Wilac watched as the brown girl turned and ran for her life. The blond boy stood for a mille second, before charging after her, closing the distance between them within seconds. He followed, as quickly as his little legs could carry him, but it looked more like his feet were shuffling, not running.
Hermione flung her body around the trunk of a tree, and started to run up a mound of sticks and roots. Her legs started to burn, and her heart wasn't getting enough oxygen, but she didn't slow down. Oh no, she won't slow down.
The muddy liquid on Draco's face was flying off, or dripping down onto his black jacket. He was drawing closer to Granger, and could almost hear her panting heavily.
Hermione reached the top of the hill, and was just starting to run down when something large and heavy slammed into her back, toppling her over. The two bodies rolled over each other, and became tangled as they rolled down the hill, scratching, bruising and hitting themselves on various objects.
Hermione threw her elbow out hard, hitting something soft, and heard a yell of pain. Seeing tree tops, then grass, roots, leaves, and then tree tops again, something hit her in the nose as she rolled over. It was like a washing machine. Then something hard and rough hit her in the temple. Hermione gasped in shock, and then blacked out.
Something hard hit Draco in the lip as he continued to roll, tangled up with Granger's body. He yelled out. He could feel his stomach turning, and felt ill. He reached out wildly trying to grab something to stop them, but in the process, his elbow hit something that felt like a nose.
Mille seconds after that, he heard the sound of rock against bone, and heard Granger gasp, then nothing.
Oh shit! She's knocked out! Damnit!
The tangled group slowed, as the hill ended. They rolled for a few more meters, before Draco could break free. Hermione however, being unconscious, didn't stop, and continued rolling towards a lake, filled with the murky brown water.
"Stop!" Draco shouted, as he slowly sat up and saw Hermione's body about to roll off the bank. He knew it was pointless. "Stop bloody rolling woman!"
He scrambled to his feet, and fell over. His balance was all screwed up! But he tried again, took a second to gain his balance, and ran towards the lake, swaying violently.
Hermione's unconscious body rolled off the bank, and into the water. She rolled a few more times while she went deeper and deeper into the lake, before her body followed the bank down, below the surface, and Hermione's head disappeared.
Draco quickly untied his cloak and unzipped his black jacket, revealing a white shirt, and threw them down before running into the lake, after her.
Ignoring the fact that he was now saving the very girl he was only moments ago going to murder, Draco's hands frantically searched for Hermione's body under the water.
Not feeling anything but lumpy water, and knowing that he only had a few more seconds, Draco screwed up his face in revoltion before ducking under the surface.
Time slowed down conciderably as Draco remained under the water. He kept his eyes firmly shut, as his hands searched for the body. Something stringy tangled around his hand, and Draco felt a glimmer of hope- hair!
He rolled his hand around, wrapping the hair around it, and yanked it towards him. Hey, he can still get payback while saving her right?
His spare hand reached out and felt a shoulder, then stomach. He grabbed her tightly, then swam to the surface as his lungs started to burn.
They broke the surface, and after making sure that Granger's head was above the surface, Draco started swimming to the bank, one hand holding Granger, while the other flailed around.
It was a struggle, and luckily he had muscles from Quidditch, or he doubted that he would have managed to swim through the dense liquid. It felt like bloody jelly. But finally, he reached the bank, and dragged Hermione well away from the water.
Draco knelt down beside her, and wiped her hair away from her face. He lent close, and couldn't hear any breathing.
"Crap." He muttered. "Oh no you don't granger! You are not leaving me here all by myself!" He slapped her left cheek. "and I am not," He slapped her again. "Performing CPR on you!"
Wilac caught up to him, after stumbling down the hill, and saw Hermione lying down on the bank, and Draco slapping her.
Draco looked up. "Do you know CPR?"
"Pardonish?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Never mind." He turned back to Granger. "Wake up!" He slapped her again. "Oh come on, book stores are going to go broke if you don't wake up!" He started shaking her shoulders, aware that a small tear was clouding his right eye. "Please?"
Wilac just stood beside him, unsure of what to do.
"Potter and Weasley are going to kill me." Malfoy muttered, furiously wiping his eye. He slapped her again, just checking. "Wake the bloody hell up!"
His heart was sinking with every second, but after a suspenseful pause, Hermione coughed, and rolled onto her side.
Draco sighed in relief.
