Story Notes

Hello and happy Tuesday everybody! Welcome to the next chapter of Beyond The Sea!

This chapter needs a minor CONTENT WARNING and one TRIGGER WARNING. The content warning is for a rather intense training session at the cottage, and the trigger warning is for mentions of past rape…(during Hermione's time held in captivity by the Death Eaters.) More details are in the END OF CHAPTER NOTES as I don't want to give away any spoilers here, but if you feel you may be triggered by Hermione's memories, please investigate further and please do read this chapter with caution. As always, we try to write sensitively, and nothing that happened to her is directly referenced. This story is intended to be about healing and moving forwards rather than dwelling on intense descriptions of what happened, and it will definatley have a happy ending. If you've come this far with the story you should be just fine with this installment, but we do understand that this can be a difficult subject.

Many, many thanks to champagneandliterature for the awesome alpha/beta work, and thank you to all of our wonderful readers too. Your kudos, comments and reviews make all the writing worthwhile!

Having said all of that, (and hopefully having not scared you off,) we hope you like the chapter, and we'll be back next time!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Beyond The Sea - Chapter 14 - Training

Hermione

The night was dark, and the wind was cool. Ginny streaked through the midnight blue sky like lightning, but despite the light of the almost full moon, there was no sign of Draco anywhere. "We'll never find him," Hermione said, holding tightly onto Ginny's waist and dropping her head down, using Ginny's shoulder to protect her eyes from the sting of the wind.

"We won't if he doesn't want to be found," Ginny agreed, her voice torn ragged by their blistering speed. "This is his sentient home, it will work with him, and even without that, he's a master of evasion."

"You'd best count yourself lucky that I'm happy to be found then, Red," Draco's voice sounded beside them, making Hermione yelp as Ginny jolted the broom in surprise. "Although you did just make me sound quite impressive, so maybe I should drag things out a bit longer-"

"Bloody ferret!" Ginny admonished, righting their course as Draco shook off his disillusionment spell. "Don't let the compliment go to your head. Your ego is big enough already."

Draco smirked. "Thanks. You fly well, by the way, Gin," He added, watching Hermione warily. "Color me equally impressed."

"Thank you!'' Ginny grinned, clearly pleased with his endorsement. "Now. Are we landing, or are you two having a heart to heart in the sky while I plug my ears?"

Draco sighed. "I think I'd prefer to do it up here if it's all the same to you. You can listen if you want, Gin, I've not got anything to say that I don't want overheard. I'm terrified of losing you, Hermione," he admitted, staring straight ahead as he flew in a determinedly straight line. "I know you want to be involved in all of this, and I'm trying to understand that. But you have to see where I'm coming from too. A month ago, you were on the verge of death. We truly thought you weren't going to survive when Blaise brought you home. Even a week ago, you struggled to summon a book across the lounge. I know you're healing, and you're getting stronger every day, but this is so dangerous." He turned to look at her, and she was struck by the intensity of his gaze. "It's real, it's deadly, and it's happening right now. It won't wait until you're fully healed."

Hermione closed her eyes, leaning against Ginny's back as she listened. "We're not talking about training here, or even about half hearted, real life fights. These are Death Eaters, loyal ones at that. These are men who have held you once already and who are mighty pissed off that they lost you. They want you back. They want you and Harry alive, and they want Ginny and Ron dead. They won't hesitate to take you by force. Sweetheart, they don't have a shred of conscience between them."

Draco shook his head, looking distressed. "You haven't done the training that we've given Harry, Ron, and Ginny. You've not been on any missions with us yet, and also, think about this, what would happen if you came face to face with one or more of your captors? How would you react then? You still haven't told us who they are or what they did to you. What if you see them and you freeze? What happens if one or more of us is distracted by keeping you safe? We could drop our guard or miss a shot at a vital moment. This is life and death, Hermione, and I just don't think you're ready for it yet."

