Footprints in the Snow
By: Fiery-chan
A/N: Hello all! It's a snow day because we're having a blizzard so I go some inspiration for a one shot Draco/Hermione fic. Well, I'll keep this short and sweet-
The Element of Fire: Ha! That's a first.
The Element of Earth: There's a first time for everything.
The Element of Wind: Please! No cliches!
The Element of Water: You know what they always say….
Wind: No!!!!!
Fiery: Shut up all of you!
Disclaimer: I own Draco, get over it. *It all belongs to the Goddess of Hogwarts, JK Rowling. Calm down, I was joking before.
~ Footprints in the Snow ~
Draco wrapped his cloak around him tighter; it wasn't providing much warmth. He brushed some of the snow off of his hair and continued walking down the once clear, now covered in two feet of snow, path. He grumbled as he struggled, the large snowflakes were smacking him in the face and with the wind added in, it was like being hit by a sheet of needles. He saw no point to this. It wasn't his fault the previous incident happened. She started it. And now he was being punished!
*Flashback to Earlier that Day*
The Slytherins and Gryffindors were both sitting in potions; Snape had come down with a bad head cold so McGonagall was filling in. They were all sitting taking notes from their textbooks about the pros and cons of love potions, since Valentines Day was fast approaching. Of course, the author jumps in here to note that Valentines Day has nothing to do with the plot, just helps with the setting. At some point during the semester seats had been changed and Draco was now stuck sitting next to Hermione Granger, the girl he loathed almost as much as Pansy Parkinson. (Sorry Pansy fans but I HATE her with a passion!) They both read from their textbooks and took notes without saying a word to each other. Well, that didn't last long.
"Malfoy, move your stuff." Hermione said.
"You move your stuff Granger." Draco replied.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
Now this went on for quite some time until McGonagall came over and whacked them both in the backs of their heads with a book.
"Now silence! Both of you!" She stormed back to her desk and sat down, continuing to grade the papers from yesterday's transfiguration test.
The two continued in silence again, but even this did not last very long. Draco had gotten up to get a fresh jar of ink from the back of the room. Hermione smiled sweetly at him and said:
"Would you get me a new bottle too please?" Now Draco may have agreed if the last part wasn't tagged on: "Ferret Boy." Now Draco was mad, the ferret incident was two years ago, back in their fourth year!
"What did you just call me?" He asked.
"You heard me, ferret boy." Hermione said with a smirk. The Gryffindors laughed and the Slytherins shot death glares at her. McGonagall just sat there at the teacher's desk. This would end quickly. Or so she hoped.
"No one and I repeat no one, is to ever call me by that, do you hear me Granger?"
"I don't know, I think I may have gone temporarily deaf." Hermione said rubbing her right ear. "Did you say something Malfoy?" Draco glared at her and picked up his incredibly large textbook attempting to throw it at her. Of course, Hermione was smarter than that, she grabbed her wand from her pocket and with a quick spell, freed the book from Draco's hands. Using the wand she flung the textbook into the back of the room where it hit the case of inkpots and smashed against it, sending broken glass inkpots flying, spilling ink all over the room. The class screamed and scampered into the hallway. McGonagall ran after them, while still trying to keep a watch on the two teenager, who now both had their wands drawn. They began shouting spells at each other, and flung inanimate objects across the room hoping to hit the other person.
"You're going to die Malfoy!" Hermione shouted.
"Not unless you die first!" Draco screamed back.
"Expelliarmus!" Both shouted at the same time. The two spells collided with each other and shot into the air, exploding a chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling.
"You filthy little mudblood!" Draco screamed because at this point, a bit of Hermione's spell bounced off and had hit Draco square in the chest knocking him back a few feet, but not enough to do damage. He stood up and raised his wand, ready to perform the final curse.
"Avada-" Draco was cut off as Dumbledore said a spell that ripped Draco's wand from his hand and brought it to Dumbledore's outstretched one.
