Malfoy said, "Hold tight," and turned in a circle, pulling them into disapparation. Just like the previous time, the wards against apparation tried to pull her away from Malfoy and nearly succeeded, but Malfoy threw his other arm around her to keep her from being separated.
They reappeared in an office. Malfoy let go of her.
"Where are we?" Hermione asked, looking around.
"In my office at the Ministry," Malfoy replied, walking towards the door. "It's just an elevator ride away from the benefit. It wouldn't be very classy to apparate there."
"What office?" Hermione asked as she followed him out the door.
"I'm on the board of trustees for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," answered Malfoy as they walked into the elevator. "The Ministry enjoys the money I give to them."
Hermione's jaw dropped. No wonder no one wanted to arrest him! Just another thing stacked against her. She said nothing until the elevator opened on the fifth floor.
"It's in here," Malfoy said, pushing open the door to room 502.
Room 502, which was ordinarily left vacant unless used for occasions like these, was decorated lavishly in gold and black decorations. A banner across the back wall read, "St. Mungo's Appreciates Your Donations." A table laden with refreshments sat below it. Most of the people were in the center of the room, dancing to a cheerful tune being played by the band. Before Hermione could absorb more of her surroundings than that, a short, plump man dressed in an ill-fitting tuxedo hurried up to them.
"Names?" he squawked, his voice so high-pitched that Hermione fought the urge to wince.
"Malfoy," snapped Malfoy imperiously, clearly not appreciating the man's voice either.
"Excellent! And who is she?"
"She's not on the list," Malfoy replied before Hermione could say anything. "But it'll be well worth your while to put her on it." He slipped a pouch heavy with galleons into the man's pocket.
The little man raised his eyebrows, pulled a quill out of his pocket, and whispered, "Name?"
"Hermione Granger," Malfoy said, pulling Hermione with him as they walked away.
"Mr. Malfoy, is it true that you donated 100,000 galleons to St. Mungo's for their new Spell Damage wing?" said a woman with a quill and paper who slipped in between Hermione and Malfoy.
"Yes," Malfoy said curtly, easing away from the woman. "No interviews tonight, please."
Hermione lost Malfoy in the throng of people that formed around the handsome, rich bachelor. She remembered her promise to stay near him, but she didn't relish the idea of pushing through the crowd to approach him. Plus, she was still uneasy over her feelings towards him. She didn't necessarily hate him anymore…maybe.
"Hermione!" called a cheerful voice.
Hermione turned to see Gary waving her over.
She made her way over to him, smiling brightly. "Hey, Gary!"
Gary hugged her enthusiastically. "I've never seen you, well, dressed like a girl before," he said awkwardly as he pulled away. "You look good."
Hermione gave him a small smile. "Thank you, I think," she said with a light laugh.
"What Harry did wasn't cool," Gary said, leaning close to whisper in her ear. His gangly form made it somewhat of an awkward position. "Me and a few others agree with you, at least about Ractor. We've compiled this for you." He reached for Hermione's hand and pressed a small, silver cube into it. "Say 'Revelio' and you'll be able to view the information recorded on it."
"Thanks," Hermione whispered, incredibly touched by this gesture. She tucked it carefully in her bra, as she had no pockets. She would look at it at her earliest opportunity.
A smartly-dressed waiter approached the two. "Drink, ma'am?"
"Yes, please," she replied, taking a glass from his tray. She took a sip, wincing at the strong flavor. "What is this?"
"Straight vodka, from the looks of it," Malfoy said smoothly, coming up behind her.
Gary glared daggers at Malfoy, who merely gave him a contemptuous glance in return.
"These women are making me crazy, Granger," Malfoy said icily. "Come dance with me."
"Her name's Hermione, Mr. Malfoy," Gary said, his mouth contorted in an uncharacteristic frown. "If you want her to dance with you, you should ask nicely."
Hermione downed the rest of the vodka in preparation for the ordeal that was sure to come.
