Disclaimer
I do not own any of the characters in this chapter; they all belong to J K Rowling. Lucky her, huh? =) but I did use a song by Celine Dion towards the end of the chapter. The title of the song is "A New Day Has Come". I was thinking of whether to put that song down or another song by Celine Dion, titled "Right In Front Of You". then I finally decided on the first song, as there was a sentence that said, "All in the eyes of a boy". It touched me, I wonder why. =)
A New Day
The next day, Hermione found herself lucky. She had woken up early and caught a beautiful sunset.
She had also found a bed of oysters. Maybe it was her reward for dealing with such horrible incidents the previous days.
Draco tossed a disgusted look at the thing Hermione was carrying.
"WHAT is that disgusting thing you're holding?"
Hermione had a good mind to say, "You", but she didn't. She just told him that it was a bed of oysters.
"Oysters? They're NOT oysters." Draco said, eyes wide, looking as if he was going to puke any moment.
"And why not?" Hermione retorted.
"Because I've been to more authentic French MUGGLE restaurants than you will ever go to and I know exactly what oysters look like."
"Oh, really?" she asked doubtfully.
"Really."
"All right, then, if you don't believe me, that's not really my problem." Hermione frowned at his arrogance.
She swallowed one of the oysters raw, just to prove her point. To her surprise, they taste as good as cooked oysters, if not better.
Seeing Draco's shocked expression, she popped another one into her mouth. She bit into it and yelled out loud as her teeth hit something hard. Draco bit his lips from laughing out loud as he saw her eyes widen in shock.
She fished one finger into her mouth and Draco watched as she took something out of her mouth. He cursed loudly when he saw what that thing was.
It was a pearl, rose in color and the size as big as his thumb-nail.
Hermione's luck didn't end just there. She found a few more pearls, including a black one, while Draco had found none. And Hermione suspected that he had actually eaten more oysters than her.
"I simply cannot believe your luck." Draco muttered.
"I can." Hermione replied cheerfully.
Draco winced. "Of course you can, Granger."
Hermione's smile disappeared. "Why don't you ever call me by my name?"
Draco shrugged. "Don't see the need to."
Hermione gave him a good frown before he said again, "You don't call me by my name either, do you?"
Hermione looked mildly surprised. She did call Draco by his name before, when she had asked him to trust himself. She decided that he had already forgotten about that incident already. She had to stop herself from snorting in indignation. What Hermione didn't know how much was that Draco did remember the first time she had called his name in place of other names like 'insufferable git' or 'ferret'. Draco liked it so much when she had called his name and that he was seriously fighting against the urge to ask her to call him by his name again.
Hermione broke his train of thoughts by taking in a deep breath and said his name.
"Draco."
Draco tried to mask his surprise and happiness. And successfully, too. Hermione thought he was heartless.
"Well?" Hermione prompted.
"Well what, Granger?" Draco just couldn't bring himself to say her name; he knew for a fact that he would be calling her name over and over again if he started.
Hermione sighed and gave up. It was almost like talking to a bull that didn't charge… yet.
Draco couldn't find her late afternoon, not that he made it obvious that he was looking for her. It was just that Draco, for the first time in his life, felt a need to look for someone that mattered to him, other than his own mother.
He walked around the beach, pretending to be looking for more oyster beds. Suddenly, he got the shock of his life as Hermione popped out of the sea, flinging her wet hair back and laughing.
Draco had trouble breathing. Hell, he couldn't breathe.
Spilling down her back was a thick wad of tangled chestnut brown hair, damp and curling and so damn female that even a wagon load of pearls couldn't pull his gaze away.
A new day
A new day
I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear
She turned around and grinned widely at Draco. Draco was still trying to calm his heartbeat when Hermione walked back shore, all wet, holding another bed of oysters.
Through the darkness
And good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you
They were eating oysters that evening and Hermione found another two pearls, both round and seemingly flawless. Draco gave a low whistle at her luck. Hermione smiled in self-satisfaction as her teeth hit something hard once again.
Hush, love.
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an
Angel with love
Draco wanted to yell in frustration. Instead, he asked her, "Is that what you were doing the whole day?"
Let the rain come down and wash
Away my tears
Let it fill my soul and
Drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls
For a new sun
"Nay, not the whole day. Just the afternoon." She continued smiling at the array of different colored pearls lying peacefully in the sand in front of her.
She suddenly looked up at Draco and asked the most unexpected question.
"Can you swim?"
A new day has come
Where it was dark now
There's light
Where there was pain
Now there's joy
Where there was weakness
I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy
Draco changed into another set of clothes and met Hermione down at the beach. It was high tide and Hermione still hadn't changed into dry clothes. Her clothes hadn't dried off enough before the fire.
Draco approached her slowly; he took in deep breaths as he saw her. It was late evening and she seemed to be basking in the sunset.
Hush, love
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an
Angel with love
The tide lapped at her calves and sprayed water up her ragged skirt. Draco cursed himself silently for not being able to take his eyes off her long smooth legs. They seemed to go on and stretch forever.
