The idea of the potential solution came to her from the literal nothing as she was lounging in the library, under Draco's careful eyes two days after her conversation with Ginny. It was the twenty-first of December, dangerously close to the Holidays, but she hadn't the force to smile as they were getting closer and closer to mid-January, so her impending death.
Nevertheless, the idea hit her so hard, that the luxurious quill fell out of her hand.
You used to solve the impossible.
That's it!
"Draco," she said quietly, not risking attracting the attention of the other tables, looking up from her boring schoolwork only to see him already staring at her curiously. The quill must have landed with a louder thud than what she had heard. Oops. "I have an idea"
He contemplated the words carefully, watching her like a hawk – the way she held her head, not afraid to look him in the eyes, the dedication in her hazel eyes as they glinted in the dull lighting. He nodded once appreciatively, "Go on Granger, I haven't the whole day."
She allowed a light smile to quirk up her lips; his grumpiness was still on spot. "We should go to the Forbidden Forest," she stated flatly, her fingers playing with the end of her eagle quill. "I know of a method that can provide us with the blood."
His quicksilver eyes lit up with mirth, and he practically jolted out of his chair, hitting his hips in the table with a loud bang. She was hardly able to hold back a childish giggle when seeing him scowl at the wooden surface as if the poor thing had offended his family all the way back to the ancient roots.
It took twenty minutes to get to the edge of the forest, when it would normally take eight, but, with her being weakened down even, if her stuff was hanging from Draco's left shoulder, it was hard to get there on her own feet. She was panting heavily, trembling and really exhausted from the walk there, and trying to do her best to hide the signs of her state – she had a feeling that Draco didn't buy it for a second. He kept an eye on her constantly as she fought her way through the forest, holding onto the vast tree trunks lest the slippery soil make her fall.
Because if she fell, she would not be able to gain footing yet again, on her own.
With this alarming thought rolling in her head, she led the way, going 'round and 'round, determined to find their destination. She stopped didn't stop until reaching a seemingly regular bush.
An estatic smile settled on her lips as she fell on her weak knees. Draco – of course – was next to her the very same minute, gushing over her as if she were a nursery student, incapable of handling herself. By that point, maybe she was. Nothing mattered anymore, just the bush. Or rather, what was under the blackberry bush.
So she shrugged off his comforting hands immediately, and bent forward, her chest kissing the soil. She didn't even care about her robes getting dirty as she started shovelling with her fingers, desperately looking for the treasure that could spare her. She felt his hands on her back as he tried to stop her, push her away, muttering that 'I would do it, just tell me what you need' in her ear, but she did not relent for his wishes.
Hermione squealed when she felt the cold, hard stone against her skin and Draco leaned away when she pulled it out from the roots' covering with such haste. It nearly made her trip over by the plus force she invested in the action.
She grinned up at him. He did not look amazed.
"What's that thing? A bone?"
She rolled her eyes, slightly and almost imperceptibly leaning against him for leverage as she felt her body being weighted by the poison wrecking havoc in her system, "No, it is not," Hermione stated, wrinkling her nose, clearly offended as her voice was definite even if her posture showed everything but..., "I'm sure you heard about the Deathly Hallows."
He nodded. She mimicked him.
"And then Granger what? Everyone heard the story. It's a wizarding fairy tale... What now?" he asked mockingly, "You'd use this useless bone," at her pointed look, he quickly rephrased, "useless rock and play God all of sudden? Is that supposed to be the resurrection stone or what?"
She scowled, "It is the resurrection stone and not just a useless rock as you so kindly put it," she huffed and started rubbing it clean with a random tissue she found in her bag. She didn't really notice it was the one Draco gave her and she forgot to return ever since. "Your mother wrote me as I was asking more about Estrella's death, that her grave just around Hagrid's cottage... We could go there now and have this done with and then everything would—!"
Her eyes were shining and full of life, she was excited and happy for the first time in a month, but still, seeing her like this, hurt him deeply. He couldn't watch her having her hopes up, and so alive when he knew what she was chasing was something unreachable. So he turned his head away, muttering, "That's impossible."
From his periphery, he could see her falter and that beautiful and refreshing smile melt away from her cherry lips, but he didn't dare analyse her further. There was something definitely not okay with her – and that moment, he realized that.
She bit in her lower lip, trying to dismiss his words as they ate away the nice vision she built up for herself. "But that's it, Draco! Don't you understand? I can do impossible... Ginny said so," she argued weakly, the reason sounding childish even to her ears while her voice was trembling, barely louder than an errant breeze flitting through the forest.
Hermione found herself cradling the scarred forearm in her lap, and looking down, she became painfully aware that even if it was a part of her body – she couldn't move it; she couldn't feel with it.
He really had no idea why this sentence got the rise out of him – there were many reasons it did: it was ridiculously pointless, demanding and stubborn to the point of unreasonable and all above that it was perfectly illogical.
So Draco couldn't stop the angry word-vomit, "Do you really expect me to nod on something like that? Resurrecting a dead unicorn just to get her blood? Are you kidding me Hermione?" he spluttered when seeing the excited and unrelenting glinting in her eyes was still very much present. "Are you that desperate? You just can't go with it! You read the tale, you know the ending and if you manage – just you, because I sure as hell won't have anything to do with this idiotic idea – and patch up the rotten body of the damned horse, it wouldn't work, I assure you! It's just would make any good – respect the fucking way of Life, Granger!"
