Silent Incantations

Hermione Granger

Malfoy made it sound like being different from every other girl alive was a bad thing.

"And you really are a git," I remarked.

"Well, at least I'm a sensible one. Your clothes are going to take a while to dry while you're wearing them. You're going to have to take them off eventually," he retorted.

"Can't you think about anything besides me removing my clothes?"

He looked as though he was seriously considering it. "No. I'm a guy, remember?"

I rolled my eyes and splashed him. "Oh, is that how you want it to be, Granger?" He asked with a smirk.

Before I knew what was coming, he dunked me under the water. I came to the surface coughing, sputtering, and angry. "Malfoy!" I yelled. "I'm going to get you for that!"

"Oh, really?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Really," I declared.

"You're weak, Granger," he smirked. He began to swim in the direction of the waterfall, and I lagged behind. He was a much stronger swimmer than I was.

I put my arms out to try and dunk him (which I knew there was no possible way I was strong enough to do, but it didn't hurt to try), but Malfoy was too quick and he grabbed my arms.

I struggled to get away as he pulled me close to him. He knew it would bother me to be within three feet of him, so his idea of angering me was to press himself up against me. Then he suddenly pushed me away from him abruptly and I found myself under the waterfall's stream.

"Damn it!" I cursed, touching my drenched hair. Malfoy laughed at me.

"I told you you're weak," he smirked. I glared at him.

I got out of the water and found that I was freezing cold. There was a little bit of a breeze, and with the fact that I was soaking wet added in there, I was shivering.

"Aw, is little baby Granger cold?" Malfoy asked, getting out of the water behind me.

"Yes," I glared at him. "Because of you."

He smirked and we climbed up the hill to the top where I slipped back into my shoes. "Take your robe off," he said. It was more of an order than a suggestion.

"No," I said, wrapping it around myself tighter.

"Granger, wearing a wet robe isn't going to help you get warm," he reached out to me and slipped it off. I crossed my arms self consciously. "Wear mine," he tossed his Slytherin robes over my shoulders.

"Aren't you afraid I'll dirty it up?" I asked bitterly.

"God, Granger, I gave you my robe to wear. The least you can do is thank me."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"No problem," he smirked. "I can't wait to see what Weasley has to say when I bring you back wearing Slytherin robes."

I groaned.

"I must say, though, Granger, that you do look most becoming in them," he smirked.

I glared at him again. I usually did that when I couldn't think up a witty response to his comments.

As expected, Ron gave us an earful when we returned. "Hermione! Take those off!" He demanded with a horrified tone in his voice.

"Gods, Weasley, you're worse than me! At least I asked her if she wanted to get naked," Malfoy said.

Ron looked horrified. "I went swimming with all my clothes on, Ron," I informed him. "That's why I'm wearing Malfoy's robe."

Ron looked visibly relaxed by these words.

I hung my wet robe on a low tree branch and gave Malfoy back his robe. I didn't want to wear it longer than I had to. "I'm surprised you don't want to keep it," he smirked. "None of the girls who've worn my clothes ever gave them back."

"Yeah, well, it's the only one you've got," I replied.

"True enough, I guess," he muttered.

----

That was easily one of the best traveling days. We ate a generally good meal and had a good time.

The next day was not so good. We were walking down the path and following the arrows. For the most part, we just stayed straight on the path. However, whenever there was a fork in the road, we had to turn according to the arrows.

Maybe I should explain the path. It wasn't paved or anything… it was usually just vaguely there. For the most part, we were walking over weeds that were bent over. There wasn't even gravel or sand to make it easier on our feet. Occasionally, the plant life would be dead and there would be dusty dirt beneath our feet.

"Did you hear that?" Malfoy snapped his head to the right. We all imitated him, but no one made it obvious that they agreed with him.

"What?" I asked.

"Shh!" he hissed, putting a finger to his lips.

Then I heard it, too. It sounded like someone was walking through the thick brush. It was my day for the wand, so I dug through my pockets and gripped it tightly.

Then a figure emerged through the brush. I didn't know whether to stun the person immediately, or wait until they attacked. I chose to wait.

"Draco?" The figure said, looking at Malfoy with surprise. "I had no idea you were involved in this, too."

"Mr. Zabini, I'm not sure what you mean," Malfoy said slyly.

"Oh, Draco, don't play innocent with me. I know you're going to meet Blaise in that 'Flame' or whatever that he's involved with."

"Actually, sir, we—" I began

"Shut up!" Zabini's father barked angrily. "I know you all know something about this organization, and I want you to bring me there! And Draco, your father is growing angrier by the second. He knows you're escaping into the woods and he is organizing a search party. You should be ashamed of what you're doing. Hanging around with these two blood traitors and the mudblood and him! I don't know what—"

He fell silent. "Way to go, Granger," Malfoy said approvingly, eyeing my hand with the wand. "Using silent incantations is a brilliant thing," he said. "I wish I mastered it better while we were in school."

"It's no use for you here, though," Ron remarked.

"Yeah, but still."

"We'd better get moving."

----

"Mr. Zabini called it 'The Flame,'" I said with stifled laughter.

"I wonder how he found out about it," Neville said.

"Just because it's supposedly a 'legend' doesn't mean it's a big secret," Malfoy pointed out. "Maybe he heard of it when he was in school and now he's hearing whispers of it again."

"Whatever," I said. "His other comments worried me more."

"What? Like the whole 'my father's planning a search party' thing?" Malfoy asked.

I nodded. "Your father's not stupid. If he's serious about this, he'll find you."

"I suppose that's true," Malfoy admitted.

"And then we're all screwed," Ginny remarked bitterly. "Thanks, Malfoy!" she praised sarcastically.

"Look, it's hardly my fault that my father wants to hunt me like an animal!"

"Oh, right," Ron rolled his eyes. "I suppose it's no one's fault at all."

"It really isn't," Malfoy insisted.

"Can we stop worrying about what's yet to happen?" I persisted, "and worry about where we're going next?"

"Since when has that changed?" Neville asked. "We're following this path until there's no where left to go."

"I guess you're right," I admitted, pocketing the wand once more.

Author's Note: Thanks for being patient! That was the longest I think I ever took to update: 4 days. I suppose that isn't all that bad. Well, thanks for all the reviews! NEXT CHAPTER SPOILER: Ginny has a secret she never told anyone, and it's something that's making her sick. You may have noticed how strange she's been acting in these past chapters… well, there's a reason. Now she must tell everyone about her secret and request help. But Malfoy's got the wand this time… and he won't give her the wand without getting something in return. That asshole!