Malfoy frowned and sighed impressively. "Hermione, would you do me the honor of gracing me with a dance?" His voice was absolutely dripping with sarcasm, but his eyes danced with mirth.
Hermione grinned. "Certainly, Draco."
Malfoy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the dance floor. He took the empty glass from her hand and handed it to a passing waiter. The music began playing a slow waltz and Hermione found it easy enough to follow the steps.
"So, you prefer the company of a muggleborn to all those lovely women lusting after you?" she asked, whirling around the dance floor in time with the music. Malfoy was an excellent dancer, both graceful and sure of his footing.
"I've had enough of their kind to last me a lifetime," he muttered. His hands on her body were in the perfect position for the waltz, not an inch above or below what was proper. The music continued and the pair danced, oblivious to the eyes upon them and the flashing of photographs being taken. "I seem to have made quite an impression on your friend back there."
"He's an Auror," Hermione explained. "He's on my side, not yours."
"Everyone can be bought," Malfoy said smugly.
"And Ractor? How much did you buy him for?"
"Ah ah ah, I can't be revealing too much to you, or before I know it you'll be clapping me in irons," Malfoy said, smirking.
The song ended and Hermione moved away from Malfoy delicately. "I'll be back," he told her.
Hermione watched him disappear into the crowd and went to find Gary. She found him over by the bar, drinking a beer and flirting with the female bartender.
"Oy!" Gary laughed as Hermione came up. "How was your dance with his royal majesty?"
"Shut up," she laughed in reply, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
"Here," Gary said, pushing a bright orange drink towards her. "I just discovered these, they're fantastic."
Hermione noticed with a smile that he was slurring his words. She suspected that the bartender's beauty probably had something to do with the fact that Gary kept ordering more drinks. She took a tentative sip of the sparkling orange drink. A rush of coolness flooded through her body, replaced by heat a moment later. It had a minty orange aftertaste. "Wow."
"I know! Marisa, can I get another one of those?" Gary asked, hailing the pretty bartender over.
Marisa glided over, a smile on her plump lips. "Here you go, Gar."
Gary blushed and downed the drink in three large gulps. "Come on, Hermione. Drink yours!"
Hermione sighed and slowly but steadily drank the rest of her drink.
"Yeah!" cheered Gary.
Hermione jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Malfoy behind her, two glasses in his hand.
"Wine?" he asked, handing her a glass.
"Thanks," Hermione said, her face feeling very warm. She took a sip of the red wine as she watched Gary escort a young woman over to the dance floor.
"Are you all right?" he asked, looking at her closely. "You look flushed."
"I'm fine," she said, waving her hand carelessly. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Malfoy rolled his eyes. He was about to reply, but a slender redhead eased between him and Hermione. "Hello, Draco," she said alluringly, her gold dress clinging to a beautiful body. "I've been trying to find you all evening—Mark told me you'd be here."
"Lorelei," Malfoy murmured, kissing her hand. His face was a mask that revealed nothing of his feelings towards seeing her.
Lorelei giggled and threw her arms around his neck, whispering hotly in his ear, "Come dance with me."
Hermione watched the two, wondering blithely if she should break them apart as part of her duty to Malfoy, but as her head spun, she decided against it. Lorelei pulled Malfoy towards the dancers, a bright smile on her entrancing face. Malfoy looked much less enthused, however.
As she watched Malfoy dance with Lorelei, she could feel the effects of the alcohol begin to sink in. Her body felt light and tingly, and she felt very warm. Malfoy looked very striking in his suit, and he moved with Lorelei in time with the music. A man began walking towards Hermione, and a cold jolt went through the girl as she realized that it was Mark Williams. Malfoy continued dancing with his partner, his back to Hermione. Lorelei watched over his shoulder, a smug smile on her lips.
"Hermione, I must say that I'm surprised to see you here," Mark admitted, leaning against the bar counter beside her.
Hermione wished she hadn't had anything to drink—a clear head would be very helpful just now. "Why?" she asked, doing her best to keep the tension from her voice. She wanted to kill this man who had killed her cat, but she could do nothing in a room full of people.
