AN: Hi! Here's another chapter I hope you enjoy. This time was Cat (Catita55555 in FanFiction and AO3) who helped me with the corrections of this one. Thank you so much Cat! And thank you to all of you who are still interested in reading this story :) It's only 5 chapters left and we will have done!

Chapter 11: Mixed feelings.

Just like Granger had told him a few minutes before, the branches he'd gathered to make a bloody fire didn't catch. He hated being there, loathed nasty pesky critters and having to do things by hand that a simple wand wave would accomplish in a second. But what he hated the most in those moments was her stupid lopsided smile conveying self-sufficiency. Perhaps she felt superior to him because she had managed to light a fire in less than five minutes. Damn her and her campfire. Light a flame by hitting two stones? Which era had they gone back to, prehistoric?

He stared at the four fires with no intention of hiding his indignation. That those stupid kids had been able to light theirs and he hadn't, definitely didn't help to improve his bad mood. At least they lit up the place while sparking and providing enough heat not to freeze in that seedy place.

The twins had seen fit to start shoving and running around them, and the Muggle one seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he tried to get them to stand still, obviously without success. If Draco had been given his wand for a handful of seconds, the first thing he would have done would have been to petrify those brats. And matter settled.

As the incompetent supervisor didn't seem up to helping him in his task of setting up that stupid tent, Draco Malfoy retraced his steps and started trying on his own again. It wasn't long before he started kicking pieces on the floor. How could that be so complicated? The only thing that encouraged him to continue was the promise he could get inside and isolate himself from what was happening around him. Those kids wouldn't stop screaming and surely Granger was watching him with amusement… The mere idea that this was true made Draco look up slowly and maintain a challenging expression as he focused his eyes on the place where she had anchored her tent. With a hint of surprise easing the anger on his face a little, he realized she wasn't there. He could see inside her tent, which was completely empty except for her backpack. Then he glanced around the small camp they had set up, but was unable to find her anywhere. He huffed, shaking his head to forget about her for once. He picked up a couple more sticks and tried to attach them somehow. He wishes Granger had gotten lost, or rather, eaten by a bear.

"You won't get it that way," said that annoying voice behind him, making Draco wince at the unexpected observation.

She didn't stop, but walked past him in the direction of her tent. He appreciated that she was wearing striped pyjamas and that she was holding a transparent toiletry bag with hygiene products inside. Merlin, what would he give to get the hell out of there and clean up too. It was already pure necessity. His hair felt almost oily from the walk before and his armpits were suffering the consequences of the effort he was doing with that tent... not to mention the bugs that he felt sneaking through the bottom of his pants.

"Granger!" He exclaimed. The girl was about to go into her place, but stopped short and turned to look at him. He had the impression that she already knew he was going to end up begging for help sooner or later. And he was going to hate that. It was going to hurt his dignity to have to do it, but the day was already gross enough and he could not endure being this filthy any longer. He was going to give her what he wanted, he was going to ask her at once. "Help me?"

She stayed nailed to the ground for a few seconds, looking at him with half-closed eyes and parted lips. In them he could appreciate the hint of a smile.

"Help me… what?"

"Help me with this shit of a tent."

"I meant… what else?"

Draco could have killed her with his glacial gaze.

"P-L-E-A-S-E?"

Granger smiled again, really pleased, and began to walk towards him. Draco opted to give her a disgusted grin before interrupting her when she was about to say something.

"Don't even think about commenting on this," he threatened.

"I was just going to ask you to pass me those pickaxes over there," she said in a firm, clear voice. "Sometimes you think you are more important than you really are, Malfoy."

The boy picked them up from the ground to throw them at her feet. She crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly as she met his gaze.

"If you thought I was going to set up your tent, you are very wrong... and if I wasn't going to do it before, now even less," she added. "I will explain how to do it and you will do it alone. I've already built you half of the structure before, but it's about learning how to do things by yourself."

Draco approached her little by little, got so close that he could feel her breath hitting his neck. He looked down at her with ill-contained irritation, but the fact that the Gryffindor's pupils stared into his without showing an iota of fear caused something inside him that he couldn't explain. She was firm, almost defiant. Like when she made a fool of him in that damn Quidditch practice, like when she dared to challenge him to a duel. Who would have thought that one day she would also date someone like Theo? That Granger was playing with fire, and from his experience, all the girls who did likewise ended up burning.