Hermione took in several deep gulps of air. There was a searing pain in her right temple, her head was burning, like someone had pulled on her hair, and both of her cheeks were stinging. Plus Evey other inch of her body was battered and bruised from the tumble down the hill.
She gasped in pain, and opened her eyes. Malfoy was a few meters away, getting his jacket and cloak, while Wilac stood next to her body, watching anxiously. Hermione looked down and saw she was soaking wet.
"What the hell happened?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her cheek.
Malfoy walked casually over. "Lots of things." He said, sitting down.
Hermione looked at him. He looked terrible. His lip was bleeding, his blond hair wasn't blond anymore, but a muddy brown, and his black jeans were a little torn, and extremely dirty. He also had a slightly bruised eye, and some cuts on his hands.
I probably don't look much better, Hermione thought.
"Lots of things?" she repeated, rubbing her head. "Please elaborate."
Draco looked at her before answering. Her hair was knotty and tangled, even worse then when she had the Beaver's nest, a line of blood trickled down from her right temple, and she had some blood on her nose. "Well-"
"I know the part about you tackling us down the hill," Hermione interrupted, scowling at him.
"Well I wouldn't have if you didn't throw that bloody water at me!" Draco retorted, glaring at her.
"And then we rolled down, I hit my head, and that's all I remember." Hermione said, ignoring what he said. "How did I end up wet?"
She noticed the lake a few meters down the bank. Had he rolled her into it, trying to kill her?
Don't jump to conclusions Hermione! She told herself.
"You rolled into the lake, and I had to save you." Draco said casually.
"Excuse me? Are you trying to say that I nearly drowned? I can swim you know!" Hermione snapped.
"Yeah, well, not when you're unconscious!" Malfoy said, rising his voice.
"Well, I suppose you think you're just the hero of the century!" Hermione snapped, standing up.
"As a matter of fact, I think I am!" Draco yelled, also standing up and facing her. "If I didn't save you, you would have died!"
Hermione looked away.
"And I don't even get a bloody thankyou, from the damsel in distress!"
"I wasn't a damsel in distress!" Hermione said angrily.
"Whatever Granger. Just admit it, if I wasn't here, you would have died." Draco said, trying to calm down. "You like to lecture me about my high horse, when you cant admit that I saved your neck. Just face it Granger! A slytherin saved you!"
"I wouldn't have needed saving if you hadn't chased me and pushed me down the hill!" Hermione screamed, waving her hand around.
"I wouldn't have chased you if you hadn't thrown that disgusting liquid in my face!" Malfoy shouted back.
"I wouldn't have thrown it in your face if you hadn't insulted me!"
"I wouldn't have insulted you if you hadn't been born!"
Hermione grew quiet. What could she possibly say to that?
Draco smirked, satisfied that he had won the argument.
After a minute of silence, Wilac looked at Hermione. "Weca shouldish getish movingay."
"You're right." Hermione sniffled. "Lead the way."
Wilac nodded, and started walking off. Hermione followed, and swayed slightly as she walked. She had a massive headache, felt extremely dizzy, and had two stinging cheeks.
Malfoy stumbled after them, putting his jacket back on, and tying his cloak around his neck. He also felt dizzy, both from the tumble down the hill, and the lack of oxygen while he was in the lake.
555
They walked in silence for about twenty minutes.
Hermione stayed next to Wilac, who occasionally had to support her when she lost her balance. Draco, a few meters behind them, had no one to support him, and sometimes fell, catching himself on a tree trunk, or a vine.
The silence was so great, that Draco started listening to the noises around him. He had done that a lot lately.
He heard a soft breeze rustling the tops of the trees, heard his footsteps kicking at the ground, and heard Granger breathing in and out heavily. He was concentrating on the sound of his footsteps when he heard something rustling near by.
It sounded like something big. Draco looked up and looked around. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear it. He was just concentrating harder, straining his ears, when he heard something like a hiss, and then something sliding along the ground.
His blood froze. It had scales. It was hissing. It was a Basilisk.
"Hey!" He hissed at Granger. "Stop walking!"
Hermione turned around. "No." She turned back around and started walking again.
"St-" Draco heard it getting closer, and it was speeding up.
He ran up to her, and tackled her for the second time in a day. When she started to scream, he covered her mouth with his hand and rolled over into the bush. Hermione was face down, while Draco was covering her body with his. He kept her mouth covered, and stayed still and quiet.