"Mr. Malfoy!" He shouted. 200 points from Slytherin, 50 for your improper name you called Miss Granger and 150 for attempting to perform the killing curse!" Draco's eyes widened. He had tried to perform the Avada Kedavra? He didn't recall doing such a thing.
"And you Miss Granger!" Dumbledore shouted. "100 point from Gryffindor for starting this entire fight!" Hermione gasped as she stood up from her place on the ground but she nodded. "Now you both deserve a punishment. You two will walk to the Forbidden Forest together. Once you get there you are to find one of the centaurs, give them this note." He said handing Draco an envelope. "And if I ever have to stop a fight like this from happening again, I'll see to it that you are both expelled, and I will not allow your father the bribe the ministry to let you back in!" He said, directing the last part at Draco. "Now be gone, both of you!" The two picked up what was left of their books and headed to their dormitories. "I will see you both in the main entrance in exactly twenty minutes. Don't be late!" Dumbledore walked off and McGonagall performed a quick tidying spell.
"You two really did something today. In all my years of teaching, I have never seen the headmaster yell like he did just now. Let this be a warning to you."
***
Draco sat in the common room of the Slytherin house. He had gotten his cloak, gloves, scarf, boots and anything else he would need for his "journey" into the Forbidden Forest. Ignoring the looks of the other Slytherins, since they were mad at him for risking their lives and costing them any chances at winning the house cup this year, he walked silently out of the dormitory and down the main entrance.
***
When Draco arrived, Professor Dumbledore and Hermione were already standing there.
"Good, you both arrived on time." He said. He seemed to have relaxed a bit. Dumbledore then proceeded to tell them about what they had to do. "You two are to walk to the Forbidden Forest and from there, travel through the forest to the home of the centaurs. Then you shall give them the note I sent you, inside is a letter for the head centaur, Arawel, after he reads the note one of the other centaurs will take you deeper into the forest where he or she will leave you. Once he leaves, the two of you will work together to find Professor Marcaw a Lethifold." Hermione gasped at this.
"But professor, isn't that a bit dangerous?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, which is why you shall trap it in this." He handed Hermione a small silver ball.
Both 6th years looked incredibly confused, so Dumbledore explained the contraption.
"It's a capture jar. Just throw it at the Lethifold and it will capture it inside immediately, causing the two of you no harm. Of course if all else fails, a patronus is always the way to go since that is the only thing that actually affects a Lethifold. But of course along the way you may encounter other beasts, so be on your guard. I leave you two now to head to the forest. Good luck." Dumbledore turned from them and with a swish of his robes he was gone back inside the building.
*End flashback*
"Malfoy! Where are you? I can't see anything in this storm!" Hermione called out. Draco turned his head to the direction of the voice.
"Over here Granger! Keep up!" He yelled back. A figure made its way toward him and soon Hermione was standing next to him, panting from the struggle.
"This is impossible, let's go back." Hermione said.
"We can't go back! And might I add this is your fault."
"Shut up ferret boy."
"Go to hell mudblood! Either that or keep up, without complaining." Draco continued walking towards the forest, his arm shielding his face from the brutality and mercilessness of the wind. Hermione followed, and caught up so that she was walking next to him.
"Listen Malfoy, I'm sorry, you're right, this is my fault."
Why is she agreeing with me? Draco asked himself. Next thing she'll be calling me by my first name.
"So what do you say we call a truce, Draco are you listening?"
I hate it when I'm right. Oh well, two can play this game.
"Yes I'm listening, Hermione." Draco replied with a smirk. He continued walking with Hermione behind him.
The two continued through the snow, with only a trail of footprints in the snow connecting them to the distant castle, even these however, would not last long. Finally reaching the forest, they entered and a cloud of darkness seemed to descend on them.
"They should call this the Dark Forest, not the Forbidden Forest." Draco commented.
"Maybe that's why it's forbidden." Hermione replied.