Draco showed his teeth for a moment before crouching at his feet to pick up those pickaxes.

Harry told himself over and over that there was no way this could be right. It was the second time he had sneaked out of the room when all his companions were snoring in their beds, and what was he doing it for? To meet a Slytherin girl. But not with just any Slytherin, no... but with Pansy Parkinson herself. It was strange enough that the two of them had exchanged a couple of kind words, but that she was giving him dance lessons was definitely one of the weirdest things that had ever happened to him. Since when had the cynicism and arrogance that this girl had always displayed turn into empathy and love for others? Because yes, since that time she came to Hagrid's defense his perception of her had changed a bit. Harry had been cautious when they had to serve punishment in the dungeons, even more so when she suggested to share that textbook on Charms, but he had noticed that from time to time he had lowered his defenses when he was with her.

He remembered very well the day when she had brought up the subject of the dance and had offered to help him with it. His first reaction had been to refuse outright, could she blame him? That was, to say the least, weird. He dared to say even somewhat uncomfortable. Or very uncomfortable perhaps. But he had finally agreed, had let the prejudices be forgotten in the back of his mind and had accepted her proposal. Was he mad? He should be, but… why didn't he care as much as he should? He couldn't understand himself.

He opened the large door that had just appeared before him and slipped inside quickly. Parkinson was already looking at him in the distance when he saw her come out of the darkest part of the room.

"Potter," she greeted. "What a coincidence that we are in the same muggle activity… I didn't expect to have to compete against you again now that the last Quidditch match is over."

Harry took a couple of steps in her direction, hesitant. Why was he so intimidated? Not that she was threatening him with her wand, she wasn't even wielding it at the moment!

"Well, apparently we will have to," he finally answered.

The girl's face seemed to relax a bit as she cracked a small smile. Harry knew immediately that it was not a normal one, but a rogue that she definitely tried to hide by letting her straight hair act as a curtain for a few seconds. He decided not to say anything.

"Yeah, I suppose we'll have to do it again," she said, immediately regaining seriousness in her face and moving closer to him. She took her wand out of her robe pocket and started the music playing. "Ready?"

The boy held out his hand and she put hers on top. That simple touch already made his mouth go dry and he began to break out in cold sweats. It was strange that these sudden symptoms reminded him of the first dates he had with Cho. He didn't know why, but he felt just as nervous and agitated as when he was preparing to meet the Ravenclaw. He even dared to claim that he experienced those same sweats the day they had their first kiss at a table away from The Three Broomsticks. He couldn't stop an electric current from running through his body when reminded of the thought.

Parkinson squeezed his hand a little and he felt his heart skip a beat. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn't like he had never had physical contact with a girl. He remembered perfectly when he and Ginny used to arm-wrestle to determine which of them got the newest broom in the Burrow to go flying. He also touched Hermione often, they hugged and even held hands, but he had never felt… that. No, and now that he thought about it, the emotions he felt with Cho didn't even compare to this.

"You're not concentrating."

That voice quickly brought him back to the present. He fell into his own body as if a few seconds before he had been elsewhere, wandering in the depth of some of his memories. It took him a moment to understand that it hadn't been a question.

"Not really," he confessed, looking away from her but still holding her hand. A few moments passed that felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"You're wasting my time," she snapped.

Harry felt a little embarrassed instantly. This was all ridiculous, maybe he was thinking too much.

"You're right I'm sorry."

"Oh come on, stop apologizing for everything." Harry looked back at her, this time a little confused.

"I thought my lack of concentration would bother you," he excused himself.

"I definitely have better things to do than to be here with you…" She paused for a little breath. "Well, I'm not interested in your problems, Potter, but everyone worries about something. Drop it now so we can continue."

This time, Harry raised an eyebrow.

"You want to know what I'm thinking about?"

"Dump it," she urged.

They both fell silent again, they stayed that way long enough for the boy to think of something to say. It had to sound convincing if he didn't want to be discovered.

"I'm worried I'm not ready for the dance."

