A/N: This was written for the In Another Life Alternate Universe Fest on DFW. It was so much fun. My prompt was Sci-Fi: Stranded on an unfamiliar planet, without a map, and a broken down ship.
Alpha love to the lovely Maloreiy, without whom this fic would not have been complete. Thank you so much to Mrs. Ren for being my Beta for this fic. She made me laugh with her comments.
Thank you to In Dreams and Kyonomiko for hosting the fest. I had so much fun getting to know the rest of the writers! There were so many great AU fics written! Go check them out!
This story was so much fun to write! I'm not joking. I had never written a non-magic AU until now. I hope you enjoy. It is cross-posted with AO3. Please read and review!
"Well, damn," Malfoy said, reading the status of the various parts of the ship.
"What?" I asked, unsure of what he was seeing. My readouts looked good, but I was only monitoring the oxygen levels compared to his myriad of controls. My job was not nearly as grueling as his. But then again, he was the commander; I just supported, a co-pilot for when he needed a break. I also helped Commander Malfoy relate to the passengers and other crew on the ship. He was rather abrasive to those he did not trust. And I had come to learn that he didn't trust easily or often.
"Do you see that planet, looming in front of us?" he asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
I looked up to see the blue and green orb growing closer, "Yeah, what about it?"
"We have to land there. Well," he grimaced, "more like crash. But I have no idea if we will survive the landing, much less the planet itself," he said, turning switches and I could tell, trying not to panic.
"Malfoy, what the hell are you on about?" I was frustrated with his cryptic answers. He had been like this for each of the flights we had been on together. He always requested me to be his co-pilot during his interstellar space flights. This was my fortieth flight with him as my commander. He was always fucking cryptic.
"Granger, we are going to crash on that planet in about ten minutes, if my calculations are correct. I would suggest asking everyone to return to their stations and strap in. I'm going to comm base and give them our coordinates. Hell if I know how long it will take them to get to us. Then you are going to leave this cockpit and go to the cabin and strap in," he said strapping into his seat and putting his headset on, keying into the base comm.
"Like hell, I'm not leaving you," I looked at the ever-looming planet in my view and scrambled to warn everyone of the impending crash. I knew what would have to happen for us to even have a chance of landing safely. I turned on the inner ship comm and calmly as possible said, "Attention passengers and section leaders, return to your stations immediately. Prepare for landing and possibly a crash. The ship is going down. Section leaders, at landing, oversee your sections. Stay together. Commander Malfoy and I will find you as soon as we can. Keep the Dobby on, it will relay information to our Dobby to map the terrain." I turned off the comm and turned to my commander. He hid it well, but I could see the fear seeping through his lofty demeanor.
"Granger, leave this damn cockpit right now," Malfoy ordered.
I shook my head and strapped the emergency backpack I always kept under my station to my back before strapping into my seat, "I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself on this damn unknown planet. You are stuck with me, Commander Malfoy."
He glared at me but didn't argue, "Fine. We will need to separate the cockpit from the cabin to land as safely as possible. This is going to be a bumpy ride for us. The parachutes on the cabin will help them to land safely, as long as it isn't over water." Malfoy said, calmly flipping switches with one hand and holding the control wheel steady, though it was shaking in his hand. Everything was trembling as we entered the atmosphere.
I began flipping switches which would seal and pressurize the cabin and cockpit as we landed. It wouldn't do to have everyone pass out because of lack of oxygen upon entry. This flight was supposed to be easy, but nothing has been easy since the war.
"Yes, sir. Restraints on, cockpit prepared for separation. Beacons on," I said as I prepared for the inevitable impact. The blue and green planet was not becoming less of an amorphous color into a sharp picture of plants, mountains, and water.
"When I give the word, separate the cabin and deploy parachutes. We only have one chance to survive this," Malfoy said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, sir." I nod, my hands hovering over the command board.
About thirty seconds later, Malfoy stressed, "Separate and deploy now, Granger."
I rushed to push the buttons knowing that any hesitation could mean the difference between life and death. Due to the atmospheric drag, we felt when the cabin disengaged from the cockpit and the parachutes deployed from the cockpit. The gravity of the planet drug us back into our seats. But we were slowing, with enough time, we could still land without major injury.
"Fuck, we aren't slowing down enough." Malfoy affirmed, looking at the gauges for altitude and speed, "Granger, this is going to hurt," he looked at me with an apology in his eyes, "impact in thirty seconds. Brace for impact."
Fear filled me because all I saw in front of me was a mountain covered in snow and trees. I felt it within every part of me when we crashed into the side of the fucking mountain. Even though seconds before there were colors everywhere in view, everything went black.
I came to with arms around me. Someone was carrying me, but the pain was excruciating. I opened my eyes and groaned. Malfoy's face was bruised and there was a gash dripping blood along his hairline. His normally white-blond hair was scarlet.
"Put me down. I can walk." I gasped. I could barely breathe, a rib or two must have been broken.