Hermione said nothing for a long moment. She screwed her eyes shut, feeling Ginny bank gently round to the left. There was nothing she could say in reply, Draco was right, and she knew it. "I have a proposition," he said after a moment, and she nodded, fully prepared to consider it. "Let us start training you. Let us give you a Light Mark. Then, depending on how you get on, we'll disillusion you and take you to the manor on a busy day. If that goes well, you can shadow one of us on a patrol. That's what we did with the others. If you cope with all of that, then we'll have a rethink about the raid."

"That….that sounds more than fair," Hermione admitted hesitantly. "I'm sorry, I hadn't thought of things the way you've just explained them. To be honest, I just remembered what I used to do with Harry and Ron, and I wanted to get back to that already. But yes," she nodded, "I accept your terms. They are more than reasonable."

"Fine." Draco sighed in relief. "Theo and myself are in charge of training all of us here. We'll do a quick session tonight just to see what we're working with, then we'll go from there. We'll all join in. We could all do with a spot of practice, couldn't we, Red?"

Ginny turned to grin challengingly at Draco. "Bring it on. I can't wait to kick your arse again!"

"That was one time, Gin, and that was only because all unforgivables were off limits, I won't be such a gentleman again," Draco smirked. Hermione smiled as he continued to bicker with Ginny, and they both swung their brooms around to head back inland.

They chose to use the cove for their impromptu, late night practice. Hermione stood, digging her bare toes into the sand, listening to the gentle sound of the sea. She tipped her head back to look up at the glittering stars while waiting for their following instructions. Ron stood opposite her, looking reticent, and she tried to get herself into the right mood for casting aggressive magic, but it was very difficult in such a peaceful setting. She couldn't imagine a place less conducive to offensive spellwork if she tried.

Theo seemed very aware of how relaxed they all felt. He partnered Ginny and Pansy together, and Harry and Blaise, then stood next to Draco to stare at them all appraisingly. "Alright. I know we've had a couple of glasses of wine tonight," he began, "but ignore that. A summons can happen at any time, as can a fight. We'll start with some blocks. Pansy, Ron, Blaise, you three are the aggressors. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, you are defending yourselves. H, you are not allowed to use expelliarmus for this," Theo grinned, sitting down on a rock with a wry chuckle. "Ginny, no bat bogey curses, but Hermione, you can use anything you want. I need to see what you can do. Alright. Three, two, one, go!"

Hermione blinked as the air around them crackled with sudden magic. She threw up her best shield, which easily blocked Ron's light hexes, then jumped aside as Pansy flew backward through the air to land in an undignified heap at her feet. She nodded as Ron paused their duel to help Pansy up, then frowned in concern as Pansy glared fiercely at Ginny. Ginny merely shrugged her shoulders and dove out of the way of Pansy's next jinx.

Harry was managing to hold Blaise off relatively well, but despite that, Theo shot a flash of red light into the sky to call time. "What, and I mean this in the strongest possible terms, the fuck was that from all of you?!" He asked, standing up and shaking his head incredulously. "You'd all be dead by now if this was a real fight! Pans, that was terrible. Sort your shield out, then blast around the side of it. Blaise, what the fuck? Why aren't you winning against these mild hexes? Don't let him best you, mate, his favourite spell is off limits right now. Hermione, you're not bad, I suppose. You'll hold up well if your next opponent happens to be a kitten. Ron, throw something half decent at her, please! Okay, come on now. Once more, with feeling this time!"

Hermione stared at Theo, torn between annoyance and amusement. Was he always this bossy? If so, she hadn't seen that side of his personality before. Nobody else seemed to be objecting to his tone, though, so she swallowed her irritation then turned back to Ron once she had caught her breath.

This time they all fared slightly better. Harry finally bested Blaise, albeit, with an illegal expelliarmus. Pansy took Ginny down, and all four of them turned to watch Hermione, who was just about managing to hold Ron at bay, even though it was taking every last shred of energy she possessed. When Theo finally called time on their winnerless duel, she doubled over, put her hands on her knees, and gasped for air around her still aching ribs.