Let the rain come down
And wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and
Drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls
For a new sun
A new day has come
Hermione smiled as Draco stood beside her. "I'm not sure if we can see anything beneath this waters with this kind of light, but… well… let's just give it a try." Her chocolate brown eyes twinkled with delight.
Oh, a light
Hush, now
I see a light in your eyes
All in the eyes of a boy
Draco didn't expect it, but Hermione had grabbed his hand and ran into the waters.
Draco wasn't sure if he had died and gone to heaven as he ventured deep into the blue-green waters with Hermione, their hands held and fingers entwined.
He hadn't dared to open his eyes underwater until Hermione prompted him in the ribs with her elbow.
He opened them slowly and for the first few seconds, he felt as though his eyes were being washed out with the sea water. Later on, he felt so much at ease that he and Hermione just went deeper into the water and saw amazing things like coral reefs, fishes, small prawns, and most of all, oyster beds. It was a miracle that they could actually see all these things at that time. Draco was about to grab one of the oyster beds when Hermione tugged at his hand and motioned with one finger of hers to go up for air.
They went up and both gasped for air. Draco started to pull Hermione back in to see everything once again when Hermione stopped him.
She smiled. "We're going to drown soon if we keep up by the capacity of your lungs. Hold on for awhile." She then laughed at his enthusiasm.
Draco smiled a genuine and truly sincere smile this time. No snide looks, no sniggers, and for this rare moment, Draco felt like he didn't have the need to hide anything from anyone, least of all Hermione.
Hermione was captivated by the sight of Draco all wet. His wet hair seemed to reflect the early moonlight and it gleamed with every sign of the moon beams, making his hair look glossier and more silvery.
Hermione saw in his eyes a childishness she had never ever seen in her entire life. She always thought that Draco was as cold as a fish and nothing much to do with his own childhood. She never imagined that one day, this day, she would be able to discover the real Draco Malfoy.
She had unveiled his mask.
"Come on. We can't see much anymore, I think." Hermione tugged at Draco's wet sleeves.
Draco looked down at the waters and realized that she was probably right. He looked so sad that Hermione promised him that they would go again tomorrow, early in the morning, where they could see as many things and get as many oyster beds as they want.
They went up to shore and reaching shallow waters when Hermione suddenly realized that the both of them were still holding hands. She tried to wriggle her hand free, but Draco's grip was too tight.
Then his eyes were fixated on her face all of a sudden. Hermione's knees went weak and she felt as if they had buckled.
They had; and she slipped. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall. But the fall never came. Draco had steadied her by holding the small of her back.
She knew what Draco had done and what he was about to do, but she still didn't open her eyes; she didn't want to know if she was right.
She was. Draco kissed her. But this time, his kiss had no hardness or demand to it. It contained all the tenderness and softness any girl could wish for.
She kissed back with a fierce passion she never knew she had. This kiss lasted longer than she expected and it also felt better than the last one. This kiss felt… right.
That night, after the kiss, Hermione was very careful not to say anything wrong; she didn't want this perfect moment to end.
She was in Draco's arms and the both of them were sitting in the wet sand. She sat in between his stretched out legs and she relaxed against his hard chest.
Draco felt contented as he breathed in the scent of Hermione's hair. He felt no restrains; there were no intruders or outsiders tonight, not even the stupid genie.
They weren't sure who started talking first, but they were then engaged in many different conversations that night. He even managed to say her name and he thought her eyes had glistened with tears when he said it, though he wasn't all that sure.
"You know, I'm glad that I'm a wizard."
"Why?"
"Because I never could run worth a damn, so I can resort to flying." Hermione laughed at complete ease.
"I like the spells, especially those which can zip mouths up forever." Hermione's eyes twinkled mischievously.
Draco laughed and said, "If you had used that spell on me… then I wouldn't be able to do this…" then he bent down to give her a peck on the cheek.
"Yeah, you wouldn't be able to do that." She grinned like a Cheshire cat.
They sat like that for hours, but it felt like minutes. Hermione fell asleep in Draco's arms and missed the sunrise, the main reason why she has always been up so early in the morning.
But Draco watched as the sun rise. He kept watching until the sunlight seemed too bright for him to watch anymore.
He carried her to her hut and watched as she breathed slowly and with ease, something he hadn't been able to do for a long, long time. He had a feeling that now, he could finally breathe like that.
He planted a tender kiss on her cheek and went back to his own hut to get some rest. That night, he willingly unveiled his mask, his façade, and he didn't care. All because of Hermione. Just the thought of her name made him smile. He thought of the irony between the two of them. In school, they were always at loggerheads, to put it in mild terms. The days where they fought were over, and for once, Draco was relieved to say so. Today was a new day, leaving Draco yearning for a newer start, a better future.
I can't believe
I've been touched by an
Angel with love
I can't believe
I've been touched by an
Angel with love
Hush, now
A new day
Hush, now
A new day