Malfoy looked down at me and smirked., "No you can't. You have a broken ankle. I was lucky to get you out of the damn cockpit before it exploded." His voice was raspy and more of a growl like a blender had been taken to his vocal cords. "I set the Dobby to mark the terrain ahead of us. He will find us adequate shelter for the night."
"At least put me down so I can ascertain my injuries and check you over as well. Do we have any supplies other than what is in my backpack?"
He ignored me and continued walking. I took that as a no, we only had the supplies in my pack. I looked around and saw that we were in a forest and it was cold, not freezing, but come nightfall, it would be. And nightfall looked to be happening relatively soon.
"Shit, we need to find a place to camp and find wood for a fire," I said, making a mental list.
"I know, Granger. Don't worry, I will take care of you. As I said, Dobby will find shelter. We just need to keep going. We will get to the others. I don't see smoke on the horizon, so the cabin should be fine. Now shut up so I can concentrate." Malfoy growled.
After thirty minutes, I could feel Malfoy's breathing become more labored and he was slowing down.
"Malfoy, stop. Let's take stock of everything. Call Dobby back. Find out if we are even going in the right direction." Malfoy nodded at my idea and sat me down against a nearby tree. He sat next to me and leaned his head back, breathing hard. "Do you know any of your injuries?"
"Give me a minute, Granger. I just trekked down a mountain while I carried you. I need to catch my breath." Malfoy whispered. He pushed a few buttons on his wrist communicator, I assumed he was calling the Dobby back to us.
I looked myself over and felt my ankle through my boot. I pulled the offending boot off and tried to move my ankle around, but pain shot up my leg. I took a breath to try to work through the pain, but the feeling of my ribs rubbing against one another on the right side made me tear up. My right arm and hand seemed to be fine, all in all, I'm not in the worst shape. With a crutch, I could walk on my own.
I take off my pack and pull out my emergency medical kit that I always carry. Quickly, I wrap my ankle and pop a capsule into my mouth. Searching through my pack, I found the syringe that accelerates healing, ironically called Sana Shot. It is a specialty shot, specifically for healing internal bleeding and broken bones 90% faster. I took the cover off and stabbed my leg with the needle. The Sana Shot hurts like a bitch, but I know it will do its job. I put my stupid boot back on and a realization hits me. We would need water soon. I turn to Draco and see his eyes are closed and head against the tree. I crawl slowly around to the other side of him to reach the head wound on his right side. He opened his eyes at my movement.
"Don't move. You could injure yourself more," he ordered.
"I'm fine. If you could help me to wrap my ribs and find a crutch for me. I took used a Sana, so I should be better by morning. You, however, have been losing an awful lot of blood for goodness knows how many hours. Did you black out at all?" I had been trained during the war as a medic. I knew basic field medicine, not the whole human anatomy but enough to get through most injuries.
His sharp grey eyes appraised me as I cleaned his head wound. "Yes, I blacked out for a few seconds upon impact. I was glad I wasn't out for long like I said, I barely had time to remove you from the wreckage. We crashed straight into the side of a mountain. There isn't anything left of the cockpit."
I nodded as I cleaned his wound. It had been bleeding for long enough that his hair was almost completely red with blood. Since it was along with his hairline and would bleed profusely anyway, I didn't necessarily see a reason to worry, "Do you know what planet we are on? Or anything about it? It obviously has oxygen for us to breathe, which I'm incredibly grateful for."
"I checked the readouts before we crashed. I knew it had oxygen, but there is little else I know about this planet. There is no map. It wasn't in the database of planets. Our ship can't take off again without some major work. Thankfully the cabin has the secondary cockpit. Hopefully, with only fixing the leaks in the reactor, we can get back into space," Malfoy sighed. We heard the beeping of Dobby returning. He was a smart artificial intelligence bot. "We are going to be walking for days to get to the others. I think we only have a few more hours of light. We need to find shelter."
I nodded and finished sealing his wound with healing putty. It wasn't a pretty cut, but Malfoy would live. "You're set. Do you think you have any broken ribs? I have one more Sana Shot."
Malfoy shook his head and turned toward me. I untucked my shirt and pulled it up to the bottom edge of my bra. I blushed slightly at his gaze but realized he was seeing the black and blue bruising of my chest. Nothing looked punctured and I could breathe if I didn't take too deep of a breath.
"Shit, Granger! And no, my ribs are fine. I'm just exhausted. I will look for a crutch for your ankle. I should wrap that as well. You're sure the shot will heal you?"
I groaned as he started wrapping my chest, damn ribs were a bitch to heal, "It will. I already wrapped my ankle. I just need the crutch."
He finished wrapping my chest and I lowered my shirt, tucking it neatly into my cargo pants. "I'm going to look around, see if I can find you a usable crutch," Malfoy informed me. "Dobby should be doing a circle of where we are, finding survival needs."
I nodded at him and leaned against the tree. My eyes shut in exhaustion.
Sometime later, Malfoy returned and shook me awake. "Dobby has found a cave about half a click away. I can't find a crutch for you, so I'm going to carry you there. He also said there is a stream we will have to cross, so we will have water. Are you ready to go?"