Eventually, she stood up, still feeling sore, then flinched at the heated argument Theo and Harry had erupted into. "I'm not saying don't use it ever, just that you shouldn't rely on it! For fucks sake, Harry, it's a dead giveaway that it's you! I'm not losing you over a stupid-arsed spell choice. I know you're good with that one. I just want you to strengthen the rest of your armory too."

"Fine," Harry agreed, glaring daggers at Theo. "Let me show you that the others are strong too. Come at me."

Theo gasped. "What, me?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you. And I won't use expelliarmus unless it's clearly going to win me the duel. If you're so determined to test how well we can defend ourselves, you come at us. I've seen you fight, Theo. You're lethal. Blaise fights the most polite duels I've ever seen, no offense intended," he broke off to glance at Blaise, who merely lifted a hand and an amused brow to acknowledge Harry's apology, "but you don't hold back. Let me see if I can best you."

"That's not a bad idea," Draco said speculatively. "He's right. You're the most dangerous of all of us here, Theo, because you're the most unpredictable. Let's put all spells back on the table and see who can stop you."

Theo took a deep breath. "Fine. Are any spells off limits?"

"Only Killing curses and anything else that could inadvertently cause death," Draco replied with a smirk. "Go on then Harry. Let's see what you've really got. I'll count you in. Three, two-"

A quiet gasp escaped Hermione's lips as Theo spun early, hitting out at Harry with a string of offensive curses. Harry had clearly been expecting his premature start, however, and blocked him with relative ease. He hurled a few spells back rather wildly, but every one missed its mark. Theo stepped forwards, gaining ground, but he couldn't hold his shield in place and curse around it at the same time.

Hermione held her breath as Harry advanced on Theo. Sitting on a convenient rock behind her, Draco laid his hand on her shoulder, and she let him guide her gently backwards into the space between his legs. His thighs fell closed around her hips, and she watched the fight going on in front of her with growing unease.

Something didn't feel right. Theo was letting Harry get far too close. If he was as strong a dueller as the others seemed to think he was, then Harry was gaining ground much too easily. She gave a squeal as Theo suddenly dropped his shield, twisted to the side, then unleashed a torrent of violent spells that had Harry stumbling backward and throwing up a wild shield of his own. Fiery ropes bounced off it, as did water jets, several stunning spells and finally a snake, which turned in mid air and flew back at Theo when Harry hissed at it in Parseltongue.

Pure surprise caused Theo to falter for a split second, and Harry seized the opportunity, using it to hurl a full body bind curse at him.

Theo appeared to react out of pure instinct. He was too late to block the spell, so instead he pointed his wand at Harry. "Crucio!" he yelled as the bodybind hit. The effect was instant. Harry dropped to the floor with a shout of agony and the body bind curse broke as suddenly as it had taken hold. "Accio Harry's wand," Theo shouted, then lowered his own and threw himself forwards over Harry's prone, shaking body. "Oh, gods! Fuck... Harry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" he said as Harry sat weakly upright.

Hermione also reacted instinctively. She fell to the floor at the same moment Harry did, covering her head with her hands and staring at Theo in abject horror.

"Ouch!" Harry said mildly, stretching his limbs then dropping his forehead weakly onto Theo's shoulder. "Alright, you made your point."

"I think that proved rather a lot of points, actually," Draco drawled. He patted Hermione's hip as she slowly stood back up, then moved around her to stare down at Harry and Theo, who were still sitting on the sand looking shaken. "You alright, Potter?"

"Yeah," Harry said, rolling his eyes as Theo handed back his wand. "Thanks."