"This doesn't seem like the kind of event that you'd attend willingly," Mark said easily, signaling for the bartender to bring him a drink. "You seem more down-to-earth than the people here."
"I'm here with my friend Gary," Hermione said immediately, the lie coming quickly to her lips. She pressed her legs together to quell her nervousness, feeling the reassuring texture of her wand against her inner thigh. "He asked me to come with him."
"How very kind of you to go with him," Mark praised her, smiling. "Would you join me for a dance?"
Hermione nodded, swallowing back her dizziness. As she left the comforting support of the bar top, she felt herself stumbling. Mark steadied her and she was forced to use him for support. She had definitely had too much to drink. What had been in that orange drink?
"I should have known," sneered Malfoy as Mark and Hermione approached him. "Lorelei's never without you, is she?"
Lorelei let go of Malfoy and walked over to Mark, kissing him on the cheek.
"Family ties are strong," Mark laughed, gesturing to his sister.
"We've always got each others' backs," Lorelei seconded, glaring at Hermione, who was arm-in-arm with her brother.
"Well, Hermione, I'd say it's time for a dance," Mark said as the band began playing another song.
Malfoy's face was cold as he watched the two move onto the dance floor.
"Come on, sweetie," Lorelei purred, pulling on Malfoy's arm to get him to follow.
Hermione danced with Mark, remaining silent as the slow music filled the air around her. Mark pulled her close so that her head rested against on his shoulder. They slowly swayed to the music. "You look so beautiful tonight," Mark murmured into her ear. His hands moved in light circles over her back. "Radiant, even. This Gary is a lucky fellow."
"He's not my boyfriend," Hermione gritted out, trying to sound pleasant when she was dizzy from the alcohol and furious with the man she was dancing with.
"May I perhaps offer my name for consideration for the position?" Mark asked, a hand dipping lower to caress the top of her bottom.
Surprised and insulted by his touch, Hermione pushed Mark away forcefully. Anger built inside her—anger at Malfoy for making her pretend that she liked Mark, anger at Mark for killing her cat, and anger at Harry for putting her in this ridiculous situation in the first place! Emboldened by the alcohol, Hermione burst out angrily, "I know exactly what you're doing, Mark, so we can stop the lies!"
Dancing nearby with Loreli, Malfoy nearly tripped over his own feet in shock.
Mark stared at her, dumbfounded at this outburst. He let go of Lorelei, ignoring her angry hiss, and stepped quickly behind Hermione. He covered her mouth with his hand. "Clearly she's had a bit too much to—Ouch!" He cried out in pain as she bit his hand.
"I know that you're just testing me to see if I'm a danger to your pathetic mob," Hermione hissed, shoving Malfoy's hand away. "Well, guess what? I'm the most dangerous bloody thing to ever happen to the Hunters, so you better watch your back—and if you ever come near me again, I'll curse your head off! Got it?"
Mark's hazel eyes flashed with anger, and Lorelei looked equally furious. The two of them faced Malfoy and Hermione in a strange standoff.
"We're in the middle of a public place," Lorelei hissed, her eyes darting from side to side. People were beginning to stare. She pulled her brother's hand away from his pocketed wand, glaring furiously at Hermione.
"He told you that I was testing you, didn't he?" Mark asked dangerously, his eyes flicking to Malfoy and then back to Hermione.
"Yes," replied Hermione defiantly. She felt incredibly dizzy from the alcohol, but she was proud of herself for finally stopping all the pretension. She was done pretending to like Mark, no matter what Malfoy said.
"You're dead, Draco," hissed Mark. "Bloody traitor!"
A well-dressed man in his early forties walked over to the four and put his hand on Mark's shoulder. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to—"
Mark turned on the spot, drawing his wand on the man. As the man fell to the floor, twitching, people began screaming. Hermione slid her hand up her thigh to grab her wand, but she knew that she would be unable to aim at Mark in time—his mouth was already forming the curse that he had chosen to use on her. Flames burst from the end of Mark's black wand, accompanied by a hideous roar.