"No, you are not going to carry me. I will lean on you, but you will not be carrying me another step." I stood up with the help of the tree I was leaning against.
He rolled his eyes and scooped me up. "Shut up, Granger. We will get to the cave faster if I carry you. You can rail on me the whole way if you like, but I'm not allowing you to injure yourself more by fucking hobbling there."
I huffed and looked him in the eyes. His mercurial eyes were set with the stubbornness that I had grown to respect and trust. I knew that on some level he trusted me as well, or he wouldn't have requested me as co-pilot so many times.
"Fine, but you find me a crutch as soon as possible. I mean it. You are not carrying me all the way to the cabin." I honestly didn't think that I had enough strength with my ribs as bruised as they were. I realized that he was holding me in such a way as to prevent me from being jostled too much. His kindness was unsettling.
As we followed the beeping of Dobby to the cave, Malfoy spoke, "Tell me about yourself. What did you do in the war, besides be a medic? Do you have a family?"
"Why do you want me to tell you about myself?" I asked, confused. This was very uncharacteristic of him.
Malfoy sighed, "Because it will help pass the time. We have a long trek ahead of us in the coming days. It would be a pity to know nothing more about you than I do now by the end of it, don't you agree?"
I nodded and began, "Like you said I was a medic in the war. I know basic battle medicine. I hated the war and wanted to help rather than harm. This was the only way to do it. All were conscripted to fight, as you know from sixteen. Our childhood was taken from us, forcefully. All because a maniac dictator decided he wanted to eradicate an entire race. This is not the first time it happened, you would think humans would learn a lesson, but we don't. I was close friends with Commander Potter. That boy had a death wish. Reckless and utterly brilliant with strategy, especially when paired with Corporal Weasley. They were an unstoppable force." I stop as we arrive at the stream.
Malfoy put me down and I pulled water bottles that purified the water as it was put in and gave it to him to fill. When he had finished, I drank my water bottle straight away and moved to fill it again. The stream was quiet, not rushing quickly and not overly deep. It wouldn't be difficult to cross, but Malfoy's feet would get wet.
"We need to gather wood and tinder to start a fire. It's going to get colder as the night wears on. And it will keep animals away." I said, looking around.
"I know. Once I get you settled in the cave, I will look for supplies. Hopefully, I'll find you a crutch while I'm at it. Are you ready to go?" Malfoy had drunk and filled his bottle again.
I nodded and he picked me up just as gently as before. "Continue your story please," he spoke quietly, walking through the stream with a small gasp at the cold.
"There isn't much to tell. After the war, I went into the flight program. I became a co-pilot, hoping to help others get free of the tyranny that plagues our planet. My parents died early in the war, and I had no other family besides them. I dated Corporal Weasley for a few months after the war, but it felt off. No spark. And he had no patience for my schedule. I mean it, for being such a great strategist, he was shite with people. I flew alongside quite a few other commanders, but have been mostly with you as co-pilot for the last two years. I've seen more of the stars than I ever thought I would see." I finished quietly.
"Why did you choose to be a co-pilot and not a commander?" he asked as we got to the cave. Dobby was beeping quietly in the doorway.
"You don't know?" I asked in shock.
He shook his head, "Know what?"
My jaw dropped. "I was one of the people that Voldemort wanted to eradicate. I was high profile and wanted during the war, one reason was because of my blood, the other because of my closeness to Commander Potter. It was grueling. How did you not know that?"
"I looked at your co-pilot record. You get along well with others. I didn't care about any other background. I went through so many different co-pilots until I found you. You suit me well. It honestly didn't matter about your blood status, or how high profile you were. You are the best person I have ever met. You are brilliant and easy to talk too. You are kind when I am a bastard. You have patience when there should be none. I don't understand you, but you are also the best damn co-pilot I could ask for. I'm going to find wood for the fire." he got up and walked away, but I saw the blush rise to his cheeks in the dying sunlight.
My jaw was on the ground, I was so shocked by his declaration. It almost sounded as if he admired me. But that couldn't be true. I was a simple girl, albeit with a brilliant mind, who chose kindness over all else. I knew why I admired him, but for him to admire me, that was another story. I would just have to ask him about his life when he returned.
I didn't have to wait long. Malfoy was in incredible shape and even with a head wound, he worked quickly to gather wood for the night. He made five trips, enough to keep the fire going all night. He placed them about halfway inside the cave. I had gathered tinder from the mouth of the cave and pulled out my flashlight to shine to the back of it while he was gone. It was a shallow cave, only went in the mountain about fifteen feet, but it was enough to shield us from wind if it wasn't coming head on. I put the tinder and my flashlight back in my pack and used the cave wall to stand up and hobble further back. I unpacked my meager supplies. There were two thermal blankets, the two water bottles, my flashlight, twenty high protein ration bars, and my med kit. It wasn't a lot, but it would keep us alive.
When Malfoy had come back, he saw that I had moved and scowled at me, but didn't comment. I pulled out the tinder I had found and put it next to the spot that he had chosen to build the fire.