Draco sighed. "Death Eaters are trained to do what Theo just did. We don't play nice, and unless you're fighting Pansy, they won't give you a break. Blaise held crucio's back earlier because he was fighting you, Harry, and as we've already established, he's nothing if not polite." Draco paused to smirk at Blaise and easily ducked his half hearted retaliation jinx. "He might kill his opponent, but he'll do it with impeccable manners. What Theo just did was more realistic for us when we fight. Parseltongue almost won you that duel Harry, but we're taught to win at all costs." Draco stood back to look at them all in turn. "You do not want a Death Eater putting you in a body bind and taking your wand. The best spell to stop your attacker in their tracks is an Avada, and the second best is a Crucio. If you use either of those spells, you will win any fight."

"Teach us how to do it then," Ginny said, standing up defiantly. "I'm not going down to some random Death Eater, not like that anyway. I don't care if it's an unforgivable curse. Teach me how to cast the damn thing, Malfoy."

Ron frowned at his sister's determined look, "Gin, don't. It's not a nice one. That spell…. it stays with you."

"How would you know?" Ginny asked, glaring at Ron in surprise.

"Because I've used it, alright? In a raid when we were looking for Hermione once. It's a long story, but I used it to blast someone off of Pansy. The spell has a rebound type feeling. It goes back up your arm and makes you feel dreadful inside. It's the worst spell I've ever used."

"Me too," Harry admitted. "I've used it on Bellatrix, and on Alecto Carrow once too. It kicks back against you. It's an awful feeling."

"Yeah, well, you get used to that after a bit of practice," Theo said quietly. "Believe me. I've used it enough to know. Try it out. Hit me with it now, Gin." Ginny blinked, staring at Theo in surprise, but he just raised an insolent brow in reply. "I thought you wanted to learn?"

After a long moment of consideration, Ginny raised her wand, pointing it in the general vicinity of Theo's left leg. "Crucio," she said cautiously, but the word sounded more like a question than a command.

Theo staggered but remained standing. "Is that all you've got?" he asked in a slightly strained voice.

Hermione made a small noise in the back of her throat as Ginny glared desperately at Theo, her wand twitching when Blaise stepped up behind her. "You're okay," Draco whispered, and Hermione smiled weakly as he sat back on the rock then guided her gently into his arms. "I've got you."

"Make eye contact with him," Blaise instructed Ginny quietly, "now put some feeling into this. We can all tell you don't want to hurt him." Hermione watched, feeling both fascinated and horrified as Ginny snapped her eyes up to Theo's, but it didn't seem to make much difference. Somehow, despite sweating slightly, Theo still managed to smirk defiantly back at her.

Ginny dropped her wand in defeat, leaving Theo panting but clearly unhurt. "That one's harder than it looks," she confessed. "What happened when you did it, Ron?"

"Avery fell down and screamed his head off," Ron admitted. "But I was doing it in the heat of battle, and I hate him. Plus, I was terrified he was going to really hurt Pansy. It must be a lot harder to do it to a friend."

"It's not," Blaise said. "It's exactly the same, but you have to mean to hurt the victim, whoever they are. To cast a patronus, you use a happy memory right? For this, it's the opposite. You use a painful one. You keep eye contact with the victim, cast it, then let the desire to hurt them, or if you're struggling to find that, the pain of your bad memory travel down your wand. To increase the power of the curse, you twist the wand. Please don't hate me for teaching you this. If it saves your life, it's worth it."

This time Theo looked nervous. He stood in front of Ginny chewing on his bottom lip, and it was the first time Hermione had ever seen him look disconcerted. Draco tightened his arms around her as Ginny closed her eyes. Blaise stepped back behind Ginny and steadied her wand aim. Hermione gasped when Ginny opened her eyes. She'd never seen such a look of pained determination on her best friend's face. "Crucio," Ginny said quietly, making Theo drop to the floor and curl up into a ball while giving a blood curdling scream.

"Hold it!" Blaise said, but Ginny looked as horrified as Hermione felt. Ginny snatched her arm back, dropped her wand then flew to Theo's side.

"God's Theo, I'm... I'm so sorry! Oh, fuck!….please…. sweet Merlin, are you alright?!"

