Title: Learning Paradise
Author: RainShadow
Rating: PG-13, R later
Part: 2/10
Beta Reader: Klee
Learning Paradise
~Chapter One~
It was hot. His cheek was resting on something gritty. He moved his mouth and grimaced. Sand. A warm breeze blew over him and he could smell dirt, and salt water //The ocean?//, and exotic flowers. The light was bright behind his eyelids. Very cautiously, Draco Malfoy opened his eyes. //That would be the sun// He squinted and craned his head to look around. Beach and blue ocean laid endless in front of him. He sat up and froze in pain. His skin was on fire! He glanced swiftly down, positive he was about to see flames consuming his body, but of course there weren't. Draco moaned in pain; he had tremendously awful sunburn and his skin was one massive, burnt nerve. Desperately he crawled into the blessed shade of a nearby tree and collapsed, his body overloading and shutting down in the face of too much agony.
~
Harry Potter groaned and rolled over onto his back. He gingerly opened his eyes and sat up. The world was terribly out of focus. He felt on the ground next to him //dirt?// and found his glasses. Shoving them on his face, he blinked as everything became much clearer and much, much worse. He was at the edge of a forest, but not the one near Hogwarts, because a few yards away he could see the beginning of a beach. He stood and hobbled past an outcropping of rock that blocked his view, and his worst fears were confirmed. Nothing but water, the deep blue-green of the ocean, extended past the small bit of land. Harry swallowed at the sight of all that water and realized how thirsty he was. He turned and went back to where he had woken up and looked desperately around for some sign of *where* he was or, more importantly, how he could get back. He checked the pockets of his ragged robe in hopes of finding his wand, but no, it was gone. He shut his eyes as he remembered those last, final moments between himself and Voldemort. What had happened to his friends? Had they won? Or worse, were they... hurt? Dead, even? Did anyone know what had happened to him? And the vital information from Sirius, that could change the tide of the war if he had gotten it to Dumbledore, how now was the wizard supposed to know?
"Crap." Harry muttered. "Crap crap crap."
After a while, he decided it was rather pointless just to stand around waiting, better to go look for food and water and the like. He looked around, saw the outcropping of rock he had passed earlier, and took a closer look. He noticed a nice-sized overhang and cautiously entered the cool, dark hole. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim light and was pleased with what he had found. The floor was covered in soft sand and a few rays of light poked through gaps in the low ceiling. Harry could stand, but just barely, and for once he was grateful for his relatively short height.
He peeled off his robes, the dried blood sticking to his skin, and left it in a heap in the middle of the cave. He squared his shoulders and looked outside. Time to explore the forest.
~
One all-prevailing thought ruled his mind. Water. //waterwaterwater// He gripped the tree and hauled himself upright, his skin stretching painfully and protesting the movement of every muscle. Draco swayed dizzily and took a few steps forward. He tripped and landed in some sort of spiky plant. He took a deep breath and tried to call for help. His tongue was fat and slow in his mouth, and only a hoarse cough emerged. He laid his head down, not even caring that sand was getting into his hair, and closed his eyes. And waited... for something.
~
Harry followed the sound of running water hopefully, and gleefully stumbled into a small stream. He plunged his head in and threw it back, laughing. Water dripped from his ears and hair, soaking his shirt. He wiped his glasses off, then cupped his hands and brought the precious liquid to his lips and drank deeply. He removed his socks and shoes and splashed down the stream, until he came to a small, quiet pool surrounded by large trees with branches thick with leaves.
Harry sat on the bank, watching the small ripples in the pool each time a leaf fell from a tree and dropped into the water. He had found this stream, and it had seemed a huge accomplishment, but it paled in comparison when he thought about his friends, the battle, whether Remus had found out where Sirius was hiding. //Home// These things were so very important, and yet here he was, sitting beside a pool doing *nothing* to help! Harry's hands groped the earth beside him and came in contact with a small object. He threw the rock into the pool with all his strength, watching in frustration as it skimmed twice and then sank slowly to the bottom.
He scrambled to his feet, trying to find something that would distract him from his troublesome musings. His stomach growled. Oh yes, food would be good.
To his surprise, Harry found that the forest was rich with edible food. There were blackberries, walnuts, hazelnuts, grapes, and even a few peach trees. He had ripped up his robe into small squares and fashioned the squares into small sacks, using another strip of cloth to secure them. These he had filled with the nuts and peaches. He deposited these in his cave, and then went for a drink. (He had yet to invent a way to carry water around.)
Now, as the sun headed westward, he was looking for soft materials to sleep on. His search carried him down the river, to the beach, and he looked around in awe as the red sun dipped slowly into the sea. He turned, and nearly stumbled into a palm tree. Nearby, something rustled, and Harry nearly dropped his armful of soft leaves. A moan emerged from behind a large bush, and Harry gathered his resolve and went to have a look.
~
His eyes blinked open at some sound. Someone -or something- had walked past him. Draco decided he would have to take the risk of the thing being unfriendly. He needed help, and so he tried to speak.
Suddenly, the light of the setting sun was blocked as a figure leaned over him. Draco squinted upward.
"Malfoy?!" a suspiciously familiar voice said in astonishment. No. It couldn't be...
"Potter?"
