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Chapter 9 - The Amazon River Part 2
Hermione woke some hours later, legs tangled and snuggling with Draco Malfoy. He held her possessively to his side, and her hand rested loosely on his torso. She watched as his chest rose up and down steadily. His smell was alluring, and she couldn't help but allow the tip of her note to graze across his pale skin. Careful not to wake him she peered up at Draco's face, studying him as if he were a puzzle she was trying to solve. She noticed how his strong masculine jaw was softened by the angelic silky platinum hair that framed his face, which even after a good shag looked styled. His eyes were closed and peaceful, yet the corners of his eyes had faint lines which spoke of a time when a boy knew no such peace and was forced to grow up too quickly. His lips which she once thought were thin and unfeeling now held a hint of a smile and looked very kissable. Who would have thought that lips previously capable of such vile words, could now bring her such pleasure?
With a flutter of his eyelids, grey eyes met hazel. She had been caught staring….
"Hey" his voice had a husky undertone.
"Hey yourself" she responded, feeling a little sheepish.
Draco's fingers slowly ran up and down the ladder of her bare ribcage as if he were playing an instrument.
"That was…" Draco grinned leaving words unspoken.
Hermione was glad to know that he too had enjoyed their encounter.
"Something?" she offered as she rolled onto her back, allowing the evening air to kiss her exposed flesh.
"So what now?" his fingers grazed reverently along her cheek bone before he tilted her head up so he could now study her features.
Hermione froze.
She detected the double meaning to his question. What do we do now? her inner monologue questioned. Nothing was the obvious answer. Yet she couldn't help but mentally catalogue what had transpired so far between them. There was no doubt that her and Draco were compatible in many ways. They had worked well as a team under extreme circumstances, they had opened up to one another about their respective scars from the war, she genuinely enjoyed his company, and their compatibility in the bedroom had now been proved several times over. Not to mention the way her heart beat increased when he looked at her a certain way, or how his words seemed to be able to bypass all of the defences that she had built up over the years.
If she was a normal witch under normal circumstances she would explore this thing further without forethought. However that was not an option. Hermione knew that so much of her life was uncertain and she did not wish to drag anyone down with her. She did not want to hurt Draco. She also did not want be a burden to anyone. She definitely did not want to complicate things with inconvenient feelings. But then Hermione also knew she was prone to over analyse things and it was possible she was taking his attentions for more than what they were. A casual fling. However a distinct twist in Hermione's stomach told her that things were already getting complicated. However instead of addressing Draco's question directly she decided to take the easy option. So much for being a Gryffindor her inner voice chastised.
She could tell he was waiting for an answer.
"Well that is easy" Hermione quickly disentangled her legs, careful not to make eye contact. Pushing off the bed she continued "I am pretty sure we are supposed to be attending the evening ritual, what's more… I'm famished. I seem to have worked up an appetite".
Hermione stood up and turned to face him. She was not fazed by her own nakedness but was definitely affected by his. She tried to focus on his face as his torso was bare, and his lower half was only just covered by thin sheets and left little to the imagination.
"Now can you please be a gentleman and provide me with some clothes. I seem to have left mine near the river".
Draco's face was unreadable, he was perceptive and was clearly digesting the avoidance of his question. There was a tension in the air before he too pushed off the bed, wrapped the sheet loosely around his hips, and opened a large trunk at the side of the tent. Was he upset with her? Was he relieved? She couldn't quite tell.
Unintentionally Hermione found herself enjoying the view of his lean but fit body. He was as pale as she remembered, not muscled to the point of obscenity, but had a natural athleticism to his form.
After rummaging around for a moment Draco threw a bundle of clothes in Hermione's direction which she fumbled when catching.
She breathed a sigh of relief as the tension in the air dissipated.
"I should have guessed" Hermione clicked her tongue as she inspected the clothing to see it was a large Slytherin quidditch t-shirt and shorts.
"You have to allow me this… I have thought about you wearing this exact outfit many times" he smirked.
Hermione shook her head and knew that her cheeks would be bright pink from blushing under his gaze.
"Do you bring these clothes everywhere? Put them on any willing witch and relive your teenage fantasies?"
"Ahhh.. but you see, you are not just any witch Hermione" he waggled his eyebrows.