The jaws of the fiery chimaera opened wide, ready to engulf Hermione, but Malfoy's strong arms encircled her and dragged her into apparition.
They reappeared on a grassy hill at the base of a mountain. "That was Fiendfyre!" she choked out, her face ashen. The alcohol still running through her system made her quite nauseous. She finished unsheathing her wand and straightened her dress, noticing as she did so that the small silver cube Gary had given her was no longer tucked in her bra—it had fallen out somewhere!
Malfoy was pale as well. He looked to be more angry than frightened, however. "Yes, and it will probably be able to track our apparition, so—"
Hermione felt an intense pain and let out a scream as a raging plume of fire appeared in midair next to her, licking at her arm. Malfoy seized her other arm in an iron grip and disapparated once more. The pain in her arm didn't cease, however, and Hermione was forced to endure it as Malfoy apparated over and over again in quick succession. Each time, the flames appeared just moments after they appeared in a new place. In desperation, Malfoy finally apparated them the once place he hoped would defeat pursuit.
Hermione choked on a mouthful of saltwater as they landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The freezing cold water nearly paralyzed her limbs, but it effectively chased away her inebriation.
"Down!" coughed Malfoy as the fire showed itself above them.
Hermione dove under the water, feeling it warm up as the flames followed. She swam down as hard as she could, kicking off her shoes as she did so. After twenty seconds of hard swimming into the icy depths of the ocean, she was unable to move her arms or legs anymore. The cold sank into her very bones and she began to feel completely numb. The Fiendfyre finally sizzled and fizzed into nonexistence. She began kicking her way to the surface, even as the lack of air made her chest feel like it was going to burst.
Hermione's head finally broke the surface and she shook the hair out of her face quickly, her eyes darting around as she looked for the Fiendfyre. It was nowhere to be seen. Her leaden limbs worked hard to keep her afloat as her body was wracked with violent shivers. She looked around for Malfoy, but couldn't see him anywhere. She quickly cast a Bubble-Head charm on herself and dove beneath the surface once more.
She spotted him meters below her, desperately swimming downwards; in the black water, he had no idea which way was up. His wand was in his hand and bubbles escaped his mouth as he tried to cast a spell—any spell—but the water swallowed up his words and the efforts were useless.
Hermione grabbed his upper arm and dragged him upwards, struggling against his weight. She reached the surface of the water and began coughing and choking as she expelled the water from her lungs.
Malfoy was in the same condition next to her, his lips turning blue as he struggled to stay afloat. Hermione grabbed his arm and revolved in an awkward circle in the water, concentrating hard as she disapparated with him.
"B-bloody hell!" gasped Hermione as they landed in the middle of her living room. Without regards to modesty, she stripped off the dress, exposing her left arm and shoulder, which was still smoking from the Fiendfyre even after being totally doused with water.
Malfoy cast a drying spell on the both of them, studiously not looking at Hermione. He shrugged out of his suit coat.
"It's burning! It's still burning! Do you know how to stop this?" Hermione gritted out, slipping into a pair of clean pajamas that had been lying folded on the table. To ease the nausea and dizziness that she still felt from the alcohol, she quickly drank a hangover-curing potion from her cabinet. She sat down on the sofa, trying not to look at the still burning wound.
"Yes," he replied haughtily. "And you could speak a little more respectfully, seeing as I just saved your life."
Though his words were scornful, his touch was gentle when he took her arm in his hand and traced his wand on the smoldering burns of her arm.
"And I just saved your life in the water, Malfoy," she retorted, trying not to wince.
Malfoy ignored her and began speaking a long series of incantations that sounded like an ancient language.
"How do you know this?" demanded Hermione, watching as the burns began to close and heal before her very eyes. "Fiendfyre is one of the most dark and mysterious branches of magic!"