Draco was wondering about Wilac, and what he was going to do, when he heard some bushes being tossed apart, and deep hissing.
Draco heard Hermione gasp, as he closed his eyes tightly. He rested his head on Granger's shoulder, and tried not to breath.
Hermione took a second to get over the fact that malfoy had tackled her again for the second time, and had his hand over her mouth. But then she realized that he had also saved her life two times as well. Then she suddenly thought of Wilac. Did he hide in time?
She closed her eyes quickly when she heard deep hissing, and something big slithering along the ground. She felt malfoy rest his head on the back of her shoulder, and she tried to relax.
Suddenly, the slithering stopped.
Both Draco and Hermione tensed. Hermione refused to open her eyes to see what the basilisk was doing, but Draco opened his eyes just a fraction and looked over his shoulder, through the bushes.
He couldn't see Wilac, and he defiantly didn't want to see the basilisk.
After a moment, once he had closed his eyes, he heard the basilisk move again. They stayed still until they heard it slither away. Only once Draco was sure that the basilisk was gone, did he take his hand away from Hermione's mouth, and roll off her back.
Hermione quickly sprang to her feet and fought her way out of the bush. She looked around, and couldn't see Wilac anywhere. Malfoy was scratching his nose, and examining his hand.
Hermione walked past a tree, and was just about to call for Wilac, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Hermione nearly screamed as she flung around, and saw Wilac standing behind her, looking slightly alarmed.
"Where the hell were you?" Hermione hissed, her hand on her heart.
"Iay wasish hidingca." Wilac said, pointing to the tree Hermione just walked past.
"How?" Hermione asked, looking at him skeptically.
"Likeca thisay." Wilac waddled up to the tree, and lent into it.
Hermione blinked, and he was gone. "Wilac?" Hermione lent in closer, and could just make out the lines of his eyes. "Well, that's handy."
He was completely blended in with the tree. It took Hermione to realize that he wasn't just blended with the tree, but was in the tree. Wilac stuck his head out, which looked very interesting. "Itay hasish itays advantagecas."
"Have you found him?" Malfoy asked, coming around the tree. "Whoa- that's a different trick." He looked at Wilac's head in surprise. He looked up at Hermione. "I didn't know he could do that."
Hermione smiled, despite herself. "I didn't know either." She admitted. "Maybe it's just a self defense mechanism."
"Yeah, maybe." Draco agreed.
Wilac climbed out of the tree. "Thatca wasish aca Basiliskca."
"We know." Hermione said, sitting down. She looked up at Draco. "thanks, I guess."
He looked at her strangely and surprised for a second, before nodding slowly. "Sure. But next time, when I say stop walking, stop walking."
Hermione smiled. "Alright." Hermione fiddled with her finger. "I um…I want to say sorry about before."
Draco looked at her.
"I was just angry about before, and I haven't let that go, nor forgotten what you said, but I should thank you for saving my life twice in the one day." Hermione paused a moment, while she thought of what Harry and Ron would say if they knew she was sort of apologizing to Malfoy.
Draco was silent, before breathing out heavily. "Yeah, well, don't read too much into it." He rubbed his neck. "Like I said before, if you leave me, then ill be in this hell all by myself."
Hermione chuckled softly. Still selfish.
Wilac stood awkwardly between them. What was with these humans? One minute, they were screaming abuse at each other, and saying nasty things, and the next, they were talking comfortably, and almost being friendly towards each other.
"Iay thinkish weca shouldish finday somewhereish toay sleepish." Wilac said to Hermione, knowing that Draco didn't understand him.
"OK." Hermione said. She looked past him at malfoy. "He thinks we should find somewhere to sleep."
Draco nodded. "Good."
They stood, and followed Wilac though the trees.
They continued walking for another twenty minutes in total silence, while Wilac was looking for something along the ground. Hermione and Draco exchanged glances when they came to a dead bush. Wilac smiled. He pushed the bush to the side, revealing a hole.
Hermione raised an eye brow before crawling down the tunnel on her hands and knees.
Draco followed, then Wilac, who made sure that the bush fell back into its original place.
The tunnel lasted about forty meters, and was very claustrophobic. Hermione felt the walls close in on her, but thankfully, she tumbled out of the tunnel into a round room. The walls had been dug out, and it was, of course, very plain. No furniture. No nothing. Just brown walls. It was like an animal had lived there.
