Chapter 9
Soundtrack - Massive Attack Paradise Circus
"Are you even listening to me?!"
"Yes, I m sorry, I was just thinking. Go on."
They had been talking for about twenty minutes, during which El had been talking enthusiastically about her next meeting with Lorenzo, and Draco had been nodding mechanically and barely catching the full meaning of her words. He was completely lost in his thoughts, although he would have been happy to forget everything and listen to Elisa s light-hearted chatter.
Just don t think about Granger.
This girl has been on his mind lately. In fact, what the hell is happening to them? Why are the circumstances such that in some incomprehensible way she is always there? And most importantly, what the fuck happened yesterday?! From all these questions, the answers to which he still can t find, he has long had a headache.
" And we re supposed to meet him today."
Elisa s words sounded as if from somewhere far away, but Draco caught their meaning.
"I m sorry, what?" he threw his head up, frowning.
"Dear Draco, it s high time for you to meet! Besides, we all have something to talk about together."
With that, Elisa sat down on the edge of the bed next to Draco and gently placed her hand on his palm.
"Talk together? What for?" Malfoy stared at her blankly "Sorry, I can t tell you right now," Elisa said, shifting in her seat and looking away, " but if we go right away, then "
"Okay, let s go."
Elisa was surprised by Draco s compliancy, but she was unaware of the reasons for this behaviour. She had noticed that he d been acting strangely since the morning, but her inquiries had yielded no results.
Twenty minutes later they were in Lorenzo s small, cosy office. All the furniture was made of a light wood with the name signs of Magnolia engraved, and the interior somehow reminded Draco of Dumbledore s office with the only difference that Lorenzo preferred to keep his things in a more orderly state.
"Good morning, Elisa and Draco," the Italian greeted them imperiously as they entered. "Have a seat."
After he said these words, Draco s eyes met Lorenzo s tenacious gaze, who was looking at him with both interest and thoughtfulness at the same time. They studied each other in silence for a moment, then Elisa tugged on Draco s sleeve and he sat down.
"I apologize for not introducing myself " Malfoy began, but the Italian cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Don t worry, Draco. I know perfectly well who you are, so I suggest we leave the officialdom behind the walls of this office, if you don t mind, of course."
Lorenzo smiled politely at Draco, and there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.
"As my niece has probably already told you, my name is Lorenzo, and I m the owner of The Beautiful Magnolia, strange as it may sound."
"Why should it sound strange?" Draco asked mechanically, without interrupting eye contact with the Italian. His gaze was heavy, but Draco had looked into the eyes of death itself more than once, so this visual duel wasn t difficult for him.
Lorenzo laughed at Draco s words, but seeing his puzzled reaction, replied:
"The Magnolia cannot have a master by definition. This place is alive, it lives by its own laws and rules. I can only slightly control the energy that this resort gives off. But to a greater extent, it controls me and my whole life, even if it s not always too noticeable."
"That s why you didn t come " Elisa whispered to herself rather than anyone else.
"We ve talked about this before, Eli. You know, I couldn t leave The Magnolia then. I had to pass the time limit to contact someone from my past life..." finally taking his gaze away from Draco, Lorenzo spoke unexpectedly softly, looking at Elisa affectionately.
Draco felt as if his already clogged head was about to burst with too much information. What the hell kind of place is this, if even the owner can t manage it, can t do as he wants?!
"So, if I understand it correctly, you re basically a slave of this place? Why, then, did you take such a step - to manage The Magnolia, leaving the whole, as you put it, past life behind?" Draco raised his eyebrows in bewilderment, feeling a little annoyed.
Lorenzo looked at him in surprise, then slowly stretched his lips into a smile.
"You re a very brave guy, Draco. I don t think I ve ever been asked such questions before."
"I m sorry if I ve inconvenienced you," Malfoy said dryly, without a trace of regret in his voice. "You don t have to answer."
The Italian studied him with his fingers crossed on the table, and for a moment was simply silent. It was as if he was carefully choosing the words in his mind to express himself most accurately.
"Elisa, dear, could you leave Draco and me alone for a few words?" I promise I ll call you before you get into a fight with my secretary," Lorenzo said to his niece with a grin.
"But " Elisa began.