"You forget who my father was, Granger. I learned much from him before he was killed," Malfoy said, interrupting the flow of magic. Before the burns could open up again, he continued the incantation until the skin of Hermione's arm was completely healed.
Hermione looked up at him, her body relaxing as the pain faded away. A relieved smile softened her face and erased all bad feelings that she had about him for the moment.
Malfoy ran his fingers along the freshly-healed skin. "Does that hurt?" he asked.
"No," Hermione replied quietly.
"Good," Malfoy said. He stormed across the room and folded his arms over his chest furiously. "Now, how could you possibly so stupid?" he snapped, his voice raised to almost a yell. "After all I've done for you—all the help, the warnings—and you just throw it all away in a second? You're an Auror—why the hell would you let yourself get drunk?"
His glare pierced through her, and Hermione realized that he was right: she had made a terrible mistake.
"I didn't know that Mark was going to be there," she protested, wanting to justify her actions somehow. "And in case you don't recall, I'm not an Auror anymore, remember? You saw to that!"
Malfoy rolled his eyes, still furious. His suit was wrinkled from the ocean, but his hair looked as good as ever. He was keeping a distance of about fifteen feet from her for her own protection—his anger was extensive. "You may not be an Auror in title, but you still think of yourself as one. If I'm going to continue wasting my time on you, you'd better explain yourself right now," he snarled.
Hermione sighed and crossed her arms defensively. "Everyone needs a break once in a while," she admitted, looking down. "I didn't think anything was going to happen that night, and I just wanted to have some fun. I didn't know Mark was going to be there," repeated the young woman. "Mark killed my bloody cat, and there's no way that I'm going to pretend to like him anymore! I'm sorry, but I couldn't do it."
"Well, you've just put my life in danger as well as yours," growled Malfoy, walking towards her. Hermione flinched as he got close. "Don't be a fool—I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why are you afraid of him?" Hermione demanded to know. "Isn't he your friend—or at the very least, your partner in crime? And if you know how to stop the progression of Fiendfyre, isn't there more Dark magic that you know? How can he be more powerful than you?"
Malfoy looked quite put out with all the questions. He sat beside her on the sofa, taking care to be on the extreme opposite end so that they wouldn't touch in any way.
"First off, I'm going to make one thing very clear to you, Granger," Malfoy said menacingly. "I am afraid of no one. I know many types of Dark Magic—spells and curses that would give you nightmares."
"That's only one of my questions answered," Hermione stated stubbornly when Malfoy paused.
"That's the only one that needs answering."
Hermione remained quiet for a few moments. "Why don't we just go to the Ministry?" she said finally. "Since you can no longer be a part of the Hunters, why not finally turn them in? I'm sure you wouldn't go Azkaban if you helped turn the others in."
Malfoy's expression told her exactly what he thought of that idea, but he answered her anyway. "I'm not going to turn in the Hunters simply because of Mark. I just need to get rid of him."
"If you're not afraid of him, then why don't you simply 'get rid of him,' as you put it?" Hermione asked logically.
"It's a long story."
A heavy knocking sounded on the door before Hermione could push Malfoy for more information. Both of them reached for their wands.
"Who is it?" Hermione called, taking up a defensive position to the side of her door.
The door exploded inwards, showering Herminone with chunks of wood and metal. Had she not been to the side of the door, she certainly would have been killed. Mark and another Hunter stood in the doorway, wands aloft.
"So sorry it has to come to this, Hermione," Mark said regretfully, while Hermione regained her balance. "Take him." The rapped out order was directed to the other Hunter, whom Hermione recognized as the one she had tied up the night she'd tried to arrest Malfoy.
"Back off, Ramsey," Malfoy warned from behind her, his wand raised. "I'm still your leader, and I can drop you in a second."
Ramsey walked past Hermione towards Malfoy.
Hermione kept her eyes on Mark, ready to attack.
"You were going to betray us, Boss," said the deep voice of Ramsey from behind her.