"Do you by any chance have a fire starter in your pack?" he asked hopefully.
I nod, it was a part of my med kit. I pulled it out and gave it to him. He smirked and got to work building the fire. It didn't take long before the wood had caught, and heat flooded our bodies. Without the fire, we would have probably had major complications with the cold.
We both huddled close to the fire. I pulled out a ration bar and gave it to Malfoy who tore into it and started chewing.
"I'm glad you had that on when we crashed," he stated simply.
"Me too. I never go anywhere without basic necessities like this. I was caught without a pack once during the war and almost died of hypothermia. It is my safety net since I have no one to be my safety net. I am my own," I said bitterly, remembering the instance in the war.
Malfoy looked at me and I saw a question, but he didn't ask, just nodded. "Well, I'm still glad you had it. It will be what saves our lives. Dobby is going to map out the terrain while we sleep. We should have a clear layout of where we need to go at least for the next few days. According to the transponder Dobby is relaying with, we should be able to make the trip within a week. No one has responded on the other end though, and that has me worried."
"Fuck. That could mean anything. Has Dobby run into any wild animals or natives?" I asked, fear in my voice.
Malfoy shook his head. "No, he reported seeing small animals, like our squirrels back home, but nothing larger. It seems we are in a relatively safe part of the mountain. I can't hope for it to stay that way."
"We should probably sleep then. Get an early start. I'll take first watch. You have carried me all day and need the rest," I firmly stated as I move to sit with my back to the fire and my face toward the cave mouth. I pull the thermal blankets out of my pack and throw them to him.
"Granger, I'm only not arguing because I am truly exhausted. If you get too tired, wake me. I'm not sure how long night lasts here. Wake me in four hours no matter what though, you need rest to heal."
I nodded and watched him unroll and cover himself with the thermal blanket and put the other blanket within my reach instead of using it as a pillow. Damn stubborn man. I sigh and pull the blanket to myself and unroll to wrap around me. I was still cold and that was not good for my ribs.
The night wore on. I watched the tree line that was just a few feet from the cave entrance and saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at me a few times, but nothing came closer than the trees. I heard the wind pick up at around hour three and put more wood on the fire to build it up. It wouldn't do for it to go out. At the fourth hour, I moved to wake Malfoy. It hurt like hell to move with my ribs, but I made it. I shook his shoulder and his reaction was fast. He had me pinned to the ground within seconds, arms held above my head.
"Commander, it's Granger. I'm waking you to take the second watch." I explained calmly to the fear filled eyes that hovered above me.
He let me go quickly. "I'm sorry, Granger. The war left some scars on my mind. Please forgive me. Did I hurt you?" He pulled me into a sitting position and looked me over.
I shook my head, "No, I'm fine, although that was faster than even Harry could have reacted. We all have scars. Child soldiers make for scared adults."
"Anything to report?"
"Just some animals at the tree line. Nothing more. The wind picked up an hour ago and I stocked the fire." I said, laying down and wrapping the blanket around me. It smelled like Malfoy, manly, spicy. I wondered idly if my blanket smelled of me. What did I smell like anyway? Dirt and sweat? I pushed the thought from my mind and closed my eyes. I fell almost instantly asleep.
When Malfoy woke me four hours later, it was in a rush. "Granger, it is starting to snow. We may be stuck here for a bit. Dobby just returned and said that a storm is on its way. I need to gather firewood. Stay here and keep the fire going. Gather tinder before it gets wet. We need to prepare. I'm glad a part of your pack was also a small ax. Although, why you would have an ax and not shelter, I will never understand."
I could hear in his voice that he was teasing me. "Fuck, okay, The tent I had was destroyed. I haven't replaced it. Get over it. We are in a cave. It's safer here in a snowstorm anyway." I said, shrugging and slightly annoyed at his teasing.
"We need to keep Dobby here. He can help us find food when the storm is over. Damn, it's going to get cold." I groaned, holding out my hand to have Malfoy help me up and to the edge of the cave to gather tinder.
I sat at the edge of the cave and gathered small bits of wood and sticks. We would have to work had to keep the fire going. I wish I had a tent or more food. Hell, I just wish we knew what fucking planet we were on so we could more readily identify food sources. I stuffed the wood pieces in my pack and cargo pockets and crawled slowly back to the fire. While I was warming up again, I looked around the cave more. Inside there was a ledge near the back, we could lean against it to use the loo. And since I had drunk so much water, I really needed a loo. Draco and I were going to get very friendly in the next few days.
After fifteen minutes, Draco, wait, Malfoy returned with a pile of felled wood. Thankfully the forest was full of wood specifically made for fires. He stood by the fire and warmed up for a moment before returning to the cold. It was snowing lightly at the entrance. I moved again to the entrance and worked more outside the cave entrance.
Half the day passed in this way. By the time Draco returned with the last pile of wood, it was snowing hard and Dobby had to guide Draco to the cave.
