CHAPTER 3~ A Night on the Beach
After a while, Draco said, "How 'bout we go to dinner now?"
Hermione bit her bottom lip and began chewing on it. "Well-I-I really- downstairs-they'll need me. I don't know. I mean, I do want to go with you, but what about the soldiers?" she stuttered.
"I'm sure they'll understand why you took most of the day off. Let's go out. We'll have a good time. You'll come back, get some sleep, and be ready for work tomorrow morning. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"
A small smile played across her lips. "It really does sound like a good idea. Ugh-I am so getting demoted after this."
"No you won't. You get demoted and there'll be hell to pay. I won't let them demote you. You've had a rough day."
"Thanks, Draco."
"No problem. Hurry up, let's get going."
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"Just out. I love to be out at night. There's no better time of day in my opinion." He opened the window and stuck his head out. He felt a cool breeze dance across his face and through his silky, blonde, hair. **Perfect night for a broom ride-a cool breeze, a full moon, and the stars decorating the sky. It's beautiful!**
"What are you doing?"
"Checking to see how nice it is."
"Why?"
"I wanna take you for a broom ride."
"Oh no! I'm terrified of flying. It's-scary."
"I promise I won't let you fall," he said holding his hand out to her and grabbing his broom from the corner.
She took his hand and he pulled her up to him. Draco mounted his broom and she got on in front of him, and gripped the broom tightly.
"Ready?" Draco asked as he placed his hands in front of Hermione's
"If you don't go now, I might change my mind."
"Then we're off."
Hermione slammed her eyes closed as Draco kicked off the ground. Draco felt her body tense as they rose higher into the night air. Her eyes opened and she looked around. It wasn't as bad as she first expected.
"You okay?" Draco asked her.
"Yeah, fine." She relaxed a little as Draco placed one of his hands around her waist and drew her closer to him. She leaned back into his chest and closed her eyes again; only this time she closed them in comfort.
"Where do you wanna go?" he asked.
"Wherever. I don't particularly care."
"Somewhere loud or quiet?"
"I don't know. You choose."
"No, I want you to. I don't wanna disappoint you by taking you somewhere you'll hate."
"How 'bout we go down to a beach and conjure up some food?"
"Sounds good to me." He steered his broom toward the ocean and landed smoothly on the white sand. No one was there, which he had expected since it was pretty late. He conjured up a blanket and some food for them to eat. "Wanna listen to music?"
"Yeah, sure," she said with a smile.
He did a spell to make soft music come from all around them. Her face lit up as she sat down on the blanket and started nibbling on a piece of cheese.
Draco watched her intently as he used magic to put a sandwich together for himself. He caught her eye and she smiled at him. He smiled back then looked out at the water that was pounding against the rocky ledges and coming up onto the sand.
Her eyes became transfixed on the stars. She found them extremely beautiful. They were in their own world without the pain humans had to deal with. Sure stars eventually exploded, but it could take hundreds or thousands of years before people could actually witness it. They were hundreds of parsecs away and had their own vast world to live in.
"Thank you, Draco," she said as she brought her gaze back down to meet his.
"For what?"
"For taking me out here. It's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
He blushed a bit, but it wasn't noticeable in the darkness. "It's the least I could do. You deserve much better than what your life has handed you. You have dealt with all different types of pain, and a person likes you doesn't deserve to feel any."
"Everyone feels pain at one point or another, Draco. It's part of life."
"It shouldn't have to be. You don't deserve it, no one does. I hate that so many great wizards are dying in this fucking war! Their families have to go through hell because of it. It's all because a bunch of psychopathic bastards want more power that the rest of the world doesn't want them to have."
"It'll all be over soon." She touched his cheek gently with her fingertips. "They will come to an agreement one way or another."
He shook his head sadly. "I fear it won't be over for a long time."
"Don't think like that," she said as she moved closer to him and brought her hand down to take his. "There will be an end to all this fighting. I know there will be. We will live to see it."
"Are you sure about that? It only seems like it's getting worse."
"I'm very sure. Harry will be the end to Voldemort. If Harry dies, Voldemort dies. If Harry lives, Voldemort dies. Either way, Voldemort dies, so I don't think it will last much longer."
"How do you know that?"
"It was an ancient prophesy foretold by one of the greatest wizards of all time-Salazar Slytherin."
"Was it really?" His eyes grew wide. This was all new information to him.
"Yeah, almost everyone knows of it. It basically states that the boy who first brought about the fall of the Dark Lord will be the one to destroy him."
