Draco watched her contemplate. His migraine was still roaring and the evening seemed to be getting colder as the seconds ticked by.
"Well?" He asked impatiently.
"I'm not sure."
"Not so bright after all."
"I don't hear you coming up with any great ideas," she snapped
He turned his head, looking for coverage or paths.
"We walk until we find something."
"No, I've walked this entire area, there's nothing but a stream forty-five minutes that way," she said, pointing with her thumb.
His eyes fell to the pouch tied to her jean's belt loop.
"What's in there?"
"As I said," she began counting with her fingers, "A couple of snacks, some potion ingredients, clothes, a couple of hygiene products and perhaps a couple of books, not counting the ones I left at camp."
His rolled his eyes before his body gave a stern shiver and he crossed his arms in response. He looked around once more, spotting dead branches underneath a tree. He walked over to them and pulled until they came loose from their tangle. He dragged them back to her, letting them drop with a thud at her feet, "Start with fire."
To his astonishment, she pulled out her wand, muttered an incantation and began to work on cutting the branches in log sized pieces, without argument.
When she finished, Hermione took a couple of steps aside and crouched. She removed the foliage from the ground with her hand.
"Try to find some rocks" she instructed, focused on her task.
"You do it. I think I've suffered enough for one day."
She paused, took a calming breath, and looked up at him.
"Would you prefer to be down here, digging a hole with your fingernails your highness?" Sarcastically waiving her dirty hands at him.
He made a face.
"I suppose you're right, only peasants sully themselves."
Her hands dropped and she bitterly smacked the ground as he walked away. Maybe he was already over his head trauma. It sure seemed like it.
When he came back to the site, he wordlessly placed the rocks in a circle formation around her make-shift pit and sat opposite of her as he watched her light the fire.
The warmth was subtle and he was grateful for it, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. Silence settled between them.
Hermione sat on the other side of the pit, fatigue making her feel colder than what she was.
Finally, Malfoy spoke up.
"We're going to need more than this if we don't want to turn into human bloody popsicles by morning."
"Please contribute, I beg of you," she said with heavy sarcasm.
"Your books." He stated.
"How would that-"
"I'll show you," sticking his hand out to her.
"Oh. Oh! No."
"Come on Granger. You can't possibly think it's more important than your life".
"These books have saved my life. And in retrospect, they've saved yours too."
"Are you being serious?"
"I am, I have potion preparation texts-"
"Can't use them if your dead-"
"and first aid manuals-" He got up and walked over to her.
"and a book Dumbledore gave me-"
"Right now I don't give two shits what they are," he stretched his hand out once more to her. "Do it and we might just wake up tomorrow."
He waited as she chewed her lips in consideration and let out an irritated huff, the condensed air visible once more from his quick expiration.
"For fucks sakes Granger, I'll buy you new books myself,"
She shot him a look of total disbelief.
"Newest editions." He added.
She didn't believe him for a second. But as a shiver raked her body, she hesitantly reached into her bag and pulled out Advanced Potion-Making, and gently fingered its binding. She had taken good care of it thus far.
"Hey!" The book ripped from her hands as he snatched it from her. He opened a random page and she cringed as he tore it, crumpled it up and shoved it inside his shirt. She resigned herself to silently watch as he repeated the process. Despite the missing buttons and cut in the cloth, he crumpled the pages until he was so stuffed he resembled a deformed scarecrow.
Her heart sank, not only were her books useful and interesting, they were her escape when she needed to step away from the constant fear and anxiety of the ongoing warfare. She hoped they wouldn't need to use all of her paper resources because honestly, that would be dreadful.
"Here," he tossed the book into her lap, "I'll let you decide your priorities."
She flipped him the bird.
"Just calling it how I see it" he snickered and plopped down a couple of paces away from her.
She took a moment to swallow her pride, then opened the book and ripped out the pages of the first chapter, before crumpling them up and doing the same. Might as well use the chapters she had already familiarized herself with first.
Silence ensued once more.
Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out two of Ron's shirts. "Did you need a pillow?"
He looked at it disdainfully, "I can't believe I'm reduced to this."
She chucked it at him and pulled out two of Harry's shirts and rolled them up before getting up and taking a few steps towards Malfoy, the crumpling noise of the paper in her shirt evident as she went.
She took out her wand, "hands please."
"Really Granger? Again?" He whined.
"And every night until I find a way to get you to the Order's headquarters" she retorted.
"And where is that exactly?" He snapped as rope shot from her wand and bound his hands and feet once more.
"You'll know when we get there," she said, tying the ends of it to the nearest tree.
She had no clue.
She sat back in her original position and re-kindled the fire, internally debating what their next course of action should be.
"What happened today?"
She looked up and studied him for a moment, before carefully choosing her answer.
"We were attacked by death eaters this morning. I used the imperious curse to have you help me escape. Then we ran pretty much all day, until I basically couldn't run anymore."
"That explains why it feels like I've been stomped all over by a Hippogriff," he said, referring to their third-year event from Hogwarts.
"Buckbeak barely scratched you," she said annoyed.
"He nearly took my arm off."
She put her head in her hands "you're such a baby."
"You're such a hypocrite. You cried like a baby when dear aunt Bella carved your title into your arm," he said pointing at her scar with his chin, "I bet you barely felt it."
"Are you fucking shitting me?" She shrieked, "Bellatrix tortured me for information. You're comparing it to being scratched by an animal?"
"I see no difference. Oh wait, yes I do," he said maliciously, "I don't have a scar."
"You will," she replied with equal darkness, "right there." He followed her finger pointing to his chest and looked back up at her impressed. He expected tears, rage, and fire. What he didn't expect from her was ice.
His lip curved upward. Impressive.
"What happened after we stopped running?" He circled back to the original subject. Best to explore the icy parts of her personality when she wasn't gripping her wand with white knuckles.
"Nothing," she clipped "I left your boggled mind alone while I searched for food and water." Lying, according to the Weasley twins, was always best delivered within a truth. They would be proud.
He nodded and said nothing else, rubbing his hands to the fire with what little movement his restraints allowed him.
Eventually, her eyelids became heavy and her mind returned to how she was going to find the Order's headquarters. As her thoughts drifted away, she put that on hold until she could properly think it over in the morning.
Draco didn't sleep a wink. The paper insulation kept him warm but his back, his hands, and his feet were numb. He had slept directly beside the rocks of the fire pit, desperately soaking up any heat it offered. He growled. The morning wasn't warming up fast enough.
He noticed Hermione had also moved closer to the fire, but she had slept soundly most of the night.
"Granger." She hummed in response, unstirred.
"Granger wake up, I'm losing circulation."
Her eyes cracked open and she made a disappointed grunting sound.
"Today would be great."
She slowly reached for her wand and when she grabbed it, made a half-fast attempt to wave it. Nevertheless, his bounds untied themselves.
He rocked back and used the motion to propel himself up. Looking around, the forest was much more welcoming in the morning light. He gave his hands and feet a shake and attempted a stretch but flinched, his aching chest not agreeing with the movement.
"Let's get going Granger, I don't want a repeat of last night," he said, rubbing his ribcage.
"What? Wasn't as good for you as it was for me?" She said with a yawn.
He just looked at her.
She woke all the way up, "that didn't come out right."
"No wonder you don't want to get up," he snickered.
"That's not what I meant," she stood up.
A genuine laugh of amusement escaped him at her flustered composure.
"I-oh forget it." She rolled her eyes. She should have just put a shoe in her mouth.
Authors note: Hope you enjoyed this one! I've already got two future chapters written, just not in order :p
I'm getting excited to show you where this is leading. Happy reading! - Mel