Harry saw her snort before laughing.

"That's why you don't take advantage of the time, right? You can't dance AND NOW you definitely can't lie, Potter."

"What worries you?" He asked, interrupting her mid-sentence. She had to divert her attention from him, and judging by the face the girl had put on she had succeeded. "You said that everyone worries about something."

She took a breath through her nose and gave him an almost fierce look. It was weird that they were having that conversation while he was still with a hand on her waist and she on his arm. It had fallen from his shoulder all the way there as they talked, but it seemed that neither of them had noticed it.

"Most people think that coming from a family like mine I have everything I want and I never face problems. You are the first to suppose that I may be worried about something."

For the first time, Harry felt humanity in the Slytherin's words, but this only lasted until she laughed in an almost cynical way.

"I shouldn't tell you this, but we've already broken too many rules, don't you think?" She licked her lips surreptitiously before continuing. "My biggest concern is that Draco's parents and mine want to marry us after graduation," she said naturally.

He didn't know why that information hit him like a kick in the pit of his stomach.

"I thought marriage agreements between families were a thing of the past."

She laughed again, making him feel a bit ignorant.

"You're wrong. We are supposed to marry since we were babies. Marriage agreements exist, you may not see them, people don't vociferate them for you to know it, but they still exist."

"Damn. I guess it has to be..."

"Horrible."

Harry removed a hand from her waist to adjust the glasses to the bridge of his nose, then put them back in the same place. He could understand why it seemed horrible to be forced to marry Malfoy, who the hell would want to have anything to do with him? Worse yet, who would want him around until death do them part?

He saw her purse her lips a little as she looked at a point above his head. The smile had faded from her face, it seemed that this issue worried her more than she was willing to accept. But she was much better than Malfoy, he was convinced. That fool was light years away from being half as good as her.

Theo drummed his fingers on the armrest of the chair slowly. He had been suspicious of her and her attitude for a couple of days, because although she was very good at hiding, he was not so stupid as not to realize that she was up to something just by looking a little. That strange look of complicity with Granger had finished confirming that there was something that was beyond his knowledge... but he was willing to find out what it was about. Especially since something told him that the Gryffindor's sudden interest in him hadn't been accidental… and no one was playing with Theodore Nott. Absolutely nobody.

The slight sound of footsteps approaching made him look up immediately. Pansy walked on tiptoe, too deep in thought to notice him. Theo picked up his wand and brought out a point of light so powerful that it illuminated the room.

"It's almost dawn," the boy greeted. She was startled, staying anchored to the ground when she realized his presence. Theo could see the seesaw of her chest begin to increase. "Good time for an evening walk."

His friend took a deep breath to try to calm herself. It was clear that she hadn't expected to find him there.

"I thought the only one suffering from insomnia here was Draco," she said, feigning naturalness.

"I've been awake," he answered without giving it more importance. "Hey, do you think it was his insomnia that made him fall asleep yesterday?"

Pansy opened her nostrils wide. She already sensed where he wanted to go, she knew he wasn't stupid enough not to notice.

"Possibly," she said before resuming the march to go to her bedroom.

Theo got up, he didn't have to take more than a couple of steps to get in her way.

"I didn't expect you to admit it," he growled. "But I don't buy that it was something fortuitous."

She scowled at him on purpose. She was aware of how far a Slytherin could go for revenge… she knew from experience.

"Are you suggesting it's my fault that he fell asleep?"

"Perhaps."

"And what do I get from that?" She challenged him. He gave her one of the most intense looks she had ever seen.

"Maybe you wouldn't win anything, but someone else would." The memory of his fleeting, passionate affair with Granger made him wrinkle his nose. He still didn't know why, but he knew he was not on the wrong track to find answers.

"That sounds very little Slytherin."

"I already know it. You never do anything for free…" he said, making sure to make her understand that he wouldn't forget about that matter so quickly. Then he turned and disappeared behind the door of his room.

Draco sniffed again the whitish liquid from that ugly old mug that Paul had handed him that morning. He had watched him pour water into it and then add some powder. Somehow the water had acquired that colour after stirring it with a teaspoon.