Draco looked down at the hand that was still clasped in Hermione's. He turned toward her and saw her beautiful feature accentuated by the moonlight. She looked like a goddess to him.
He leaned forward so that his face was only centimeters from hers. She knew what was coming and closed her eyes and inched forward until their lips met. Draco brought his free hand up to touch the smooth skin of Hermione's face as hers went to the back of his neck and through his silky, silvery-blonde hair. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slightly to grant him access. He quickly began to explore all the crevices of her mouth and she let out a low moan as their tongues intertwined.
As his hands began to roam all over her body, she pushed him away. He furrowed his brow and looked very confused. "I can't, Draco. I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Oh that's uh no problem." He turned his head once again and stared out over the ocean.
"It's not that I don't want to. I just don't wanna rush into things and have my heart broken again. Trust me when I say it's me, not you."
"It's alright," he shrugged.
"You seem irritated."
"I'm fine," he snapped.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We should probably just go back." She stood up, but he pulled her back down onto the blanket.
"No I don't wanna go yet." His voice became gentle again as he looked into her eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I don't really know what came over me."
"I just can't rush into things again. I've done it before and I've regretted it everyday since. I really do like you, Draco, but I'm not very good with relationships."
"I understand."
"You're not mad at me, are you?" she questioned tentatively.
"No. It was just the initial shock from before. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping myself together and I get angered easily. I try not to let it happen, but I just can't help it sometimes."
"It's alright. I just got scared for a second."
"I'm sorry. You alright now?"
"Yeah, fine," she answered with a meek smile.
He returned the smile and caressed her cheek with his hand. She leaned into his caress and moved closer to him. His arms went instinctively around her and pulled her close to him. Her head rested on his shoulder and they laced their fingers together.
Hermione looked out over the vast ocean and began to wonder why she was afraid of everything. She knew that Draco wasn't like the few other guys she dated, but for some reason she was still scared. Silent tears began to stream down her cheeks and she didn't know why.
When Draco looked down at her, he noticed that tears that were flowing from her beautiful, brown eyes. "Hermione, why are you crying?"
"I was just thinking about where my life has headed, and I realized how scared I have always been of taking a risk. I let so much of my life pass me by, and I just couldn't grasp onto it. I feel empty inside. I don't know what to make of anything, and I don't know why I'm thinking about this now."
While he was listening to her, Draco kissed the tears from her cheeks. "You aren't afraid of taking risks. What about all those adventures you shared with Potter and Weasley? I know you were a rule-breaker back in school."
"Since school ended I've been dead inside. Harry and Ron haven't been here with me. They were the reasons why I broke all the rules-I had accomplices most of the time, and they usually took the blame for me if we did happen to get caught."
"Maybe you've just been caught up in the whole war that you don't really know what you want anymore. Maybe you just need to take a break."
"Are you suggesting that I just stop working? I couldn't do that! This is my whole life! I live to help those poor soldiers." She looked up at him in total disbelief. In her mind, there was no possible way she could take a vacation.
"Only for a month-two weeks even. I'll take you to a tropical muggle island so you can be away from all of this. Come on. It'll be fun."
"I don't know," she said hesitantly.
"How 'bout this? If I do anything you don't approve of, you can put me in a full body bind for as long as you want."
"I wouldn't do that to you."
"Why not?"
"That's too mean."
He smirked a little. "Or you can just tell me that you don't approve. Either way works for me."
"Draco, as much as I want to, there's this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that's saying not to go."
He once again looked back out to the ocean. "I would never intentionally hurt you."
"I know. I'm just afraid to leave all my responsibilities behind. The other nurses are already extremely jealous and I'll probably get fired if I just pick up and go on vacation like that."
"I'll talk to them. I'll make them see that you deserve a nice vacation. You look so distraught lately, and I don't see the Hermione that I knew back in school. You're someone completely different and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Oh?"
"It's-I guess you seem more stressed out lately."
"I am though. I've been working so hard, and I feel like it's for nothing. We've started to pull ahead some, but we're still a long way from victory, and everything can turn around again."
"Okay, that's it. You definitely need a break from everything. I'll talk to Julie tonight about all of this."
"How do you know Julie is my boss?"
"I know more than you think." He smirked at her again and she shook her head slightly.
"Alright, alright, I'll go with you, but only for two weeks."
"I knew you'd see it my way. Now let's go back to my house." He stood and helper Hermione up to her feet. With a few flicks of his wand, Draco had cleared everything away, and they mounted his broom to fly back to the large manor.
