaving it on the rock besides her book.
She moved her hands across the bottom of the lake, searching for anything sharp. Her hands hit rocks, which would do her very little in the water. The kelpie lunged again, forcing her forward. All she could do was swim. And swim. And swim.
Hermione could feel her limbs growing tired and as a demon of the water, the kelpie hadn't even truly tried yet. She was baiting her. Letting her believe she was faster. Letting her believe she could survive.
She caught up with her easily as Hermione started to slow down. She bit down hard on Hermione's calf. Even in the water her scream was ear splitting.
Hermione's arms gave way, her body started to sink to the bottom. The kelpie still had a strong grip on her calf, there was no way around it.
Why didn't I bring my wand!? Her mind wailed, feeling stupid.
At least Draco got away, he could finish all this. But why hadn't she told him how she felt? Why had she let fear block her way? She really had become her greatest enemy. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come.
Except it didn't. Instead she was met with a scream mirroring her own only moments ago. She felt the horse's teeth leave her leg. She ached to get up and look around but the pain in her calf combining with the lack of oxygen was starting to make it hard to stay conscious.
Her eyes stayed shut as her mind drifted away.
∆∆∆
Her eyes fluttered open after an hour. The first thing she did was scan around her. Her eyes fell on the pale figure next to her. "Draco..." She mumbled. His head snapped to her direction. He had been going over their map, trying to find the nearest town. The nearest doctor.
"Yeah Mione I'm here." He blurted. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it slightly. He had no idea what kind of pain she had gone through or how the entire situation had affected her. He wanted to make sure she knew he was there.
"I didn't think I was going to wake up" Hermione confessed, staring at Draco with such exposed fear it made him feel vulnerable. "Well I'm pretty happy you did. How are you feeling?" He asked, his eyes raking every part of her he could see.
He had somehow managed to get himself and her out of the lake and back to the campsite. He had laid her out on the sleeping bag and tended to her wounds as best as he could. He had tried to get as much water out of her lungs as possible. The hardest part had been sitting there, watching her slow breathing and waiting for her to wake up...or the breathing to stop.
"My leg hurts. A lot. And my lungs are a bit sore....but I think I'm ok." Hermione breathed, Draco could see the effort it was taking for her to talk normally. Her breathing only became more shaky as she sat up and turned her body to him.
Draco protested but of course she ignored him. "I'm fine, Draco really" she said, trying to hide the pain but failing miserably. Draco realized he wasn't going to change her mind so he tried to drag her mind away from her injured leg. "I get to be Draco again?" He smirked.
Hermione was complete seriousness as she looked at him. "I thought I would die down there, Draco. I thought I would die without ever trying to be with you. Without telling you how I feel. I thought....." She trailed off, looking away from him.
Draco brought his hand to her chin and brought her to face him again. "It's ok. You didn't die. You saved me from a demon horse-"
"Kelpie" Hermione added.
"You just had to correct me didn't you" Draco asked in mock annoyance. Hermione smiled and her eyes fell on his lips for a second before they returned to his ice grey eyes.
"You saved me from a kelpie with one hell of a kiss" Hermione tried to avoid his gaze but he held her tight. "I understand your scared. I'm freaking terrified. But we survived a kelpie. We're going up against Voldemort's descendant. We can do this. We can be together" Draco's eyes searched hers, looking for an answer before she opened her mouth.
She took a deep breath and moved closer. "I am scared, Draco. Of really moving forward with you. But I was more afraid of never being able to tell you that I really care about you. I want to have a future with you. I want to take the next step."
Draco's grin spread across his face and despite the deep cut along the side of his cheekbone, he looked happier than she had ever seen him. So much so that he kissed her.
She didn't push him away. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. His tongue entered her mouth with ease, she barely flinched. They slowed and the kiss became less rushed, more tender, passionate.
One of Draco's hands went up into Hermione's hair and the other went to the small of her back. He cradled her as if she was the most precious jewel. When he started to lean her back down on the sleeping bag, she obliged. She deepened the kiss and savored the green apples still lingering on his lips.
They would have continued if it hadn't been for their forgetfulness. Hermione's hand moved from Draco's neck down to his side at the same moment his arm brought her legs around. They cried out and jumped back from one another.
Hermione moved the ice pack slightly to direct it back to the right spot. Draco lifted up his shirt to once again check the bandage over the bite mark.
Once he saw that she hadn't reopened the wound, Draco got to his feet and made his way over to Hermione. He brought his hand to her. "Want help" he asked. She looked at his hand for a second before setting her own on top of his. Gently, he helped her to her feet, making sure her weight wasn't on her injured leg.
"C'mon I'll help you get into your sleeping bag" Draco assured, starting to turn back to the direction of her sleeping bag. Hermione stayed put over his. "Yours is actually a lot more comfortable. Not to mention I'm injured. If you don't mind, I think I'll sleep in yours tonight." She stated, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
A mischievous grin made way onto Draco's already smiling face. "Am I allowed to join you in my sleeping bag?"
This time it was Hermione's turn to smirk. "Well I wouldn't want you to take mine, it's so much smaller." She tutted. Draco grinned wider and brought her back down to the ground except this time her helped her under the blanket. Joining her seconds after.
Once they were both under and settled, Hermione snuggled into Draco's chest. "We have to be careful..." Hermione reminded.
"Well I think I remembered some. There over in my bag if you really want to be careful," Draco smirked, staring down into her big chocolate eyes. The same eyes quickly filled with playfulness, she nudged him under the blanket. "Baby steps, Malfoy. I meant considering our injuries."
"Ahh, those. I suppose we should be careful. Does that mean I should avoid kissing you?" He inquired, pretending to ponder the idea. Hermione smiled and brought her hand to Draco's neck once again. "I wouldn't go that far" she whispered.
She brought his lips down to hers and they connected. She smiled against him and deepened the kiss, not waiting for his invitation. Draco grinned against her lips and brought his hands around her back. She smiled yet again at the touch. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this," Draco mumbled, barely breaking to speak the simple sentence.
Hermione thought of how hard it had been to push him away for the past days and how she had felt when he'd first kissed her on camera. She thought of how her heart had clenched when she saw him with the kelpie. Than of how happy she was here with him now. She broke their contact for the smallest moment.
"Probably for as long as I've been waiting."
∆∆∆
Hey guys,
I know it's been forever since I've updated.... I'm so sorry 😫. It's why I made sure this chapter was not only long. But it was what you all have been asking for.
Dramione is finally here to stay😝 I hope you guys loved it. I know it's a little weird but personally I think I've done pretty good. I've been planning this chapter for a while, editing and revising a lot. Definitely my hardest chapter to put together.
Please comment what you thought of it. Really. At any point you have something to say, say it. I love reading your opinions.
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Thanks,
Jules🤗