With a wave of his wand, Draco shrank the waistband so it would fit around Hermione's waist, but left the t-shirt unaltered.
Hermione gave him a questioning look but he offered her no explanation as he threw on a white shirt and tailored beige shorts.
The early evening had seen the pilgrimage guests sit around a fire and indulge in some broth and sourdough bread. Hermione sat next to Draco and enjoyed his company. They talked about everything and anything. Hermione spoke about her work for the first time in great detail. She explained the challenges she has faced, and how she has strived to not only be an advocate for the most vulnerable in wizarding society, but argue against archaic legislation and create precedent for change. His hand rested lightly on her knee, and occasionally rubbed light circles with the pad of this thumb as he listened to her attentively. He spoke about his various business interests and how his favourite project was supporting the advancement in healing potions and treatments. This gave Hermione pause and she now understood why he had been staring at her potions so intently the other day. She was reasonably certain he wouldn't have recognised the potion given it was bespoke in its design for her specific health needs.
Hermione purposely ignored the occasional questioning glance she noticed from others. True, her current outfit was basically a flashing neon sign saying she had Draco had slept together, however she could not bring herself to care. She was on this pilgrimage to live her life carefree for once, and what she was enjoying with Draco proved she was doing just that.
After everyone had finished their meals the pilgrimage were told to get changed into their white linen garments and meet on the bank of the river. Hermione and Draco went their separate ways, and Hermione was glad to be back in her tent. Despite the wonders of the pilgrimage, it did seem to lack privacy at times she mused.
She immediately headed to her bag and downed one of her potions with one well practiced gulp. True, her symptoms had not been so bad today, however past experience had taught her to not take the lack of obvious symptoms to mean that she did not need the potion. In the early days of her diagnosis, she had felt fine one day, had failed to take the prescribed minimum dose of her potion and proceeded to fall gravely ill. Two weeks at St Mungo's was enough to hit home the message that she needed to take her medication regime seriously, regardless of what her symptoms were doing any particular day.
Hermione slipped out of the Slytherin clothes and quickly changed into the loose white linen garment that had been supplied.
She emerged from her tent barefoot and wand securely in hand. She looked over and noticed that Draco had also just emerged from his tent. They exchanged a brief smile before they all started to walk through the thick rain forest towards the river as a group. The atmosphere was quiet and lacked the normal buzz of conversation.
At the bank of the river, the sound of the water filled the air. The sun had already disappeared beyond the tree line, the stars were just visible and the moon was rising. The silver light of the moon shimmered beautifully across the water's surface.
The leader of the pilgrimage spoke first.
"Prepare for the sacred Amazon ceremony. The purpose is one of cleansing and embracing the fluidity of water with your magic. The alignment of the moon and starts tonight will allow us to access the true magic and awaken the river".
With that, the leader knelt down reverently and dipped the tip of his want into the river. He then started to chant nen cuivienen over and over. Everyone else took the cue and followed suit, kneeling down and placing the tips of their wands into the river.
"nen cuivienen, nen cuivienen, nen cuivienen, nen cuivienen" the group chanted in unison.
The river's current appeared to increase and the water became luminescent. The luminous water, then seemed to awaken and crept over the wands and caused everyone's skin to also glow. Interestingly despite everyone glowing, not one witch or wizard looked the same, as it seemed that certain areas of their bodies glowed more than others.
The luminous water brought a surreal tingly sensation to Hermione's skin. As the glow crept along her skin it felt like an instant cooling relief, as if someone had applied a healing balm over a burn she could not see.
Hermione noticed that she seemed to be glowing brighter than everyone else, almost as bright as a Patronus Charm if she were to be honest. This caused the leader of the pilgrimage to narrow his eyes and give her a questioning look. Hermione ignored this, and scanned for Draco, who, when she spotted him, was glowing brightest around the dark mark on his left forearm. She also noted that Rodca was glowing lightly in the same spot which made her wonder if he too had been a deatheater back in the day. Hermione then also noticed Merehion, who was kneeling right next to Rocda, also seemed to be glowing almost everywhere, but the glow was much fainter than Hermione's.
The pilgrimage group continued to chant the words nen cuivienen throughout the night as the moon crept high up above them in the bejewelled sky. The Amazon River was alive and the cleansing magic continued to flow over their bodies and mingled with their magic well into the night.