"It's powdered milk, boy," the supervisor explained as he offered another cup to Granger. "It's a good option when you don't have much space in your backpack. I have also brought some packets of cookies, but keep in mind that they must last until Friday."

Draco stood while the others sat around the remains of one of the bonfires from the night before. He refused to sit on the ground like some beggar. He shifted his body weight to the other foot and smelled that strange liquid again before deciding to give it a try. He raised the mug to his lips and sipped a little of its content, spitting it aside as the taste made its appearance on his taste buds. The others raised their heads to look at him.

"After yesterday's bland soup I thought I would never taste anything more disgusting… clearly I was wrong," he snapped in a bad way. Not only did he practically sleep on the ground (because that sleeping bag didn't prevent him from feeling the dry stones and sticks on his back) but they also wanted to starve him to death. It was clear that he wasn't going to drink that crap. He turned the cup and spilled what was supposed to be milk on the floor before the astonished gaze of the supervisor and the other three. Then he walked over to one of the twins and snatched the package of cookies from his hands.

"I'm sorry you think that about typical camping foods," the man said, looking away from him and stirring his own milk.

"Don't worry Paul, his ridiculously exquisite palate is the only one to blame," she interjected with her peculiar know-it-all tone. "What you offer us is delicious, thank you."

Draco scowled at her, but Granger didn't even deign to look at him again.

"I hope you find something you have achieved on your own more palatable," the man added. "Because that is today's activity. We will go fishing for the fishes that will be our food later."

Draco snorted, raising a hand to his forehead in indignation. Now he also wanted him to fight over his food.

Theo had sat very close to Pansy at breakfast to remind her in a subtle way that he wasn't going to take his eyes off her until he found out what she was up to. She had arrived in the great dining room earlier, so she got up as soon as she finished her toast and disappeared through the door without a single word to him.

A few minutes later, he, Blaise, and Daphne were walking down the lawn to the soccer field. They were followed by a couple more students in blue gear, and when they finally got there the woman blew her whistle loudly.

"Good morning to all!" She said with energy and a smile on her face. "Have you practiced what you learned yesterday? I hope so, because today I woke up wanting to improvise a game... but first, let's warm up!"

The Slytherin caught the sidelong glances saint Potter gave Pansy as they ran around the field. They weren't too frequent, but there they were. And she couldn't seem to avoid throwing him her own covert fleeting glances from time to time. It was insulting that she thought that he wouldn't notice that there was something strange between them. And it's not that he cared much who her friend decided to go out with, he was actually bringing it out in the open, but if he could get revenge on her with that… he would definitely use it against her. He still had to gather more information to confirm his simple assumptions, but he knew the shots were going that way. At least it was something.

Twenty minutes later, the woman called them to the center of the court.

"If I remember correctly, the houses with students who had played football before were Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, am I right?" Said the coach. "Well, you will be the first to face each other, so the teams will be balanced and the other two houses can start to catch up."

Everyone from Ravenclaw and Slytherin sat on the grass, outside the lines that delimited the field. Pansy wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. She looked a bit bored, but there was also some concern in her serious countenance. Well, she clearly felt threatened by him. Theo put his hands on the back of his head and lay flat. He didn't care about that shitty match, he didn't care what Pansy might be thinking, be it excuses or possible blackmail. He had a lot to plan, he had to find a way to play it well before the end of that week. Because he was going to pay them, Pansy Parkinson was guilty of having toyed with him for an unknown benefit... and no one used him without suffering the consequences. Most of the time he was a rare Slytherin, but he was no fool.

He still had to include Draco, Granger and Potter in the equation, but something told him that he would end up finding out their intentions soon.

She had better be forewarned.

Draco still couldn't figure out when he had agreed to get on that seedy boat. It was shabby, unstable, and he had to share it with Granger too. According to the muggle, who was with the twins in another boat not far from them, it had been Dumbledore who had made them appear there along with the fishing rods. The boy snorted. At least he could have put a spell on them that lightened their weight and made the task of rowing lighter.

Unlike how it was seen from the camp, the river was quite wide. Its waters were crystal clear and calm, but still Paul had forced them to put on a life jacket. All of this was most ridiculous and humiliating to him.

"Okay, I think this is fine!" The man exclaimed to make himself heard. "Now put down the oars and use the rods as I have taught you!"