"The stream is already freezing over. It's going to be very cold tonight. Dobby said there were berries not too far from here, but we should wait to gather them until the snow is less hazardous. Since there are no satellites, he can't call up how long the storm may last. Dobby did get a message to the cabin Dobby 2.0 and informed them of the storm and that we would be delayed, but he received no indication that they received his message." Draco said, holding his fingers over the fire.
I nodded at his words. "Do you think they landed in water? That they may not have survived?"
He shook his head. "No, I think it's more likely that the Dobby 2.0 was damaged. We still have a signal to follow."
I explained about the loo situation and set out our ration bars. We had eighteen left. "How do you want to ration these out, Commander?"
"Don't call me that. Right now, we are fighting for our lives and not on a ship. Call me Malfoy, or Draco. One a day, split in half so we have some in the morning and some in the evening?"
My nod in agreement was all I had to give. I laid down, exhausted and cold even sitting next to the fire.
"I'll wake you in an hour. I will watch the cave, but we should be safe. No one will venture out in this blizzard." he said looking out at the snow-filled view at the mouth of the cave.
I wrap the blanket around me and fall asleep. It doesn't seem like anytime at all before Draco is waking me.
"It's time to wake up, Hermione. You have been asleep for an hour. Let me check your ankle and ribs. It's cold enough that we don't need to put ice on them. I should have thought of it earlier though." he said as he helped me sit up.
He was surprisingly gentle with me. I had never seen the gentle, kind, patient side of him that he was showing me. I had known him for years at this point but never saw him like this. He was always stern and by the books. There was no time for gentleness as a commander of a spaceship. It was a shock but a welcome one. Deep down, I thought he could be kind and gentle if given the chance. I was glad to see that I was correct.
My ribs were incredibly sore, but my ankle seemed to be better. He took my boot off and unwrapped my ankle. It was a little bruised and tender but not swollen, which was good.
"I think your ankle may be safe to walk on once this storm passes. Do you think I should wrap it back up?"
I nod in answer, and he gently wrapped my ankle. He left my boot off, which I was thankful for. I didn't want to deal with putting it back on right away. I lifted my shirt for him to check my ribs.
Again, he gently unwrapped my ribs. I knew they were not as quickly healed. I looked down when he was finished unwrapping them and saw they were covered in black and purple bruises. He gently touched my ribs, testing for tenderness and pain. I winced at the touch of his fingers over a particularly purple spot.
"They need to stay wrapped. You won't be up for a run or heavy lifting anytime soon. But you will heal." he observed and rewrapped my ribs. I sat with one arm above my head, the other arm was slung across his shoulders to hold myself up. The strength I felt through his shoulders was alluring. I had had feelings for Draco for some time, but would never act on them since he was my superior. But I could admire what was in front of me.
"Is there someone waiting back home for you? Whatever happened to your parents after the war?" I asked as I pulled my shirt down and tucked it back into my pants.
Draco looked at me with exhaustion in his eyes. "My parents were sent to prison. Both did horrible things during the war that could not be forgiven. I was only given amnesty because I was playing spy and I was underage. My parents didn't care that I was in the middle of the conflict. They did absolutely nothing to protect me," the bitterness in his voice was jarring.
"I thought your mother lied about Harry to Voldemort?" I queried.
Draco nodded. "She did, but it wasn't enough to erase her part in the war. She was an assassin of the highest quality. My mother was trained to look helpless and weak, but really, she was more powerful than my father. Father tortured, raped, murdered, you name it. But mother, she killed in silence and in secret. I became a spy during my sixth year in school and did my damnedest to not hurt anyone unless I absolutely had too. I kept in Voldemort's good graces just enough to be able to pass on good intel. It was a hard life, but I managed it. I came out on the other side stronger and wiser, I feel."
"You were very brave."
He looked at the flames. "Not brave. I didn't want Voldemort to win. My parents have lived in prison. Because my mother lied about Potter, she can send and receive one letter a month. She writes to me. I never respond. I can't bear to write her, knowing the part she played."
We were both silent for a moment, staring at the flames. Draco added a piece of wood to the crackling fire. The wind blew at the mouth of the cave, but we were protected from it for the most part. Snow was beginning to cover the entrance.
Finally, Draco said quietly, "I don't have anyone to go home too. I haven't had a real home for a long time. That's why I continue to request the longest routes. It keeps me busy. Gives me purpose. Helps me stay grounded. Otherwise, I would drink myself to oblivion each night. The atrocities of war swim in my head, but I can forget about them on my ship." He looked at me then, his eyes willing me to understand.
I did something brave and stupid at the same time. I take his hand and give it a squeeze. "I am glad you told me. I understand what you are feeling about the atrocities of war. I close my eyes, and I can still feel the pain of torture. But we are both free. We are both alive. And we both can fly away. I'm glad you are my commander. You lead well." I dropped his hand and continued to stare at the flames.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn't turn back to him. I don't want him to see the longing in my eyes, my desire for someone to understand me. Draco did understand. And he was smart enough to keep up with me. He was perfect, but he could never be mine.