"Now that's a bit more like it," Theo said, giving her a pained grin as he pulled himself around to sit up. "Hold it for longer next time, you idiot. You're meant to make people fall over with it. That's the whole point of the spell!"

But Ginny just shook her head. She was pale and shaking and looked as if she might throw up at any moment. Blaise tugged her into his arms, trying to hand her wand back, but she refused to take it. He pocketed it instead, then without a word, he twisted on the spot, apparating her away in a puff of black smoke.

"Right then," Theo said cheerfully. "Anyone else want a shot? You each get one free go at me, then on the next one, I fight back."

"I've done it before," Ron shook his head, looking slightly sickened himself. "I know I can do it if need be. I'm not practicing that one."

"Me too. And I couldn't do it to you anyway," Harry said, shaking his head.

Theo laughed. "I just got you with it, don't you want to return the favor? Oh, okay, fine," he laughed at Harry's horrified look. "Malfoy can be your guinea pig then. Think back to your school days. I bet you'd have loved to land that one on him back then!"

"Another day maybe," Harry chuckled while Draco rolled his eyes. "Let me get my head around it all first. Come on. Let's call it a night and go home. I need to check you're okay."

Theo nodded. "I'm not. Really I'm not. I'm going to need extensive, hands-on healing, actually, Harry."

Harry glanced around him then laughed. "I'll see what I can doooo-" his words trailed off as Theo grabbed him around the waist and another swirl of black smoke drifted idly across the bay.

"Just you and me left then," Draco said, once Ron and Pansy had followed the others inside, and they were alone on the beach. "It's midnight."

Hermione nodded, pulling her fleece tighter around her shoulders. "Yes. So it is."

"How do you feel about things now?"

She sighed, feeling exhausted. "I'm really not sure," she admitted. "I held up better than I thought I'd be able to in the duel, against Ron anyway, but I can't count that as a real fight, can I? He'd never hurt me. I don't think I'd have lasted at all against Theo. And I'm guessing you fight like he does too?"

Draco nodded grimly. "We all do when it really counts. We have to. Theo bests me about two thirds of the times we train. He says I'm too predictable. He's probably right since he's the best dueller we've got. He's got the least conscience with it too. I wish I had that sometimes."

"I think it's a good thing that you don't." Hermione leaned back on their transfigured blanket and tipped her face up to the heavens. "You all have your own strengths. You said it earlier, but I see it all the time. You're the most protective one here. You look after everyone."

Draco nodded. "I'll not see anything happen to any of you. We all have our roles. Blaise is our strategist. Pansy's the healer. Theo is the dueller and our best Legilimens. I keep it together in front of the Dark Lord the best, because I'm the best Occlumens. I make sure everyone is okay, especially Pansy because she shouldn't be in the ranks at all. She followed me in, though, so it's my fault she's there, and I'll protect her no matter what."

"And then there's the four of us," Hermione said wearily. "What are we good at? We don't seem to have any of the skills you've just mentioned-"

"Are you serious?" Draco asked incredulously. "You've got your own set of skills. Harry's got the Parseltongue thing. You just saw him almost take Theo out with that. Ginny's dangerous in a fight. Once she's gotten over tonight, she'll be unstoppable. Ron holds up well in a duel too. He's another one who looks after everybody. When one of you is upset, you go to him. Then there's you. Your intelligence is your strength. We all need to work to our strengths, Hermione. There's no need for you to go flying into fights physically if you don't need to. Your brains are your best weapon, particularly while you're still weaker than usual. Even at full strength though, you're not one to fling unforgivables around, I saw how you reacted to those Crucio's earlier. You need to learn to win with strategy, like Blaise does."

Hermione sighed, nodding as she lay back on the blanket. "What do you want to do when all this is over?" she asked, feeling the need for a change of subject.

Draco smiled. He lay down beside her, took her hand then laced his finger through hers. "Live a quiet life," he replied. "Hopefully, with you beside me."