"Is that what Mark told you?" sneered Malfoy.
Mark smirked at Hermione. "Ready to die?"
"Hardly," spat Hermione. For the first time since she became an Auror, she attacked first without waiting to be attacked. Mark barely managed to put up a shield charm in time to protect himself.
Hermione heard the shouted curses from behind her as Malfoy and Ramsey dueled in her living room. She hoped desperately that none of their curses would hit her, but then she focused every ounce of her concentration on Mark.
She had an advantage over him due to her competency with nonverbal spells, but blocking Mark's dark curses were slowly wearing her down. Liquid splashed all over her back from behind and she whirled around, seeing Ramsey dead on the ground. It took her only moments to realize that the liquid on her was blood that had sprayed from Ramsey's body as he fell.
Fighting back the urge to gag, she turned back to Mark, who was likewise staring at Ramsey.
"Too bad you can't use that curse on ME, Draco," Mark sneered softly. "You're useless against me."
Malfoy swore and threw a decorative knife from the bookshelf at Mark. Mark laughed and made the knife explode in midair. "Avada Kedavra!" Mark cried. Malfoy threw himself against the wall to avoid the curse, letting out a grunt of pain as his body connected with the wall.
"Attack him!" shrieked Hermione, knowing that two on one they could definitely beat him. She tried stunning him three more times, but Mark blocked each one.
"But he can't, Hermione!" cackled Mark, catching Hermione off guard with a hex that caused a deep gash to open in her thigh. "Oh, but didn't you tell her, Draco?"
Hermione gasped in pain, her leg threatening to give out, but she managed to remain standing. Malfoy quickly slid his arm around her, helping her stay on her feet.
"Say 'Atrum Decedo,'" he hissed into her ear.
So intent on revealing Draco's weakness, Mark didn't notice this whispered command from Malfoy to Hermione. "Draco made the very bad decision to—"
"A-Atrum Decedo!" gasped Hermione, her wand aimed squarely at Mark's chest.
"No!" whispered Mark, backing up as dark shadows burst out of her wand and swarmed towards him. They swirled around him, eliciting anguished screams from the man.
"Time to go," growled Malfoy, watching the scene in front of him with undisguised glee.
"What did I do to him?" Hermione asked in horror, Malfoy's arm around her waist the only thing keeping her from instinctively running to him. She glanced down at the blood streaming down her leg and realized that she needed the wound healed very soon.
"Unless you want to kill him now, which I doubt—your irritating moral standards and all—then I need to get out of here before whoever's coming up the stairs gets here," Malfoy interrupted her.
Hermione realized that she could hear footsteps on the staircase. "Okay, take me with you," she said, making an instant decision.
Malfoy stared at her, his face inscrutable. "I'll take you to Potter," he offered.
"Harry can't help me," Hermione said, her eyes blazing. "Take me with you—it's the only way I'll have a shot of taking down the Hunters."
"You may come, but know that my only goal is to get rid of Mark—the Hunters are staying in existence."
The two of them stared at each other for a brief moment, neither backing down.
A scream from the hallway outside the door made them remember their hurry. Malfoy disapparated the both of them away from Hermione's apartment.
They reappeared in a pitch-black place.
"Where are we?" Hermione said nervously, reassured by the fact that Malfoy's arm was still around her.
"We're in the Forbidden Forest."
"There are—there are werewolves in here! We can't stay here!" Hermione yelped, pulling free of Malfoy's grip. "Lumos!"
Bright light shone forth from her wand, illuminating the sleeping forest.
"Don't be a ninny, Granger—Mark won't look for us here, so we'll be safe for awhile," Malfoy explained.
Hermione looked around at the tall, thick trees looming threateningly overhead. The moon seemed to be losing a battle against the heavy tree canopy, and little to no light managed to filter down to the ground. Leaves rustled in the brush and a wolf howled in the distance.
"This is beyond creepy," she said, trying not to sound as scared as she felt.