The Slytherin looked at the container at his feet in disgust. Worms. He would never have thought that one day he would find himself in the position of having to pick up dirty worms with his own hands. He was still not convinced if he would finally manage to do it. He'd seen Paul do it on the shore and it seemed easy, but it was gross. And the worst part was knowing that he could easily empty the river of fish with a single wave of his wand. Damn, he missed it like he had never missed anything or anyone in his whole life.

A hand entered his field of vision, bringing him back to reality suddenly. She moved her eyes to see the expression on his face as she chose which worm would die pierced by the sharp hook of her rod. Granger didn't seem to enjoy it at all, but she looked quite determined to do so. After a few seconds she finally picked one up, grimaced slightly as she placed it where it had to be, and then threw the hook into the water. Then she caught his prying eyes.

"What?" She said, playing tough.

But Draco didn't feel like starting a conversation with her. He completely ignored her and mimicked the steps she had followed a few seconds earlier. He just hoped that what Merlin wanted him to catch that morning was good.

A half hour passed without incident. Paul was the first to catch something, followed by Granger and one of the twins. Sitting in a boat waiting for the end of the rod to move and indicate that something had been biting was quite a boring activity, and that was something that would soon take its toll.

The boy who had managed to catch something began to bug his brother and both began to fight. When Draco realized this, he watched with amusement the way they used their hands to resolve the conflict, although he would have preferred to see flashes of light flying from side to side. It had never occurred to him that someone might have a duel on a boat, but now that he thought about it, it must be something most entertaining.

The man tried to put order, but the space was so limited that when he tried to get between the children the boat was destabilized and they all fell into the water, which caused Draco to laugh out loud. He could see the disapproval on Granger's face out of the corner of his eye, but that only made him laugh more heartily.

"Help them!" She shouted.

"They can drown," the boy managed to say with difficulty as he doubled over and wiped away a tear as a product of laughter. "I feel like going back to Hogwarts, if I'm honest."

"You are a wretch, Draco Malfoy."

What had just happened had put him in such a good mood that he wasn't even bothered by her comment.

"They have life jackets, don't be stupid," he replied.

An unexpected shove caused him to lose his balance suddenly. He stopped cracking up as soon as he felt the threat of falling into the water, but before he did he managed to grab onto the edge. He hadn't felt for so little. Still holding on tightly, he looked up to find her giving him an almost insolent look before jumping into the water to help the others.

"I would like to have your attention for a few minutes," said the old director's voice at dinner. He had tapped his glass until everyone in the room stopped talking and looked at him. "I am pleased to announce that the Ministry of Magic has decided to hold a parent meeting at the castle. After much debate, the minister and I have come to the conclusion that it is convenient that your parents also contribute their bit in this campaign on equality that we are organizing. Parents, muggle and wizard alike, will have the opportunity to interact with each other and witness the success that this week of non-magical activities is resulting in," he announced. "We have decided that it will be held on Friday so that they can witness the last day of Muggle activities, but any of them who wants to spend the night at the castle to attend the play on Saturday is welcome."

Theo couldn't help but wonder if all of this was really necessary. First, they were forced to do activities and sports that they had never practiced before, then they wanted their parents to also participate in that absurdity... Not that he was a fan of Muggle people, but he didn't intend to annihilate them all, and he doubted that any of his companions were the exception. All the Ministry was doing was trying to clear its name by making it clear that it had obviously not been able to control the handful of dark wizards that existed in the UK. There were no more, they were only a few... and they had to pay the consequences of their ineptitude.

He wiped his mouth on his napkin and got up before anyone else. He had a slight feeling that Pansy would have another night out tonight, and he was willing to find out where the hell she was going. He headed for the dungeons, hiding in a dark corner from where he could perfectly see the entrance to their common room, and waited patiently until he saw her enter about fifteen minutes later. He wanted her to imagine that he was already in bed when she didn't see him hanging around, so he stayed in the shadows as he put all his attention on that door. If his intuition didn't fail and she slipped back down the hallways in the middle of the night, he would follow her to her hiding place. He waited fifteen more minutes, half an hour, one, one and a half… until he finally saw her leave there without making a sound. An electric current ran through his spine and made him jump a little at the site of emotion. He knew it, he knew she was up to something.