After a while, Draco said, "How 'bout we go to dinner now?"
Hermione bit her bottom lip and began chewing on it. "Well-I-I really- downstairs-they'll need me. I don't know. I mean, I do want to go with you, but what about the soldiers?" she stuttered.
"I'm sure they'll understand why you took most of the day off. Let's go out. We'll have a good time. You'll come back, get some sleep, and be ready for work tomorrow morning. Doesn't that sound like a good idea?"
A small smile played across her lips. "It really does sound like a good idea. Ugh-I am so getting demoted after this."
"No you won't. You get demoted and there'll be hell to pay. I won't let them demote you. You've had a rough day."
"Thanks, Draco."
"No problem. Hurry up, let's get going."
"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"Just out. I love to be out at night. There's no better time of day in my opinion." He opened the window and stuck his head out. He felt a cool breeze dance across his face and through his silky, blonde, hair. **Perfect night for a broom ride-a cool breeze, a full moon, and the stars decorating the sky. It's beautiful!**
"What are you doing?"
"Checking to see how nice it is."
"Why?"
"I wanna take you for a broom ride."
"Oh no! I'm terrified of flying. It's-scary."
"I promise I won't let you fall," he said holding his hand out to her and grabbing his broom from the corner.
She took his hand and he pulled her up to him. Draco mounted his broom and she got on in front of him, and gripped the broom tightly.
"Ready?" Draco asked as he placed his hands in front of Hermione's
"If you don't go now, I might change my mind."
"Then we're off."
Hermione slammed her eyes closed as Draco kicked off the ground. Draco felt her body tense as they rose higher into the night air. Her eyes opened and she looked around. It wasn't as bad as she first expected.
"You okay?" Draco asked her.
"Yeah, fine." She relaxed a little as Draco placed one of his hands around her waist and drew her closer to him. She leaned back into his chest and closed her eyes again; only this time she closed them in comfort.
"Where do you wanna go?" he asked.
"Wherever. I don't particularly care."
"Somewhere loud or quiet?"
"I don't know. You choose."
"No, I want you to. I don't wanna disappoint you by taking you somewhere you'll hate."
"How 'bout we go down to a beach and conjure up some food?"
"Sounds good to me." He steered his broom toward the ocean and landed smoothly on the white sand. No one was there, which he had expected since it was pretty late. He conjured up a blanket and some food for them to eat. "Wanna listen to music?"
"Yeah, sure," she said with a smile.
He did a spell to make soft music come from all around them. Her face lit up as she sat down on the blanket and started nibbling on a piece of cheese.
Draco watched her intently as he used magic to put a sandwich together for himself. He caught her eye and she smiled at him. He smiled back then looked out at the water that was pounding against the rocky ledges and coming up onto the sand.
Her eyes became transfixed on the stars. She found them extremely beautiful. They were in their own world without the pain humans had to deal with. Sure stars eventually exploded, but it could take hundreds or thousands of years before people could actually witness it. They were hundreds of parsecs away and had their own vast world to live in.
"Thank you, Draco," she said as she brought her gaze back down to meet his.
"For what?"
"For taking me out here. It's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."
He blushed a bit, but it wasn't noticeable in the darkness. "It's the least I could do. You deserve much better than what your life has handed you. You have dealt with all different types of pain, and a person likes you doesn't deserve to feel any."
"Everyone feels pain at one point or another, Draco. It's part of life."
"It shouldn't have to be. You don't deserve it, no one does. I hate that so many great wizards are dying in this fucking war! Their families have to go through hell because of it. It's all because a bunch of psychopathic bastards want more power that the rest of the world doesn't want them to have."
"It'll all be over soon." She touched his cheek gently with her fingertips. "They will come to an agreement one way or another."
He shook his head sadly. "I fear it won't be over for a long time."
"Don't think like that," she said as she moved closer to him and brought her hand down to take his. "There will be an end to all this fighting. I know there will be. We will live to see it."
"Are you sure about that? It only seems like it's getting worse."
"I'm very sure. Harry will be the end to Voldemort. If Harry dies, Voldemort dies. If Harry lives, Voldemort dies. Either way, Voldemort dies, so I don't think it will last much longer."
"How do you know that?"
"It was an ancient prophesy foretold by one of the greatest wizards of all time-Salazar Slytherin."
"Was it really?" His eyes grew wide. This was all new information to him.
"Yeah, almost everyone knows of it. It basically states that the boy who first brought about the fall of the Dark Lord will be the one to destroy him."