By the end, he was sure his entire face was flushed as he was trembling in absolute fury and ready to destroy an entire room. He would have killed for hexing something, but the aurors would see he was using magic out of the lesson time – and still, he couldn't risk something like this. It was too big of deal to fuck up right now.
So he growled like a mad animal, hardly registering Hermione's change in behaviour.
It was miniature – the bitter smile imperceptible on her face and her airy voice setting a new kind of fear in Draco's heart. He was afraid to hear the words which were on the top of her tongue.
"Are you willing to lose a chance of my love?"
Low-blow, she knew, but she was far over the point she wouldn't call all-in in any moment. The words were meant to be cruel and straight-forward but so true that it actually rendered Draco speechless even as he was preparing another tirade.
For a moment all he was able to do was gulp, looking at her wide-eyed, and even forgetting about his feverish temper while watching her absently play with the poison green grass with her only functioning hand, utterly dazed while smiling at the shapes she was drawing. Granger looked innocent, pure and oh-so-fucking perfect, but the whole situation put him off track and he didn't even dare fantasise anymore.
"You're mad," was the first thing that stumbled off his tongue.
She froze mid-movement, and then her smile widened. She looked up, her hazels shining with a plus, glassy surface. Held-back tears, he knew. "You do catch up on things faster than any of my other friends," she muttered.
Suddenly, an avalanche got loose in his chest and he needed to hold onto her narrow, boney and still so feminine shoulders. They clutched each other desperately, Hermione's fingers strongly tugging on his shirt while he did everything to offer her some comfort. They needed this. They needed this moment for themselves.
She started shaking as she sobs break loose, echoing in the quiet forest and at that same moment, Draco felt something shatter into tiny pieces in his chest, "I know how you— you feel about me, Malfoy...," she cried, her words hardly comprehensible in between the hurried gulps of air and equally quick overwhelming sobs that came with her exhales. "And you are— are well aware of my fee— feelings, too... Then why are you not answering me?"
He hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down with soothing words, little and sweet, even if knowing it was entirely hopeless. He wanted her to know he was there for her now, to get the tiny pieces together and puzzle her up when it was sure she would survive. So Draco pressed her petite form more into his chest.
"Because there are boundaries," he said eventually just to say something, "And I'm too big of a coward to get through them for now."
She just felt a bit more miserable with that answer, didn't even caring as she cried so loudly that even the birds took off to escape from hearing the horrid sounds. Hermione sniffed pitifully, being a bit more comforted by his close proximity and the rich chocolate scent that always lingered around him.
It felt good to be in his arms, so warm and so sheltered and she maybe fell for him a little more just because of that. But she couldn't... she really couldn't as she remembered that this moment, their moment wouldn't take so long... maybe just for this hour... or maybe, just for a few more minutes.
She wanted to be selfish, so badly, but she couldn't do that with Draco. Not when in a few weeks, he would need to let her go if the tiniest thing went wrong.
So she let the tears roll down on her cheeks freely, and turned away from his warm chest, slightly pushing him back, even if the gentle thuds of his beating heart wanted to lure her in, giving her a taste of what could be, being wrapped into his arms for eternity.
"Don't you understand Draco... I still need to do this. You have no idea how I feel, Draco... We shouldn't start something that ends with tragedy."
He sighed in her hair a heavy breathe, weighted by the future that was unknown for both. It lifted up the messy locks for a brief dance. Promising, mesmerising and definitely not enough.
"You forget so easily that I was in you place, Hermione... and I survived," he said harshly and couldn't resist: he pecked her cheek, too afraid that if he tainted her lips with his own, she would fall to pieces like a porcelain doll. She turned her head further away, and he sighed yet again. "Besides, the tragedies were always the most famous masterpieces throughout history. The only question is, Hermione," he said, his eyes never leaving her beautiful, feminine features, those features that made his heart beat widely, "Do we risk everything for the impossible?"
She couldn't stop the bitter laugh coming out – so wounded and so burning that it actually hurt to let it out, "You should be angry," she said, "And we don't have time for decisions so heavy – we just need to go for it. But... you made me doubt this idea. And we hardly have time for dating, Draco," she argued and tried hard to stay strong. Thankfully, the words came out unwavering and swelling with her force, "If we don't find the blood, we need to say goodbye." It was dry and sour on her tongue, and the glance he gave her was heavy, guarded and full of doubts. Even he didn't know what to do with the promise of love and knowing there was a good chance she would die before anything could actually start between them.
It made the lump grow in her throat yet again, but she was stubborn and rather, just rubbed the former tears away from under her eyes.
"You're getting bitter."
Just like that, she couldn't hold back that sudden urge to chuckle at his statement, "Really, what do you expect from me?"
He joined in, their moment awkward and heavy with unsaid words and bottled up emotions, "Right."
And just like that, the silence settled in minus the nearing nickering that ricocheted in the woods. They looked up, bewildered to face an irritated unicorn, demanding their attention, Solana standing in the soft daylight with all her grace.
They sighed heavily, knowing that their moment was over.