He followed her steps cautiously, keeping his breath at bay and making sure his feet did not make noise as he walked. At that time, anything was rumbling loudly on the castle walls, so he had to be careful not to be discovered. He left a certain distance between them and they climbed the first flight of stairs, the second, the third… until they reached the seventh floor. Theo crept behind her as he tried to imagine what could be so important that she was carrying it so secretly.

The boy hid behind an armour when she stood in front of an empty wall. He peeked out a bit, just enough to appreciate a door appearing out of nowhere and see her sneak inside. When he got to to assimilate what had just happened, the door had already vanished. It took him a few minutes to realize what it was: the Room of Requirement. He had heard of it, but had never made much of it. After all, it was useless trying to make it appear to you when you didn't need anything urgently, right? What would Pansy keep inside? He was rambling on about possible answers when a boy crossed the corner and suddenly passed him. It was so fast that all he could do was put his back to the wall and hope he didn't notice him. He could almost smell the scent of his clothing as he passed, a uniform with red accents and the Gryffindor crest embroidered across the chest. Harry Potter. It was Harry Potter. He held his breath and waited for him to go away. The boy was so distracted that he didn't notice him.

Theo breathed again and peeked out from behind the armour, watching curiously as the room appeared in front of him as well. Potter closed the door as he entered and it took just over five seconds for the wall to regain its normal appearance.

Theo turned and went back the way he'd come. He didn't need to stay, he had already confirmed his suspicions. Pansy had a crush on Potter, she was most likely going to fuck him every night in that room, but ... how had they gotten to that point? It had only been a couple of days and she seemed to have suddenly noticed his existence, though the rest of the year and the years before they had not even spoken once. And what were Draco and Granger doing in all of this?

He no longer cared about making a bit of noise in the hallways, Mrs. Norris could go to hell tonight. All he needed was to put things together a bit to get to the bottom of the matter. He entered the common room, discovering a jacket on the back of an empty chair. It looked like Pansy's. He walked over to it and rummaged in its pockets, finding what appeared to be a note. He read it to himself.

23h. Stairs to the seventh floor.

Did that confirm that the girl was up to something? Surely, although it didn't look like his friend's handwriting. So why was it strangely familiar?

He went straight to his bedroom, opened the trunk at the foot of his bed, and began to rummage through the objects inside. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for: the scroll with which Hermione had shown him how clever she was in Potions even without going to class. He took the note he had stolen from Pansy's jacket and compared it to the parchment. The handwriting was identical, of that there was no doubt.

So Pansy was up to something, but so was Hermione. And they were doing it together.

He put both papers in his trunk, put on his pyjamas and went to bed. Pansy never did things altruistically; he knew that very well. He sighed as he remembered the moment his friend had told him that Granger was interested in going on a date with him. She had led him to believe that she had approached her and asked her to be the intermediary between them out of shame, but now he knew that the reality was different. The only person responsible for all this had been Pansy, but why? What had she gained from that? Make him have a couple of good times with Granger? Get Draco jealous?

An idea appeared in his mind after that thought. What if that was the plan from the beginning? What if both had joined forces to get the friend of the other? Was it possible that it was a game or were they completely serious? He had no way of knowing, but the two of them had behaved strangely during the week. Pansy confronting Draco to defend a teacher and spending hours in the library, Granger being excellent on a broom right off the bat, challenging Draco to a duel, shopping for lingerie and asking him on a date...

Pansy loved challenges, and he knew full well that she used to make whatever deals she needed with the people who could ensure her winning them. Who could help her get Potter to notice her? Granger. And this one must have liked Draco a lot to agree to make deals with someone like Pansy. It was something like "your friend for mine"; a mutual agreement for infallible help that almost definitely assured them victory.

He should have noticed earlier.

The worst thing about that day hadn't been that they had had to share a couple of trout with each other, no. That had been bad, but the sudden raining had been worse. The sky had turned dark grey a few minutes after they finished eating and a waterspout had fallen on them before they had time to take cover. Each of them had run to their tents and stood there for what Draco seemed like forever. How many hours had he spent cursing and hating everyone in there? It must have been quite a few when he had ended up falling asleep to the sound of the rain. He woke up with coughs and a voice that came from outside. He rubbed his eyes before yawning and unzipping the tent he had set up so well the day before. It had stopped raining, but now the sky was beginning to fade into the darkness of night.

