Chapter 1:
"We can't keep meeting up like this!" Hermione insisted as Draco eyed her walking towards him. Her hair was in a mess and her pet cat was slowly creeping beside her. Draco hated that cat; he felt that it was another obstacle that would get between him and what he wanted. All he wanted was her.
However, he had to pretend that their exchange was strictly business or else, he knew that Ron would be hearing about this. Draco knew that Ron felt the same way about Hermione, he'd known since 2nd year when Ron had a spell backfire as he tried to defend Hermione. Draco smirked to himself and gazed up at Hermione as she inched closer to him, her chest heaving and the vapour she breathed out whisping around his face. It was cold in the forest although it was the end of May, the tulips had begun to gather on the forest floor and the temperature was well below a comfortable level.
"What are you smiling at Malfoy?" Hermione demanded as she noticed the boy hadn't said a word to her since she arrived in the forest.
"I want to show you something" Draco whispered as he reached out to touch her hand in a beckoning gesture. Hermione slightly pulled back, his hands felt warm compared to the icy air, she quickly glanced back at him and saw a hidden unease in his face. She decided to give him a chance and placed her hand back into his. Draco smiled to himself Just you wait Granger, Soon you'll be mine.
Draco lead her to a clearing in the middle of the forest, Hermione had only a vague memory of the directions in the Forbidden forest because she had not been here since freeing Buckbeak in third year.
"I hope you know where you're taking me Malfoy and this had better be quick, I must revise for our Potions examination tomorrow and… " She leaned down to cradle Crookshanks in her arms "poor Crooks is sleepy. How much longer is this going to take?"
Draco rolled his eyes and continued to lead the way. As they reached the top of the next hill, Hermione started to fumble around in her robe pocket for her wand. Draco stopped to watch her. "Is there something the matter Granger?" He spat out in an irritated tone.
"I'm looking for my wand Draco, I believe this may become a dangerous situation" "What makes you think that? Just as Draco muttered the last word,
—CRACK—
Hermione screamed and fell to the ground, a troll similar to the one she encountered in her first year at Hogwarts had just smashed through a large tree and was coming towards her.
She looked around frantically for Draco but he was nowhere in sight. A sickening thought occurred to her What if he's dead? He had always insulted her and called her a mudblood, but now she realised that she didn't want to lose him.
"Crookshanks!" She screamed "Come back!" the orange cat she dearly loved had scampered into the forest. What am I supposed to do now?
Hermione reached down to her robe pocket and managed to finally pull her wand away from a loop of thread in which it had been caught. Incendio! Sparks flew out of the tip of her wand and set fire to a branch hovering over the head of the troll. It collapsed and made a THUNK as it fell on the troll's enormous skull. The giant creature thrashed around as it tried to escape the burning ash in its face.
Well that should teach him a lesson thought Hermione as the troll trudged back into the woods. Suddenly Hermione heard a rustle in the shrubs behind her; she turned slowly and raised her wand in defence. It was past midnight, anything could be here. She felt a cold tingle overtake her whole body. Oh no please don't be… but it was too late. Hermione would not awaken until a few hours later.
"Absolute rubbish this school" Draco muttered angrily to himself "my father will hear about this" Draco had not seen the troll but he had found himself suddenly being snatched and was tied to a tree by none other than Oedipus, a Centaur who had betrayed the herd and was known for kidnapping students. "Dumbledore can't even control a stupid half-breed" Draco criticized as he struggled to escape the ropes which held him tightly and were chafing his skin.
Ow! he exclaimed as a thistle scratched his pointy elbow. He had to escape, he had to find Hermione and make sure she was safe. What had happened to her? He wondered. He lashed about and tried to think of a spell to use which would enable him to break away from the tree. He swiftly spotted a sharp rock lying on the forest floor about a metre to his left.
Accio Petra he summoned. The rock quickly floated to his right hand which was tied loosely compared to the rest of his body. He quickly gripped the sharp stone in his sore fingers and began to saw at the rope which bound him. Eventually he was able to use his freed hands to loosen the knots and jumped down, landing on his knees in the moist shrubbery. Draco quickly arose, wiping the dew on his school pants, with a look of disgust and began to trek through the forest looking for Hermione. Using his wand as a light source, Draco finally found his way back to the hillside where they had been standing a few hours beforehand.
"Hermione! Are you okay?" he exclaimed frantically with a worrisome expression. He bent down next to her body which was pale and ran his fingertips over her neck and the side of her face while tears slowly started to well up in his eyes. Her skin was beautiful, it was pale but to him she was glowing. Although her body was cold, he took comfort in this moment of contact because he knew she would never fall for him. He was a Slytherin and … well he didn't want to torture himself with those thoughts. Draco felt the tears begin to well over and pour down onto his cheek. It wasn't fair; he knew he would never be good enough for her. His father would disapprove of course. Draco only called her a filthy mudblood because he had been raised to think that way and he wanted to cover up how he truly felt about her.
"Hermione I know you can't hear me" he sobbed while gently tucking a lock of her soft golden-brown hair behind her ear "but I think that I…" Draco stopped and looked down to see Hermione's chest slowly rising and falling once more. Her eyelashes fluttered as her eyelids flew open.