"Just shut up and stay close, there's plenty of things here that would devour you if you let them, get your wand ready. Lumos." A ball of light appeared at the end of Draco's wand and he held it out.
"Lumos." Hermione replied, following in his action. Her wand lit up as well and between the two of them, there was enough light to light up the small area where they stood.
The two continued walking looking in every direction for signs of the centaurs' dwelling, or something dangerous.
"This is great, how are we supposed to find them, any sensible centaur would be inside somewhere not out in this storm." Hermione said.
"Well, I'm no sensible centaur." The two turned to find a large female centaur standing behind them. "Greetings, my name is Acadia. Why are you looking for my kind? Why are you even in this forest? And why would you be stupid enough to go out in such a storm?" The two explained their story and the centaur nodded. "Ahh, I see. Well in that case, I shall take you to see Arawel. Boy, you climb on my back, girl you can ride on the back of Tybalt. Tybalt!" She called out, directing the last part to neither of them." A male walked through the trees and stood next to Acadia.
"Why did thou call upon my services?" He asked.
"Because, these two humans need to see Arawel. I can take them faster if they ride but I can't take both, let the girl ride on your back." Acadia replied.
"Thou may not mind if these youth ride on thy back but I do not agree. Thou can find thyself another centaur for I shall not take part in thy foolish actions." Tybalt walked off leaving the three alone."
"That went well." Acadia replied sarcastically. "Oh well, I guess you'll have to walk." She said to Hermione.
"Here, I'll walk, let Hermione ride on your back." Draco said, climbing down from the centaur.
"Fine have it your way. Get on girl! We don't have all day." Acadia replied. Hermione climbed on, giving a nod of appreciation to Draco as she did so. Once she was situated, they took off. Draco realized that for every one step the centaur took, he had to take three. It was hard to keep up and he kept being scratched on the large branches that hung down. Finally, they arrived.
"Here we are." Acadia said. Hermione went to climb down and Draco offered his hand up to her to help her. Hermione took it and he helped her down.
"Thanks." She said, brushing some of the snow off her hair. She frowned at the scratch on the side of Draco's face. "How did that happen?" She asked.
"It's nothing, I got hit with a tree branch while we were walking. Just a scratch." He replied, wiping away some of the blood.
"Ok, but I'm taking you to Madam Pomfrey as soon as we get back."
Just then, a large centaur walked out. He looked aged and by the other centaurs' reactions, it was obvious that he was Arawel. Draco and Hermione bowed as well, following in the actions of the centaurs.
"Ahh, so you are the two wizarding humans Acadia spoke to me about." He said in a misty, yet leader-like voice.
"Yes sir." Hermione replied. Draco handed him the envelope.
"From Professor Dumbledore, sir." He added. The centaur nodded and took the envelope. He opened it and read the contents.
"So, now I see why you two youths were in this forest. You are catching a Lethifold. Best of luck to you. Hmm, I'll send Aubrey to escort you." He snapped his fingers and a large and muscular male appeared. He bowed to Arawel and was given a briefing on what was to happen. He nodded and led the two teens out of the dwelling.
"This way please." Aubrey said. Draco and Hermione followed behind him until he stopped. "This is where I leave you, you shall continue on your own from here. Farewell and good luck." Aubrey headed off back the way they came leaving Draco and Hermione alone once again.
"Well, let's get going." Draco said. He grabbed Hermione's wrist and pulled her off to the left.
"Do you know where you're going?" Hermione asked.
"No." Draco replied.
"Do you even know what a Lethifold is?" When Draco gave no answer, Hermione proceeded to describe one. "A Lethifold is also called the Living Shroud, it looks like a black cloak about half an inch thick, it slides around on the ground at night and usually attacks people who are sleeping, suffocating them and then devouring the bodies. What's unusual, is that it's only supposed to be found in tropical places, not up here in Europe."
"Which is probably why Dumbledore wants us to catch it. What was he saying about a patronus?" Draco asked.