"Oh, Draco," Paul said from across the camp. "Now I was going to go tell you. It seems that Ben and Gabriel have caught a pretty serious cold, can you tell Hermione that I am going to take them back to the castle? Your nurse should cure them in no time."

The man's voice was hoarse and flickering. The boy saw the children wrapped in two large blankets, they were coughing and barely able to stand. Paul's legs were shaking a little as he turned the map in his hands endlessly.

"This… Yes, this is this way. The closest portkey is over here." Draco stood there watching the man help them walk and carry them out of sight. Finally.

Relieved after taking a deep breath, he was about to shut himself back inside his tent, but he still hadn't been able to get a word from Granger about what had happened that morning. He hadn't forgotten that her push in the boat had nearly wiped him out in the water, and he hadn't missed noticing her arrogant behavior. This was not on. If it was inevitable that he would have to endure her presence, he preferred the rude Granger, but there were limits she was already overstepping.

He left the tent and walked towards hers trying not to step on the muddier ground. He opened that small cloth door without permission, experience told him that when it came to teaching someone a lesson it was best to catch the person off guard... but when he looked inside he discovered that she was nowhere to be found. Her backpack was off to the side and there was a book on her sleeping bag, but no sign of her. He sat up and looked around. Had she gone to stretch her legs? They had spent the whole damn day locked in a very tight, unventilated space.

Draco thought it would be great if he could intercept her through the trees without her seeing him coming, so he set off immediately. He didn't know what he was going to tell her exactly, but he had to point out (and it was imperative that she understood) that no one messed with Draco Malfoy and didn't suffer the consequences. It was too horrible enough to have to live this experience with her, the least he expected was that she knew how to behave.

He trudged out of the clearing. The lush canopies of the trees had made the ground in that area less muddy, which was good for him to avoid getting his expensive shoes so dirty.

All was silent and darkness had already completely fallen on him. She couldn't have gone very far, could she? The sound of a sigh confirmed that he was closer than he thought. He turned left and crept up to where it had come from. When his eyes managed to focus on her in the dark, there was nothing he could do but rush to hide behind the broad trunk of a tree. He knew she hadn't seen him, there was no way she could have done it with her back to him, but the fact that she was naked made him act that way.

Merlin, she was naked. So naked.

Draco squeezed his eyes shut for a couple of seconds. He was fighting the urge to lean out again, and he was doing it with all his might. He didn't even understand why it was being so hard for him, but he eventually succumbed to the most primal instincts of man. He allowed himself to get out from behind the trunk to look at that scene again. Her clothes hung from a low branch of the tree in front of her, her panties completely exposed. One towel rested on another, under the pyjamas he'd seen last night and a new change on the pile. She was standing there, pouring a bottle of water over her body and rubbing it with a white mitten. The drops fell through her hair and slid down the groove of her lower back, wetting each and every one of her curves.

Draco found himself licking his lips in a completely involuntary gesture. But what was he doing? Why was he wanting Granger in such an inappropriate way? Why was his sex throbbing uncontrollably under his pants instead of feeling disgusted to see her like this? He knew that the situation should have disgusted him to the point of gagging, but all he was capable of feeling right now was something that embarrassed him. It wasn't right, it wasn't right.

Draco forced himself to step back to leave, but a branch snapped under his feet and the sound it made was louder than it should have been. Granger looked over her shoulder, finding him a few feet away, unable to take his eyes off her. Far from being scandalized or trying to cover herself, the girl remained surprisingly calm. She held his gaze and they both shared a tense moment. Somehow Draco couldn't find the strength to run out of there, and that didn't seem to bother the girl at all. After a few seconds, she ran her eyes down his body to the bulge that had appeared between his legs. She pursed her lips a little as the corners lifted and she looked straight ahead again. Draco took advantage of the moment she wrapped the towel around her body to stumble away from there.

As always I'm excited to know what you think about the story so far, so...

REVIEW? :)
Cristy.