"Please," the Italian insisted in a tone that didn t tolerate objections, and El, casting a questioning look at Draco, left the office.
Malfoy, puzzled by this turn of events, frowned slightly and looked at Lorenzo, mentally wondering what the subject of the conversation would be. He had a couple of ideas, but they were all bad.
"Draco, you ve already felt the effects of Magnolia, haven t you?"
Hearing these words, Draco involuntarily looked away for a second, and then looked at the Italian again, trying not to betray the feelings that overwhelmed him from within. He immediately recalled all the events of the last days, all these strange coincidences of circumstances that he was now thinking about all the time.
"It depends on what you mean by effects, Lorenzo."
"Don t pretend, you know perfectly well what I m talking about," the Italian leaned back in his chair.
Draco was silent. "Does he know?.." flashed through his head, and at the thought, an unexpected horror fettered his body.
"It probably scares you. Perhaps very strange events have happened to you, and some of them, I dare to assume, have caused negative emotions in your soul," Lorenzo continued, looking inquisitively at Malfoy s face. He seemed to be reading information from Draco s facial expression, although Draco tried his best not to react with the slightest muscle movement to Lorenzo s words.
"I think there s hardly anyone in this resort who hasn t experienced this," Draco muttered with an inscrutable expression.
"You re both right and wrong at the same time," the Italian smiled mysteriously. "You see, sometimes our healing isn t easy for us, and it s necessary to pass some tests of fate to become healthy again. It s just that someone passes it unnoticed, and someone feels it."
"I m perfectly healthy, Lorenzo. I don t know what are you talking about."
"That s right," he agreed easily. "It takes time to understand."
Draco stared at the Italian in bewilderment. The last time he heard such words was from Dumbledore, and, frankly, it always annoyed him. And now, with every second he felt an increasingly distinct desire to leave. He had the impression that Lorenzo could see right through him, so it made him quite nervous, especially since Draco didn t understand what the Italian was getting at.
"Elisa is very dear to me, although I know that you think otherwise. And I don t blame you or her for judging me. It s so difficult to understand the situation I m in, and I don t expect you to. On the other hand, who knows, maybe all the events of the past had to happen just so you and Eli would end up at this resort right now?"
"Then the sacrifice would be too great for a simple holiday on the seashore," Malfoy said grimly, recalling all the past events of recent years, both his own and El s life.
"Sometimes the price is high, but the reward is much greater, believe me," Lorenzo said, looking at Draco strangely. "But, as I said, neither of you understands yet."
"What the hell are we supposed to understand?!" Draco couldn t help it, putting his hands on the table. "And what makes you think that you understand all this thing yourself?"
The Italian stared at Draco for a moment with a slight smile on his lips.
"It so happened that, having become the owner of The Magnolia, I acquired some sacred knowledge that allows me to draw the right conclusions. If I want to, of course. And at the moment I care about Elisa s fate and yours also, because I love her, and she loves you."
"I do too," Draco blurted out, and for some reason immediately regretted it.
"I don't doubt it," Lorenzo said after a short pause, giving Draco a strange look. Then he got up and walked to the window, turning his back to Malfoy.
"I ll call Elisa in two minutes and I want to warn you that we need to leave with her for a short period," the Italian said flatly, crossing his arms behind his back.
"To leave?" Draco asked in bewilderment, looking at the back of Lorenzo s head. "Are you allowed to leave the resort?!"
"There s a lot you don't know about The Magnolia, my boy. To put it simply, it s time to leave. And Elisa is the reason. I must help her, and you mustn t prevent her from leaving."
With that, Lorenzo turned on his heel and looked firmly at Draco.
"Trust me. It ll be better for everyone."
The words he heard stunned Draco. He didn t know what to say because he was too overwhelmed with emotion.
"In that case, I ll go with you," he finally said as decisively as possible, rising from his chair. "I have nothing to do here without her."
"I understand you, Draco, but I m afraid it s impossible. The things we need to do with her concern only the two of us, I m sorry," Lorenzo said softly, but his gaze remained unshakably firm. "You shouldn t leave the resort, especially since Eli and I will be back soon and you can have a great time together."