The roof was too short for Hermione to stand up, so she had to bend over, like a hunchback. When Draco rolled out of the tunnel after her, he had to bend over as well.
Wilac, being short, could stand up striahgt and tall.
"What was so special about that dead bush?" Draco asked, sliding down the wall. "Why did it get to lead to an underground tunnel? I've seen plenty of dead bushes, so-"
"Oh, relax." Hermione said, also sliding down the wall. She looked up at Wilac. "How did you know this was here?"
"Itay usedish toca belongish toca aca-"
"Yeah yeah, save it." Draco said, waving his hand dismissively. "Time to get some shut eye."
Hermione rolled her eyes as she curled up into a ball.
Draco closed his eyes, and lent back against the wall, trying to ignore his rumbling stomach. Before he fell asleep, He heard a slurping noise, and opened his eyes. Wilac was in the wall. Draco rolled his own eyes, then tried to get some sleep.
555
Hermione had wrapped her black cloak tightly around her body, and when she woke up, Hermione loosened it, before rolling to her knees.
Her stomach was killing her. Hermione groaned as she pulled her cloak back, and lifted up her white, now stained brown, shirt. Her stomach was black and blue, with various brusies turning yellow and purple. She had about three scratches on her stomach, and when Hermione reached around her back, she felt another bruise, and another cut.
She winced, and glanced over at malfoy, and saw him still fast asleep. Hermione untied her cloak, and rolled up her jean leg. Her leg was also bruised, and she thought that she must have twisted it.
It took her a minute to figure out why she hadn't noticed all of this pain and damage before. Easy answer. 1. She was extremely angry with Malfoy, 2. She wasn't concentrating on her own body, and she was slightly dizzy, and 3. She was running on adrenaline.
Hermione noticed the blood and dirt on her shirt, and decided to go and see if she could find somewhere to wash it. Hermione tied her cloak back on, and crawled back out the tunnel.
Standing outside, Hermione thought of a way to go.
The early morning light was starting to filter through the trees. Hermione breathed in deeply, and closed her eyes.
Then, she heard the sound of water lapping against rocks. It was faint, but Hermione knew it was there. She quickly followed the sound, and soon found herself at a pond the size of a regular swimming pool. The best thing was, is that the water was actual water.
Hermione sighed in relief.
She took her cloak off, then started to unbutton her shirt. She quickly whipped it off, and got on her knees. Harry and Ron would kill her if they knew she was kneeling beside a pond in her bra and jeans, with Draco Malfoy not far away. Oh boy, they would kill her.
Hermione quickly rinsed the shirt, and laid it out on the rock to dry. Afraid that Malfoy might just appear around the tree, Hermione tied her cloak back on, and lent against another rock.
555
Draco opened his eyes, and looked around. Wilac was still in his wall, but Granger wasn't in her ball. He looked around again, incase his vision was blurry, but didn't see her.
He quickly stood, and wacked his head on the roof of the cave. "Damn it!" he cursed. Draco quickly walked hunched over to the tunnel, and started crawling up.
He threw the bush aside, and stood up quickly. He couldn't hear anything, or see anyone. Draco closed his eyes, and listened carefully. Then he heard water being sloshed around.
Draco ran in the direction of the sound- what if something was drowning her? He slowed, and rounded a tree, before spotting Granger in her cloak resting against a rock. Her shirt was on the rock next to her, drying.
"Hey!" He called.
Hermione was startled, and looked up, but when she spotted him, she relaxed. "what do you want?"
"You shouldn't go off on your own." He said, walking towards her. Then he noticed the pond behind her. "Hey, you found clean water!"
Draco jogged towards it, and knelt down, slurping it up gratefully.
"Yeah well, it was clean." Hermione replied.
"Well, can you go back to the hole? I want to have a bath."
"Ok." Hermione stood, grabbed her shirt, and started walking back towards the hole. On her way, she noticed that Draco had already taken his cloak off, and was unzipping his jacket.
When Hermione reached the dead bush, she hung the shirt on a branch next to it, and went inside.
555
Draco was in the clean water within minutes, and was happily swimming around it. He lathered his hair until he was sure that it was back to its normal blond color. He quickly scrubbed himself down, then climbed out. He used his cloak to dry himself, before getting dressed.
Draco rinsed his cloak off, and walked back to the hole. He noticed Granger's shirt, drying on a branch, and hung his cloak up next to it.
All done. Wasn't too long between updates.
Love you all, R&R
Aj