"It's a spell." Hermione replied. "Harry mastered it in his third year when he drove back some dementors." Hermione explained. "I suppose it works on lethifolds as well."
"So how does it work?"
"You concentrate on the happiest moment of your life, and I mean the happiest, and you say the words Expecto partronum. That is what drives it away. I just hope this ball thing works." She added, patting her pocket.
"Well we won't know unless we try." Draco said. "Now come on, let's try to find this lethifold thing."
The two continued walking and walked for quite a few hours. Finally, they saw something move on the ground.
"I think we found it." Draco said, pulling out his wand.
I just hope we can handle it.
Hermione pulled out her wand as well, and the capture jar too.
She stepped forward but just when she was about to throw the ball, the lethifold struck, knocking Hermione to the ground and wrapping itself tightly around her. A muffled scream for help came from Hermione's mouth. Draco ran towards the girl and the beast and started kicking and pulling at the lethifold, trying to remove it. Finally giving up on physical force, Draco conjured up the happiest memory he could think of, the day of the Yule ball in their fourth year. When Hermione walked in, Draco just could not believe her radiating beauty.
"Expecto partronum, expecto partronum, expecto partronum, expecto-"The last word didn't come out, it wasn't working, Draco felt like crying, he was powerless as he watched the lethifold squeeze Hermione tighter, her screams were occurring less and less, she was saving her oxygen. Draco tried one last time, he couldn't lose, he wouldn't allow it! He thought of what happened before, where she was wondering what happened and why he was cut on his face, the look of fear, sympathy, and kindness in her eyes made his heart melt. And Draco was not one for cliches. Smiling to himself, Draco raised his wand.
"EXPECTO PARTRONUM!' A large patronus erupted from his wand, taking the shape of a dragon. It tore the lethifold off Hermione ad Draco quickly grabbed the capture jar and threw it at the Lethifold. It was trapped inside, they had succeeded. The patronus disappeared and Draco pocketed the ball inside his cloak. Remembering Hermione, he ran over to her and knelt on the ground, lifting her head onto his lap.
"Hermione, hey Hermione, wake up." He said, rubbing the side of her head. Hermione's eyes fluttered open and she began gasping for air.
"What happened?" She asked.
"You missed it, I conjured a patronus and it took the shape of a dragon and drove away the lethifold." Draco said, almost grinning at his success.
"A dragon eh, that must have been some pretty powerful memory, what was it?"
"It was from just before. When you asked why I had that cut on my face, you were so kind and caring to me, that I guess it was the happiest moment of my life." Draco replied, now embarrassed that he had told her. Hermione smiled.
"I'm glad to hear that." She said, laying her head against his chest. "I never would have guessed that I could make the great Slytherin prince happy." She added. Draco laughed.
"Don't think you can do it all the time."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I did it once, I can do it again." Draco smiled; she did have a point.
"Ok, let's get back. We finished what we came here to do, now we can go home." He helped Hermione to her feet, and while supporting her back, led her in the way they had come.
***
The two after successfully completing their mission, had the points that were taken from their houses returned to them, plus more. They stood outside the castle with the snow swirling around them. Dumbledore had been waiting outside and took the lethifold inside, leaving the two sixth years alone.
"You know Hermione, once we pass through these gates, it'll be back to the way things were before." Draco explained. Hermione nodded sadly. "Let's stay out here a bit longer." Hermione grinned and hugged Draco, he lightly kissed the top of her hair. They decided to walk through separate doors that were on opposite sides of the castle. As they walked away from each other, the only thing that connected them to each other were some footprints in the snow. But the footprints they had made that night would last forever.
~ End ~
A/N: Did you like it, dislike it, anything in between? I would love to know. Review and let me know what you think! Maybe if my brain begins to function and we have another snow day, a sequel will appear! So pray to the snow gods that my school gets a snow day!
Luv'n'stuff!
Fiery-chan