"Lorenzo, I understand that your intentions are good, but tell me, what Merlin am I going to be doing here alone all these days? And yes, how many of them will there be, these days of your absence?" Malfoy asked, growing more and more heated inwardly while remaining outwardly almost unperturbed.
"I can t say for sure, Draco, I m sorry. Maybe two days, maybe a whole week. But I ll ask you for one thing. If my Eli is really dear to you, then, believe me, you should stay here. For your good."
The words were uncompromising and confident, leaving Draco with no doubt that Lorenzo really knew something that Malfoy himself couldn t. And this awareness frightened him even more than the prospect of being left alone at the resort, waiting for the next incredible twists of fate.
She gave herself completely to him. It was dark all around, and only the dim light of the lantern slightly illuminated the room they were in. She was lying on the table, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he was holding her hands, throwing them behind her head and not allowing her to move. This helplessness only made her feel more pleasure and ecstasy, which grew stronger in her body with each thrust. He was whispering something hotly to her, and she even caught a few obscene words, but it seemed that whatever he did now would only bring her more pleasure. Soon he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her sharply to him, running his fingers through her hair. The sudden movement made her lower back ache, and she even gave a little cry, but he instantly extinguished the cry with a kiss, greedily biting into her lips. And she found herself falling The next second, she was walking down the Hogwarts hallway towards the door, that was about to appear around the corner. It was scary, her lips were dry, and the heart was bursting with terrible pain. And so, she opens the door, enters inside, where she is met by utter darkness. It seems that the room is empty, but somehow she knows that it s not. It wasn t until she saw the silhouette near the window that she realized she was right Hermione suddenly woke up and abruptly got out of bed. She was breathing heavily, there was sweat on her forehead and a look of genuine horror on her face. The dreams she had had were so shockingly real that it took her a while to realize they it wasn t true. In addition, it began to bother her a good bit. It wasn t the first time she had seen the same dream, and each time it got more and more vivid. And now... remembering the events of the very first dream, Hermione couldn t help but blush. She hadn t seen the face of the man she had made love to so selflessly, but the sensation was so incredible that she still felt a little aroused.
Trying to come quickly to her senses, she washed her face with ice cold water, and, looking at her watch, decided to unwind. There was still a whole hour before lunch, and she was sure that her friends were taking a break from their morning trip to the beach. As for herself, she preferred to stay at home today and get a good night s sleep, having previously taken a headache remedy.
Hermione tried not to let any thoughts into her head, and therefore she simply walked forward, periodically turning into unknown corners. In the end, sooner or later, she will come to some nice place that suits her perfectly.
Just not to think about yesterday.
She was worried about the dream. She was going to talk to Harry about it, but he was so genuinely happy now that she didn t want to burden him with her problems. But at the same time, Hermione firmly decided that if the dream recurs, in any case, she will definitely tell Ginny about it, and there it will be clear what to do next.
Suddenly, a small palm grove appeared in front of the girl, which looked wild. There were no well-trodden paths or alleys around, the tourist bungalows were left far behind, and only the sound of waves, the chirping of insects and the singing of birds could be heard nearby. Hermione stopped for a second, deciding whether to go or not and in the end, curiosity got the better of her.
She moved cautiously into the thickest of the woody plants and moved forward, constantly looking back. In less than a few minutes, she suddenly found herself on a tiny wild beach, and its beauty made her stop. Gorgeous palm branches seemed to frame a paradise island, strewn with snow-white soft sand.
Hermione eagerly kicked off her sandals and stepped onto them, feeling the blissful touch of her feet on the warm sand carpet. Just 30 feet from her, the sea waves gently washed the shore, and the soft turquoise water seemed so crystal clear that any, even the most beautiful photo, couldn t reflect all its beauty. As
if yielding to an unconscious desire, Hermione strode to the shore of the sea, and as soon as she reached it, boldly went into the water up to her knees.
The sensations were fabulous.
She was delighted with The Magnolia Beach, but this small, probably little-known islet was even more beautiful. Here the sand was softer, the water was more gentle, and even the sun was shining especially. But most importantly, all of her uneasy thoughts were banished from her mind, and Hermione felt a sense of relief. She finally found her place in this crazy resort.
