Draco was bored. Granger had left him for over an hour now and his stomach gurgled steadily. Come to think of it he hadn't had anything to eat in almost two days. He longed for the specialty meals his mother's house elves would make when he called for them. Always fresh and exactly how he liked it.
He looked around the forest, waiting for the cavalry to arrive. They were sure taking their sweet time.
They should have been here by now. It almost worried him. If he hadn't convinced Granger to stay a little longer he would never be found. Dread washed over him. Potter and Weasley would arrive and he would eventually be handed over to somebody completely off their rocker, like Mad-Eye-Moody and put through "in-depth" questioning in an attempt to reveal the Dark Lords plans.
He huffed.
Little did they know, he hadn't been bestowed any useful or important information's. After all, he wasn't exactly in Voldemort's good graces. His failure to kill Dumbledore had sullied the Malfoy name once more. Thus, earning him the title of coward by many in the ranks. His father, of course, had been furious. This had led to the creation of a failsafe by Bellatrix. His mother had been the only one left unruffled by his "misstep". As if she had been relieved he hadn't done it.
If he was being honest with himself, his hesitation wasn't caused by inexperience or fear…he simply couldn't go through with it. The old man had been a figure of authority since childhood and he hated to admit it, but Dumbledore had been nothing but kind. Even when he knew he didn't deserve it.
If Snape hadn't been there to finish the job…let's just say aunt "Bella" wouldn't have been so forgiving.
He grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the dwindling fire.
Granger had asked him to get wood. It wasn't exactly ideal to have his hands and feet tied to do it. Best he could do was pick up surrounding twigs. He didn't bother. She could get wood herself when she came back.
He smirked a little. She would have hunted, gathered the necessary tools and cooked the food. Not much different from home after all.
A hissing by his feet caught his attention.
He looked down and yelped as a snake caught him by surprise.
Pushing his legs under him, he propelled himself backward in alarm, his feet accidentally giving it a stern hit in the process.
Assaulted, the snake reared its head and struck him in the leg.
He cried out in fear and pain as it coiled to strike again.
"Incendio!" said Hermione.
Her wand shot fire at the snake, which proceeded to burn and crumble into ashes.
She'd already been entering camp when she heard Malfoy's scream.
Draco withered in pain on the ground, his tied arms clutching his bleeding leg.
Hermione dropped down beside him and untied her bag from her waist.
"How did you anger an adder snake? They usually keep to themselves."
"The bloody thing attacked me," he cried.
"Not likely," she said, holding back an eye roll as she pulled out a small vase of anti-venom.
She unscrewed the cork and held it out to him.
"It's anti-venom."
This time he didn't hesitate and drank it.
When he finished he threw it aside.
"About time Granger, I just about died."
"You're barely bleeding and the antivenin was just a precaution," she said, leaning over to retrieve the vial.
"Antivenin?"
"Yes, that's the proper term for it."
"You're like a walking talking dictionary; any chance you could define the word hag for me?"
She sat back on her heels as she dropped the vial back into her pouch and secured it once more to her waist.
She wouldn't let him get to her this time.
"Are you quite done?"
"Not even close."
"Well, I caught a fox," she said, completely ignoring him. "Do you know how to clean it?"
The tips of his lips curled down in disgust.
"No."
She took out her wand and vanished his ropes.
"Then go grab the wood for the fire like I asked you."
"I'm not doing fuck all-" he said, leaning forward to pick at his clotted bite.
"Then you can watch as I eat the meat in front of you."
He stopped and looked up at her.
Well shit.
"You're barbaric-"
"No, I don't get served hand and foot in my big mansion with servants at my every command. Out here it's a miracle if we catch a full meal. So pull your weight or starve," she said as she began magically skinning the dead animal.
He couldn't believe the nerve. How dare she speak to him like that?
He gave out some low grumbled insults as he got up and left to look for firewood.
He had to take a piss anyways.
"Don't go too far," she called after him.
"Take a calming draught Granger, you have food, I'm not going anywhere."
Despite her annoyance, Hermione's lips turned upwards a bit. Ultimatums work on him.
Of course, she would have fed him.
She knew that he knew it too, but thankfully, he hadn't called her bluff.
He came back a while later with his arms full of dry wood and he unceremoniously dropped them in front of her.
"There," he said. "We have enough wood for a few days. My part here is done."
"Actually, the cauldron needs water, so if you could go fill it up by the lake-"
"I'm not your bitch Granger-"
"Look, you can argue with me all night, or we can work together and get things done twice as fast," she said, fingers peeling the meat off its bone.
"Besides," she said pulling out her wand and wiggling it, "you are my bitch."
He took a step back, shocked by her words.
Granger never swore.
Then his eyebrows creased in anger as he reached for the pot and then headed towards the lake.
Hermione smirked at his back as she watched him walk away.
For the first time in the past couple of days, she didn't feel so overwhelmed.
When he returned, his demeanor had changed.
He gently put the pot of water down and sat on the other side of the fire. It now burned brightly in the sunset glow.
She didn't say anything as she added the meat and some bones to the water and had the cauldron levitate above the fire to cook.
The water began to boil, neither of them having yet to say a word.
When everything was cooked, she levitated the bones out and poured them both some broth in plastic bowls, splitting the meat equally between them.
Draco coughed on his first bite.
"This is disgusting."
"It's not bad actually."
"You don't know what good food is."
"Don't be ridiculous; unless you're hiding a woodland cooking skill up your sleeve, this will be one of the better things you'll be eating,"
"Watch your tongue Granger, you seem to be lashing it a lot today and my patience with you is growing thin."
She couldn't help her eye roll this time and let her spoon drop into her bowl.
"Draco this is stupid-"
"Don't you dare use my first name," he spat. "You forget your place Granger; I can't wait to be able to remind you of it-"
"It's right here Malfoy," she interrupted, deadly serious. "On the other side of the fire, alone in the woods and stuck with you".
He smirked.
"We'll see," he said.
She didn't respond but kept her gaze on his unfaltering eyes.
Her good mood had vanished and sudden fear crept around her.
She broke the staring contest and looked around the forest.
Night had fallen, the birds had gone to sleep and the lack of wind made the trees eerily quiet.
She pulled her wand out of her pocket and walked around to him.
"Get up," she said.
"What?"
"It's bedtime."
"I'm not done eating," he exclaimed.
"I don't care; you didn't like it anyway."
"Granger-"
"Up," she said now pointing her wand at him, "and hands in the air."
"Is that really necessary?"
"Now Malfoy," she stressed and flicked her wand at him threateningly.
She realized her paranoia was getting the better of her but his odd behavior really started throwing her for a loop. Malfoy was always cocky, but he was never brave. And lately, he was showing a lot of it.
"Alright! Alright," he said, getting up and putting his hands behind his head and turning around.
She poked her wand into his back, leading him into the tent.
"On the bed," she said.
"Geez Granger, who know you were so domineering?" He half-joked, dropping his hands.
She waved her wand and ropes once more tied his wrists and his ankles.
He lost his balance and fell onto his bed lopsided.
"Oh ya, everyone," he answered himself.
She ignored him as she tied the other end of his rope to the leg of the bed and went back outside to check her wards again.
Everything was in place.
She sat outside until the fire died and when she turned in for the night Malfoy was breathing steady, sound asleep.
She lay down on her bed and hid her wand under her pillowcase once more.
Staring up at the ceiling, she couldn't shake off that eerie feeling.
They would leave tomorrow she decided, whether he wanted to or not.
Authors note: That was the quickest chapter I've written. I'd like to thank all my followers and reviews, I get super excited to see your comments. See you again soon!