"Do you think we'll even know how to do that?" she asked, "live a quiet life, I mean. This war feels like it's been going on forever. It's almost all I've ever known in my magical life."

"I think we'll be just fine." Draco brought her hand closer to his face, studying her chewed fingernails in the soft moonlight. She made to pull them away from his scrutiny, but he wouldn't let her. Instead, he showed her his own bitten nails. "Same. look."

"Have you seen Pansy's?" She asked.

"Yes. Six inch talons." Draco flinched, making Hermione laugh. "How she keeps those intact through all the gardening she does is beyond me."

"You don't like long nails?" Hermione asked, laughing at his pained grimace.

Draco laughed. "I wouldn't necessarily say they're bad, just…that they can be painful. I've had them raked down my back a few times, that's all. Mind you, I did ask her to do that, so I can't really complain. Merlin, how the hell did we get onto this subject? Have you seen the stars?"

Hermione giggled, looking up to follow his gaze into the glittering heavens. "They're beautiful."

"They are. When all of this is done, I'm going to lay out here with you again and remind you of this night."

Hermione sighed, laying back on the blanket and watching wispy clouds drift across the moon. "Do you really think we're going to survive what's coming, Draco?" she asked eventually, shivering, more from fear than cold.

"Yes," he said firmly. "I do. I think it's our destiny to do so. We've all come together, in this house, and we're going to win this war as a group of eight. We're not going to lose anybody now."

Hermione nodded as Draco shifted closer to her on the sand. The heat from his body washed over her, and without thinking she inched even closer to him, tilting her chin forwards and pressing her lips to his.

She relaxed as she felt the corners of his mouth tug up into a smile. His hand cupped her cheek, turning her face further into him. She mirrored his movements, turning onto her side and shuffling even closer into his arms. Their kisses deepened as she stroked her fingers through his silky hair. His tongue pressed against her lips, and she yielded easily, suppressing a whimper as he claimed her mouth gently, persuasively, the same way he had claimed the rest of her heart.

Dracos kiss was all consuming. Hermione closed her eyes, allowing herself to relax into his touch. It felt incredible, his tongue brushed against hers, and this time, she couldn't stay silent. She mewled, a tiny noise made low in her throat. Draco moaned against her, breaking the kiss to move lower, pressing reverent kisses along her jawline. She squirmed against him again, then gasped as an intense pull of desire twisted deep within her core.

It felt so good. She wanted him to carry on, but as his hand dipped lower and brushed across the swell of her breast, alarm bells began to ring in her mind. If they carried on like this, there was only one way things were going to go.

The thought of taking things further was suddenly terrifying. Cold, icy fear caused Hermione's heart to clench, extinguishing her desire in a sudden rush of unwelcome dread. "Dra.. Draco," she stuttered, pulling back to cover her face with her hands, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Can we stop for a moment please?"

Draco looked at her in concern, his confusion giving way to understanding as he blinked at her in the moonlight. "Yes, of course. I'm sorry. I didn't think. Hey, Hermione, sweetheart, it's alright, I don't mind."

She nodded, taking several deep, steadying breaths, hating that even this most private area of her life had been affected by the group of Death Eaters who had held her prisoner. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't ever apologize for asking to slow things down," he said. "I can only imagine what you've been through. I've seen some things," he closed his eyes, "at some of the revels... I can't even… I won't even begin to describe them."

Draco's eyes scrunched tighter as he winced. "Not one of us has ever laid a finger on a woman without her express consent. You need to understand, we're not like that, nor is anyone in the group we aim to join forces with. I once saw Antonin deal with three unmarked followers who had raped a muggle woman. Although, you don't need to know the details of that either." He carded his fingers through his hair then sighed. "I take it they did rape you, then?" Hermione nodded, her shoulders starting to shake with silent, unbidden sobs. "When you can tell me who they were, I will avenge you. I promise you. I will make them wish they'd never so much as looked at you."