We spent the morning exchanging anecdotes from our childhood. We found that we enjoyed some of the same books, which kept the conversation going for hours. Soon laughter was heard in the cave because I couldn't help but laugh at Draco's explanation of the plot of a book I had yet to read.
"I will have to read it when we get back to port," I said through my laughter. It hurt, but it was a good kind of hurt. The cold was numbing my ribs enough that I could laugh and not want to cry.
"You need to! It is such a great book." Draco exclaimed, sitting down again and put yet another log on the fire. Neither of us had said it, but we were worried about the fire going out or the likelihood of running out of wood.
That night, I took the first watch again. I could tell Draco was exhausted and worried. The storm had not slowed down. We had sent Dobby out in the storm for a few minutes, but he had nothing new to report. Draco wrapped the blanket around himself. I was worried we would freeze to death on the ground, but there was nothing for it. Snow blocked our view at the cave mouth. We only knew it was night because it was dark as pitch outside of the cave.
I sat shivering with my back to the fire, watching the mouth of the cave. I planned on doing light calisthenics through the night to keep myself awake. I needed to keep my strength up anyway. I wouldn't do anything to strain my ribs but needed a way to keep my mind and body active. I thought of ways to keep us warm if the snow continued. Huddling up next to the fire seemed the best option. One could only hope the storm wouldn't last more than a day.
I was so wrong. The storm ended up lasting for five. That first night was the easiest.
Five hours was a long time to watch a cave, even doing calisthenics every fifteen minutes and making sure the fire had plenty of wood. Really, the fire was the biggest priority, not the cave entrance.
I asked Dobby to tell me jokes from his library of jokes. For some reason, each Dobby had a library of jokes in their hard drive. As far as I was aware, no one knew the origins of these jokes, but they were old world jokes, before space travel. They were the kind of jokes that make you groan with how bad they were. But it kept me awake.
At the five-hour mark, I attempted to wake Draco. It was much harder than the previous night. But after a few minutes of shaking him and cajoling him, he woke.
"Fuck, it's cold!" were the first words out of his gorgeous mouth.
"I know, but someone has to stay awake to keep the fire going. I did light calisthenics and had Dobby tell me jokes. I suggest you do the same," I suggested.
He frowned but nodded in agreement. He was right, it was cold laying on the ground near the fire. It took me longer than the night before to fall asleep. I had gotten through Draco's one hundred jumping jacks and push-ups before I drifted off to the wind howling at the mouth of the cave.
I slept fitfully. I hadn't dreamt about the war in ages, but my subconscious was having me relive parts of it that night. Running through the woods, capture, torture, Harry and Ron rescuing me and the other captives. I woke with a jolt to Draco's grey eyes in front of my face.
"Hermione, are you okay? You were moving around like you were fighting someone. You've only been asleep an hour," he said sitting back. I grabbed the hand that had been shaking my shoulder. I needed some sort of contact to ground me back in reality rather than my nightmares. My action shocked him, but he didn't pull away.
"I was dreaming of the war. I," I paused looking at the fire, wondering how much to tell him, "I was captured at the end. Let's just say I went through hell before Harry and Ron rescued me and the other captives."
"Who tortured you? Are they dead?" Draco asked with flint in his voice.
I shivered with fear but nodded. "Yes, it was Lestrange. The batshit crazy woman and Voldemort's personal whore. She was a special kind of crazy. She died during the final battle. I wanted to be the one to end her, but someone else did it for me."
"I killed her. I had seen enough of what she was capable of. It's amazing that you survived. Not many did when she was at the helm of torture. I didn't want anyone else hurt because of that crazy bitch."
I nodded but didn't know what to say. Should I thank him? I decided that he wouldn't appreciate the sentiment. I realized I was still holding his hand, but my eyes were getting heavy. He had begun rubbing circles on my hand, calming me, grounding me. I fell back to sleep listening to the fire crackle and the feel of his hand in mine. I had the realization that I could easily fall for this man.
Day two through four of the snow storm from hell was much the same as day one, except at night the temperature dropped so much that we decided to huddle for warmth and have Dobby wake us every two hours to stoke the fire.
We were also starving by this time. We were rationing our water as well and would run out of in the morning. Even not doing much movement, we were burning calories. And the calisthenics we did to keep us warm or awake did not help the hunger factor.
At the end of the fourth day, I finally asked what was weighing on both our minds. "What are we going to do if this storm lasts longer than our food?"
Draco turned to look at me. His grey eyes were filled with worry. We were huddled together with the blankets wrapped around our bodies. The fire was still going, but we were also running out of wood. We might have another two days of wood left. "I don't know. Hope that it lightens up enough to get more wood and water. I can send Dobby back out, but I worry about him getting lost or damaged in the winds. I mean, he is tiny and can be blown about and easily damaged."
I nodded and turned back to the fire. I was scared. It was getting harder and harder to stay cognizant at night. Sleep took us both easily. Our body heat only helped so much at night. I could feel that my extremities were not getting warm enough. Frostbite would be a problem. But I had no fucking clue on how to prevent frostbite.
