Chapter 3-

She wasn't going to placate to him. If he wanted food he wasn't going to have to get it himself. She couldn't believe his nerve. Draco stared at her confidently.

"So…" He muttered.

"So what? I'm not going to conjure you anything. I'm not here to serve you, I'm here to bring you in." Hermione put her hands on her hips for emphasis. Draco slightly grinned at her.

"And how do you plan on doing that? I hope you weren't going to apparate the two of us." He replied as he took a few steps away from her and ran his hand through his hair, pulling his hand back in disgust.

"I…well…I had planned…" That was the only way she had thought to get him to the ministry or Azkaban.

"And how were you going to do that considering you are weak from not eating and from battle?" He asked as he took a seat on the ground, crossing his long legs and placing his arms on his knees gracefully.

"Um…" She hated that he knew better at that moment.

"So like I said before, why don't you start conjuring up some food already." He smiled. He got her where he wanted her. He was definitely going to hold this over her as much as possible. She looked down at him with disgust. She could just stupefy him and drag him but that seemed incredibly undignified even for her.

"I'll get us food…if you tell me how you ended up out here." She smirked. She glanced back down at the blonde. Of course without a wand, he would have no idea how to go and fend for himself in the wilderness. He was just lucky enough to have brought that lighter with him. Trying to fish or gather berries would be totally out of his pureblood norm. He just grimaced and flicked his dirty hair out of his eyes.

"I walked." He answered, hoping that would satisfy her.

"Do you actually think that I believe that?" She raised her eyebrows at him and leaned her weight on her foot, jutting her hip out. Draco just glanced at her under his eyelashes.

"Okay…okay. I apparated with my parents." He mumbled and rested his chin on his hand as he propped his elbow on his knee.

"Why here?" She asked as she took a step closer to him.

"I figured that it took those snatchers a long time to find you three here, might as well use that to my advantage." He answered coolly.

"Hm. Interesting." She replied as she herself sat down on the ground across from him.

"I wasn't expecting to be found so quickly…or by you." He looked at her, his gray eyes narrowing to slits.

"You're welcome." She laughed. Hermione could tell that he was uncomfortable. Good. He needed to squirm a bit. She was going to enjoy this.

"So, you didn't even stick around to see your beloved Dark Lord fail." She added and leaned back against the tree and took a hard look at Draco.

"Fail? He…" Draco's eyes shot up.

"Yes. He failed. As a matter of fact Harry killed him. But not before your friends decided to infiltrate Hogwarts and kill anyone they could." She said angrily, trying to bite back her words a bit. The thought of it only enraged her and made her yearn to reach out and smack the shocked look off of Draco's pale face.

"Good. I'm glad he's dead." Did Hermione just hear him correctly?

"Wha…what?" Hermione could feel her back scratch against the bark of the tree. Draco's features dropped into calmness. That was more unnerving than his seething hatred.

"He deserved to die for what he has done." Hermione's eyes went wide as Draco locked his stare onto her.

"I don't understand…" She mumbled. She was at a loss now. All the breath had collected in her chest and she felt like she was going to burst. The heat was rising in her face for some strange reason.

"He was a murderer. He was a blot on the wizarding world…" The coldness in his tone sent shivers up Hermione's spine.

"You…your…" Why was she lost for words. She was mumbling like a first year. Her eyes must have looked like two massive amber saucers.

"My parents and I have never killed anyone. Yes we have talked about it…but we've never actually done it."

"So you are admitting that you are cowards." Her stare was calculating now. Was he just saying these things to get inside her head? Maybe it was a ploy so that she would let him go. He knew that she had a huge heart and if she thought there was a possibility that someone could be redeemed, she would be their biggest advocate.

"What are you playing at Malfoy?" She added and began to stand up shakily from her seat against the tree. Draco just looked back up at her, his eyes remained unwavering.

"I don't expect you to believe me. That's fine. If you aren't going to conjure any food I guess I will have to go try and catch a fish on my own." He muttered and stood up quickly. Hermione didn't make to go after him. She watched his image recede as he made for a nearby lake.

Hermione stood on the banks of the lake. The smooth black rocks under feet made her feel unsteady. She took in the scene as Draco stood a few yards ahead of her closer to the edge of the water. He stared off into the distance, his platinum locks brushing against his forehead by the slight breeze. The sun cast his hair aflame again. Hermione hated staring at him. It bothered her more than she could express. His sadness seemed to take over his whole body. His long limbs seemed more spiderlike instead of well built. His skin seemed more pale and tired. He looked so incredibly defeated.
"Are you just going to stand there and stare at me all day?" He asked breaking Hermione out of her daze.
"I...uh...I wasn't staring." She mumbled, a fiery blush spreading across her face.
"Keep telling yourself that." He laughed. Without another word he pulled his suit jacket off, loosened his tie and began unbuttoning his black dress shirt. Hermione's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her head. Was he actually undressing in front of her?
"What...what are you doing?" She asked, her voice slightly choking out. She hoped he hadn't heard her voice catching.
"I'm going to try and catch a fish." He answered as he finally unloosened the last button and peeled the black fabric from off his pale torso. Hermione's mouth immediately went dry. Why couldn't she stop staring? The sun only illuminated his pale skin more. The muscles in his stomach were well defined and his chest was muscular but not so much that he looked large. His body was sleek, a perfect quiddich
form. Hermione quickly tore her eyes away from him and pretended to study her nails.
"It looks more like you are planning on swimming with the fish as opposed to actually catching them." She said quietly as she shuffled her feet, kicking a few stones out of place.
"Well, what else to you suggest? If you just conjured some food then I wouldn't have to do this and it's not like a have a fishing pole stashed away anywhere." He answered, very obviously irritated. He
kicked off his black shoes and unbuttoned his pants. Hermione snuck a peak as he allowed the fabric to pool at his feet. He stood in a pair of black body hugging boxer briefs. He slowly put his bare feet into the tide and walked in deeper. Finally after he had successfully made his way in to about waist level he stood very quietly and allowed the blue green water to become still around his pale figure. He looked
like a ghost rising from a lake. He held his arms up in the air as he watched carefully around his body, his gray eyes lightening as the reflection of the sun hit his irises. Hermione was captivated. She licked her lips nervously. She could feel herself fidgeting anxiously as the blonde continued his unwavering concentration.
With a flash his pale arms dove under the surface of the water pulling up with it a wriggling fish the size of his forearm. He struggled to hold onto the animal but managed to throw it on shore. Hermione was rather impressed at the feat. How had he managed to catch a fish the first try? Then she thought to herself, of course he would be able to do it, he was a seeker after all. It was his job to catch the uncatchable.
"Impressed are you? Just wait until I cook it." He cocked an eyebrow
at her and grinned.