Even though she knew it was wrong, Draco's promise was comforting. "I don't know who they were," she admitted, finally pulling her hands away from her face for long enough to wipe her eyes. "I was telling the truth when I said that before. They wore masks around me all the time. I could probably identify their voices, but-"

"I bet I'd know them," Draco said darkly. "If they're from the inner circle I'd recognize their mannerisms. Would you let me look at the memories in your mind?"

Hermione stared at him through wide eyes for far longer than was strictly necessary while she tried to work out how to reply. "I'm sorry," Draco said quietly, "I'm overstepping. That was insensitive of me. Forget I said-"

"Yes," she said eventually. "You can look." Draco froze in place, staring at her in surprise. "Will I see the memories too?"

"Unfortunately, you will," he nodded.

She closed her eyes then took a deep breath, mentally bracing herself for what she would see. "Do it."

Draco stared at her for another long moment. Then, when she nodded her encouragement, he picked up his wand. "Keep eye contact with me," he said, offering her his hand, "if you want me to back off, just tap my palm." She grasped the hand he offered, squeezing his fingers tightly. "You're really sure?" he asked again, waiting for her final nod of consent before waving his wand. "Okay. Legillimens."

Tears slipped down her cheeks as Draco called forwards a rush of terrible memories. She gasped, twisting uncomfortably on the blanket but forcing herself not to pull away as he sifted through her mind. Her brain tingled with a magic that wasn't her own, but it didn't feel wrong to have Draco inside her mind. Instead, to her surprise, it felt strangely comforting. It was as if by looking at her very worst memories Draco was somehow able to sooth them.

By the time he slipped out of her mind, she felt strangely calm. Her biggest fears, as well as her deepest secrets had finally been revealed, and somehow she felt lighter for it. "Finite," Draco whispered, and Hermione gasped. His face, as it came back into focus, was livid. Hermione found herself scrambling back, trying to get away from the cold, hard fury that was etched into every line of his handsome profile. "Hey, hey, I'm sorry," he pinched the bridge of his nose then shook his head, finally looking at her much more softly. "I'm so sorry, my love. I, I thought I was prepared for that but how could I have been? My gods Hermione. I'm just…. fuck."

"Did you…. Did you see what you needed to see?" she asked hesitantly.

Draco nodded grimly. "Yes I did."

"Do you know who they were?"

He took her hand in his, rubbing tiny circles over the back of her hand, and she had the feeling that he was soothing himself as much as he was trying to soothe her. "Yes."

"Oh gods!" The way he looked when he uttered the word almost broke her all over again. His sheer disgust for what her captors had done to her was written all over his face.

"You're going to kill them for it, aren't you?!" she whispered, horrorstruck.

"Yes," Draco said simply, and she could tell by the set of his jaw that he meant what he said. "But you are not to worry about any of that. This is not on you, this is down to me. Those monsters sealed their fate the day they laid their filthy hands on you." He sighed, kissing her fingers gently. "As for you and me, we're going to take this slow, okay? you tell me when you're ready for more, but until you do that, I'll wait for you, just as long as it takes. Do you understand me?"

Hermione nodded, leaning back and dropping her head into the sand once again. Draco laid down beside her, lacing his fingers through hers again and she tipped her head back, letting the lull of the sea soothe her frazzled nerves.

Extra Chapter Notes:

Extra details on the content warnings as promised…. 1) In the training session Theo hits Harry with an instinctive crucio, and then Blaise teach Ginny how to cast the same spell for self defense purposes. (Harry is a little dazed but fine.) 2) In the final scene of the chapter Draco and Hermione are kissing and she freezes due to bad memories. Draco asks her what's wrong and she tells him that she needs things to slow down. She can't voice what her captors did to her, so she allows him to use Legilimency to see for himself. We haven't gone into detail about what Draco sees, but he is distressed by it, and he recognises the perpetrators. The scene ends with Draco reassuring her that their relationship is secure, that he will deal with her captors, and that he will take their relationship at her pace.