The only good thing coming from the whole situation was that Draco and I were getting to know one another in a way we never would have otherwise. In the cave, we weren't Commander Malfoy and Co-pilot Granger. We were just Draco and Hermione. Two people trying to survive on an unknown planet, with no supplies, no map, and no fucking ship. Dobby still couldn't contact the cabin of the ship.
We shared stories from our respective childhoods and from our shared school years. We found that we had both been lonely children and that school had been a welcome refuge. The more we talked, the more I liked Draco. He was funny, kind-hearted, and driven. It helped that the man was fit. I had no idea how he thought of me though. Through all of this, I was still terrified of being rejected.
Day five dawned and I was thirsty and starving. My ribs were healed almost completely. Another day or two and I would be able back to normal. My ankle was perfectly fine. I did almost as many exercises to keep my blood pumping as Draco did. And the storm raged on.
We ran out of water. The stream was only about 60 meters away, but fuck if we could get to it and back without getting lost. Then I had a brilliant idea. It was a lightbulb moment truly.
Snow. Snow was water, just frozen. I hit myself in the head with my idiocy. We had been rationing water for no reason.
"Draco, we have water."
"Where?"
I walked to the mouth of the cave with the water bottles and filled them to the top with snow. I walked them back to the fire and set them near enough to warm up. After a minute or two, we had drinkable water.
"Well, fuck me. Why didn't I think of that?" Draco said, grinning at me and taking a bottle of water and drank half of it in one go.
"It doesn't solve our food crisis, but at least now, we won't die from dehydration," I said smiling at him proudly. "Do you think we should ration more of the food?"
"No, we barely have enough calories to keep us awake as it is. I don't know about you, but my cognitive functions are lowering. I may get snippy with you, and I'm sorry. It is a by-product of starving," Draco apologized.
I nodded. "The same for me. I will probably start getting snippy today. I have been able to hold myself together, but I can feel myself slipping."
About midday, the storm stopped. We sent Dobby out immediately, upon realizing that the wind was no longer howling. We could see the sun reflecting off the snow. It was blinding after the comparative darkness of the cave. Draco walked out into the snow, but since it was still freezing, I stayed in the cave and made sure that the fire was stoked. I was not one for snow. Sure, it was beautiful, but it was fucking cold.
"Come out and play!" Draco called from the trees.
"No!"
He walked to the cave opening. "Why not? We can have a snowball fight. Haven't you ever wanted to lob something at my head? This is your chance!" Draco's grin was contagious.
"Fine, but I hate the snow. I'm only doing this for our first few trips together when you were quite the bastard."
He whooped and ran to the trees and started creating snowballs. I followed suit about twenty feet away from him. The snow was cold. We had no jackets or gloves. But the war was on. Draco lobbed the first ball about five minutes into me creating my arsenal. Within five minutes of that, I was freezing, covered in snow and had only thrown five snowballs. He was relentless.
"I concede. I'm freezing!" My teeth were chattering. But I was laughing so hard because he was having so much fun.
"Let's get warm and eat a ration bar. We are closer to being rescued now. If it is still clear in the morning, we should head down the mountain," he said as he helped me up. I dusted off my damp clothes and walked with my arms wrapped around myself towards the cave.
I sat as close to the fire as I could. Once the fire had warmed my body, my clothes started to dry. Draco had followed suit, but he felt the need to remove his shirt. I saw his chest, which was marked with scars. But damn, he was fit. If he noticed me staring, he didn't say anything, just looked in the fire and ate his ration bar.
Dobby returned in the middle of the night with the notice that the weather should be clear in the morning. I was on watch when he arrived. I was glad because as much as I enjoyed getting to know Draco, I wanted to get out of this cave.
Draco woke me the next morning and after filling our bottles with snow, warming them into water, and eating a ration bar, we banked the fire and left the cave.
The snow was still relatively high, and we kept the blankets wrapped securely around us as protection from the cold, but we were able to walk down the mountain. Dobby led us down the mountain in a relatively easy route. I felt fine walking. No pain in my ribs or ankle. I wasn't even bruised anymore. I was grateful for the Sana Shot.
Close to sunset, we stopped in a copse of trees and found firewood and made a fire pit. We didn't like being out of the cave at night, but it was all we could do. We still needed to stay warm.
"How far do you think we walked today?" I asked Draco as we sat down with our ration bars. Snow was still everywhere, but under the trees, it wasn't as deep, and we had been able to clear it out relatively easily.
"Dobby said we walked about twenty miles. He is going to continue checking the route, but he said we should be close to the base of the mountain tomorrow evening. We should only be about three days more from the rest of the crew."
I nodded at the assessment. My legs and back were tired from the walk, but since Draco and I were in relatively good condition physically, it could have been worse. I was getting tired of ration bars, but we hadn't found much in the way of edible plants on the side of the mountain. My guess was because it must be the dead of winter in this hemisphere of the planet.
Draco took first watch. I was tired enough to not argue. It was nice to see the stars in the sky through the branches of the trees.