"You can face down a cold-blooded murderer, but balk in the face of darkness?" Malfoy asked, smirking. His teeth shone in the darkness.
"I'm going to climb a tree," she spat, heading for the nearest oak. "You can stay down here and get yourself killed all you want."
She grabbed the lowest branch of the tree determinedly and swung herself up to the next branch. Pain shot through her right thigh as she was reminded of her unhealed wound. "Ah!" she cried out in pain, falling heavily to the ground.
Malfoy sauntered over to her side. He examined her leg. "Dumb move, Hermione."
Hermione gaped at him.
"If I'm going to be stuck with you, I might as well use your damn name," Malfoy said with a roll of his eyes. "Now don't yell, but this is going to hurt."
"I can heal my own—Ouch!"
Malfoy's muttered disinfecting spell made her leg feel like it was on fire for long seconds before it stopped. He used the same incantation he'd used on her when she had been attacked by The Scalper. The wound closed up completely, leaving only the bloody rip in her pants to show where it had been.
"Why am I always the one who gets hurt?" groaned Hermione. She accepted Malfoy's hand and got to her feet. "And thanks. Should I call you Draco now?"
"I suppose it would be fitting," he sighed in reply, releasing her hand.
The coyote howled again, this time sounding much closer.
Hermione let out a small shriek and fled to the foot of the tree she had tried to climb before. Within a minute, she was high in the branches. "Are you coming?" she called down, noticing that Malfoy had made no move to follow her; rather, he was staring up at her scornfully.
"If you insist."
Hermione watched appreciatively as he climbed the tree easily, his muscles in clear display. As he sat next to her on the branch, his hand brushed hers. Startled and slightly flustered for some reason she didn't understand, Hermione dropped her wand. It fell to the forest floor. "Oh, Merlin," she cursed, beginning to climb back down the tree. It wasn't until she had reached the bottom that Malfoy called down mockingly, "I could've summoned it for you, you know."
"Great!" she called in reply. "Now when I get shot by a centaur we'll know it's all your fault."
"There's nothing to be scared of in—shit, look out!"
"That's not funny!" Hermione yelled, thinking he was joking. She glared up at him.
A vicious snarl rumbled from behind her. Breathless with fear, Hermione turned around slowly.
An enormous, snarling wolf slinked out of the brush to her right, fangs bared. It was larger than a normal wolf, and jet-black. Its eyes gleamed red as it approached Hermione, who was frozen with fear.
"Get up here!" yelled Malfoy.
Hermione unfroze at his words and ran for the tree, her face completely white. The wolf was right on her heels as she reached the tree with no time to climb it. Malfoy was waiting on the lowest branch, his hand held out.
"Impedimenta!" screamed Hermione. Her aim was true, and the wolf froze in mid-bite, giving her the time she needed to grab Malfoy's strong hand. He gripped her hand tightly and swung her up beside him just as the wolf regained movement and snapped at her heels. Hermione scrambled upwards through the branches at top speed, ignoring the twigs and leaves that slapped across her face and stung her eyes. She could hear Malfoy beside her as they both climbed high to avoid the angry wolf.
When they had reached a good height, they paused, resting against the thick trunk of the tree. There was silence between the two of them except for Hermione's panicked breathing for a good thirty seconds before Malfoy said uncomfortably, "Are you okay?"
"No."
Malfoy paused for a moment before slowly putting his arm around her. Hermione remained stiff and unmoving for long seconds before letting out a sigh and allowing herself to relax against him.
"People don't bother me," she confessed. "But giant wolves are another story."
"I understand," murmured Malfoy.
Apart from wearing dirty, bloody pajamas, Hermione was extremely comfortable. Her heart was pounding, for some reason she didn't fully understand, and her entire body felt hot.
The two sat beside each other awkwardly for a few moments until Hermione finally said, "I'm exhausted right now, but tomorrow we need to figure out what to do."
"Naturally," Malfoy drawled.
Hermione leaned back against the tree, her eyes slowly drifting shut as she fell asleep.