Draco looked down at the hand that was still clasped in Hermione's. He turned toward her and saw her beautiful feature accentuated by the moonlight. She looked like a goddess to him.
He leaned forward so that his face was only centimeters from hers. She knew what was coming and closed her eyes and inched forward until their lips met. Draco brought his free hand up to touch the smooth skin of Hermione's face as hers went to the back of his neck and through his silky, silvery-blonde hair. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth slightly to grant him access. He quickly began to explore all the crevices of her mouth and she let out a low moan as their tongues intertwined.
As his hands began to roam all over her body, she pushed him away. He furrowed his brow and looked very confused. "I can't, Draco. I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"Oh that's uh no problem." He turned his head once again and stared out over the ocean.
"It's not that I don't want to. I just don't wanna rush into things and have my heart broken again. Trust me when I say it's me, not you."
"It's alright," he shrugged.
"You seem irritated."
"I'm fine," he snapped.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We should probably just go back." She stood up, but he pulled her back down onto the blanket.
"No I don't wanna go yet." His voice became gentle again as he looked into her eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I don't really know what came over me."
"I just can't rush into things again. I've done it before and I've regretted it everyday since. I really do like you, Draco, but I'm not very good with relationships."
"I understand."
"You're not mad at me, are you?" she questioned tentatively.
"No. It was just the initial shock from before. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping myself together and I get angered easily. I try not to let it happen, but I just can't help it sometimes."
"It's alright. I just got scared for a second."
"I'm sorry. You alright now?"
"Yeah, fine," she answered with a meek smile.
He returned the smile and caressed her cheek with his hand. She leaned into his caress and moved closer to him. His arms went instinctively around her and pulled her close to him. Her head rested on his shoulder and they laced their fingers together.
Hermione looked out over the vast ocean and began to wonder why she was afraid of everything. She knew that Draco wasn't like the few other guys she dated, but for some reason she was still scared. Silent tears began to stream down her cheeks and she didn't know why.
When Draco looked down at her, he noticed that tears that were flowing from her beautiful, brown eyes. "Hermione, why are you crying?"
"I was just thinking about where my life has headed, and I realized how scared I have always been of taking a risk. I let so much of my life pass me by, and I just couldn't grasp onto it. I feel empty inside. I don't know what to make of anything, and I don't know why I'm thinking about this now."
While he was listening to her, Draco kissed the tears from her cheeks. "You aren't afraid of taking risks. What about all those adventures you shared with Potter and Weasley? I know you were a rule-breaker back in school."
"Since school ended I've been dead inside. Harry and Ron haven't been here with me. They were the reasons why I broke all the rules-I had accomplices most of the time, and they usually took the blame for me if we did happen to get caught."
"Maybe you've just been caught up in the whole war that you don't really know what you want anymore. Maybe you just need to take a break."
"Are you suggesting that I just stop working? I couldn't do that! This is my whole life! I live to help those poor soldiers." She looked up at him in total disbelief. In her mind, there was no possible way she could take a vacation.
"Only for a month-two weeks even. I'll take you to a tropical muggle island so you can be away from all of this. Come on. It'll be fun."
"I don't know," she said hesitantly.
"How 'bout this? If I do anything you don't approve of, you can put me in a full body bind for as long as you want."
"I wouldn't do that to you."
"Why not?"
"That's too mean."
He smirked a little. "Or you can just tell me that you don't approve. Either way works for me."
"Draco, as much as I want to, there's this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that's saying not to go."
He once again looked back out to the ocean. "I would never intentionally hurt you."
"I know. I'm just afraid to leave all my responsibilities behind. The other nurses are already extremely jealous and I'll probably get fired if I just pick up and go on vacation like that."
"I'll talk to them. I'll make them see that you deserve a nice vacation. You look so distraught lately, and I don't see the Hermione that I knew back in school. You're someone completely different and I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."
"Oh?"
"It's-I guess you seem more stressed out lately."
"I am though. I've been working so hard, and I feel like it's for nothing. We've started to pull ahead some, but we're still a long way from victory, and everything can turn around again."
"Okay, that's it. You definitely need a break from everything. I'll talk to Julie tonight about all of this."
"How do you know Julie is my boss?"
"I know more than you think." He smirked at her again and she shook her head slightly.
"Alright, alright, I'll go with you, but only for two weeks."
"I knew you'd see it my way. Now let's go back to my house." He stood and helper Hermione up to her feet. With a few flicks of his wand, Draco had cleared everything away, and they mounted his broom to fly back to the large manor.