During my watch, nothing happened. It was bitterly cold, but there wasn't any wind, which I was thankful for. Trees only offer so much protection.
Draco woke before the sun rose the next morning, and we ate our ration bars in silence. I really wanted some coffee, but that was not meant to be. I had already melted fresh snow in our water bottles, so we set off down the mountain.
The trek was a bit more tedious than the day before. Dobby couldn't find a route that didn't have drops and precarious ledges. Draco and I relied on one another to make it down safely. I looked through a clearing of the trees and realized that we were closer to the base of the mountain than I had originally thought.
About midday, we stopped for a water break. "Do you want to try the comms again?" I asked quietly as Dobby hung in the air in front of us.
"Might be a good idea." He pushed a few buttons on his communicator. The signal for the rest of the ship was a lot stronger and closer. "Commander Malfoy to the Adrianna, is anyone at the comms?"
"Commander Malfoy! It's good to hear your voice! This is the Adrianna. Rescue is in route. Communications says tomorrow morning. Do you know your ETA for reaching us?"
"We are approximately two to three days from you. We can set our beacons for rescue as well and get to a clearing and wait. Are there any injuries to the rest of the crew or passengers?"
There was a pause. "A few of the crew were injured upon landing. No other injuries. The snowstorm that hit kept us from attempting to fix the ship."
Draco nodded thinking. "Don't worry about fixing the ship. Evacuate and we will evaluate what needs to be done once everyone is on board the rescue vessel."
"Copy that, sir. We will see you both tomorrow then. Adrianna out."
"Commander Malfoy copies. Over and out."
He turned off his communicator and looked at me. "We can either wait here or try to get further down the mountain. What do you want to do?"
"Let's go down to a clearing so the ship can land. I'm glad we will only be on this planet another day."
Draco nodded and we continued to walk down the mountain. We walked for another hour or so before we made it to a clearing that was large enough for a ship to land. We found it was a bit warmer the closer we got to the valley. I started collecting wood for a fire as we walked to the edge of the clearing. We didn't want to be completely out in the open during the night.
The rest of the day was spent in silent waiting. It was like with the knowledge that we were about to be rescued, the wall that had been lowered came back up between us. Around dinner time, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "Let's play a game," I said as I handed Draco a ration bar. Dobby had found some berries that looked like they were probably edible, so along with the ration bar, we were eating berries.
"What game?" Draco asked dubiously.
"The what if game. We come up with scenarios and ask what each of us would do in situations. It will keep our minds busy and be at least a little fun."
"Ok, what if it starts snowing while we are out in the open like this?" Draco asked seriously.
"We would send Dobby to find another cave and if that wasn't possible, we could try to build a quick shelter. Since there isn't a cloud in the sky, I'm not too worried about that happening. What if Voldemort had won the war?"
"Well if that isn't a depressing thought. We would both be dead, Hermione. I was a spy traitor and you were of inferior blood. The universe would not be a good place. Fuck, we are depressing people." He thought about it for a moment. The game went back and forth like this, getting funnier and funnier as we went.
I asked Draco, "What if you were an animal?"
"I have no idea, Granger! I would not be a ferret. Maybe a dragon? Are we talking mythical or real?"
"Either. That's interesting, why not a ferret?"
"Because of an incident in my fourth year that I refuse to share with you if you don't already know about it," he said petulantly, "so I would be a dragon."
I laughed at his face and he sat there looking at me like I was crazy, before he finally asked, "What if I kissed you?"
I breathed in, shocked, but took the gamble and whispered, "I would kiss you back." Since the sun went down and it was cold, we were sharing the blankets for warmth, making his face less than six inches away from mine. His eyes were boring into mine, gauging my sincerity.
I nodded infinitesimally. Barely a nod really, but it was enough and the next thing I knew was his mouth on mine. His hands were cupping my cheeks, keeping me close. The kiss was tender. Sweet. His lips moved against mine gently, but forcefully. I opened my mouth and swiped my tongue across his bottom lip. He groaned and opened his mouth and plundered my mouth with his tongue. We kissed until we couldn't breathe anymore. His hand had moved to my hair, scrunching it in his fist.
"What if I never stopped kissing you?" I whispered against his mouth as we breathed together.
"I would die a happy man. I never want to stop now that I have tasted you, Hermione. This may come as a shock, but I don't just admire you for your bravery during the war or for your mind. You challenge me. You are bloody gorgeous. Sharing these blankets have been a special kind of torture. Do you think we could date when we get back to civilization?" Draco asked, leaning away from me and looking into my eyes. His sincerity was written all over his face.
"I would enjoy that very much. I like you, a lot," This time when our lips met, it was soft and sweet and full of promise. My hands were in his hair, which was amazingly soft for being unwashed for at least a week, eventually, I pulled away, "Why did we wait so long for this?"
He shrugged and continued to kiss me. My mind stopped thinking and I enjoyed the feel of his lips on mine.
It didn't matter that the ship would be here to pick us up in the morning. We had a date planned when we landed. We could kiss all night, and that made my heart soar.