An hour later, Hermione was having lunch with friends, and the feeling of awkwardness from last night returned to her. She tried her best to behave as natural as possible and even succeeded, but only Ginny could know how she really felt. Fortunately for Hermione, her friend probably didn t see her dancing with
Malfoy, because she got into a conversation with a nice bartender and didn t look around at all, but she knew for sure that something was wrong. Ginny hadn t asked any questions last night, but only walked Hermione home and helped her make sure that a large portion of Firewhiskey didn t make itself felt in the morning. And in general, if Ginny had seen... what happened, she would hardly be chatting so carelessly now, occasionally throwing encouraging glances at Hermione.
"Well, how was your hen party last night? Tell us!" Harry asked, pulling the bowl of sauce closer to him, and Hermione almost choked. She reproachfully looked at Ginny, and involuntarily grinned when she saw her friend masterfully lying.
"Oh, Harry, dear, you know perfectly well that there s absolutely nothing interesting at these hen parties! As always, talking about who has the best robes, prettier hair and sexier boyfriend," Ginny said lightly, taking the bowl from Harry s hands. "Do you want it on the side dish only or the whole dish at once?"
"Only the side dish ..." he answered absently, watching Ginny s hands. "That s it, that s enough! Thank you, honey."
"You re welcome," Ginny kissed him on the cheek and threw a meaningful look at Hermione.
It seemed that the danger was over.
"And yet..." said Ron suspiciously, who had been watching them all this time in silence. "Where have you been and what have you been doing?"
He stared at Hermione, who had no choice but to start talking.
"Well... You know, it was a special place where no men were allowed. So I can t answer your questions, Ron, I m sorry."
Her voice sounded slightly higher than usual, and she was sure that Ron suspected something was wrong. He was still looking at her expectantly as if he didn t believe what she was saying.
"Alright then... Well, what did you do in this special place?"
"Damn it, Ronald, why are you so curious about it?" Ginny chipped in finally. "If you suspect us of something, please don t act like a bloody detective, just spill it out!"
"Okay, I saw the way you looked at each other," Ron conceded under the onslaught of his sister. "You always do that when you re hiding something!"
"Holy Merlin, Ron " Ginny began, but Hermione cut her off.
"You re right."
After her words, three pairs of eyes stared at her in surprise.
"What?" Her friends asked in unison, and she bowed her head slightly in embarrassment and began to speak.
"You see, Ginny and I were at the hen party where I was acting a little... No, nothing much, Ron! The thing is, I ve had a couple of glasses of certain alcoholic beverage, which was a little too much... and... well... I was just ashamed and didn t want to tell you about it."
Her speech was inconsistent, and Ginny caught that Hermione was slightly overacting, but decided to play along.
"Yes, the first time I saw our goody-goody girl Hermione frankly drunk! What a show!" Ginny exclaimed with a grin.
"Just please, don t laugh! I m quite embarrassed," Hermione looked sullenly at Harry and Ron and even blushed slightly. "It was so unusual... At first, it s fun, and then you feel that the floor is moving away from under your feet and everything is blurring..."
Now all what s left was to wait for the guys to take the bait.
And just ten seconds later, the long-awaited reaction followed.
"Blooming heck, Hermione! Did you really drink Firewhiskey?!" Ron asked with genuine amazement, and when he saw the girl s tacit agreement, he burst out laughing. "That s news! No, did you hear that, Harry?"
"Frankly speaking, I got that feeling yesterday from Ginny that they weren t exactly at chaste gatherings," Potter chuckled, pinching Ginny on the side.
"Oh, come on! Would you like me to remind you how you both got hammered at the announcement of our engagement..." she replied with a cheery wink.
"Exactly, that s right! I ll never forget those wild dances with Hagrid in the backyard! What were you doing there!" Hermione echoed the general cheerfulness.
"Do you remember how..."
With these words and happy memories, all their lunchtime passed, after which the friends smoothly moved to the beach. Hermione was glad that the conversation had flowed into a safe direction, and therefore, along with the others, indulged in carefree fun. And yet, despite the positive mood, she noted mentally that Malfoy wasn t at the lunch.
The beach greeted them with the usual noise, an abundance of wizards and the sweet aroma of the sea and flowers. The friends found a nice place six feet away from the water and now decided to sunbathe a little before taking a dip. As Hermione realized, they had managed to have a good swim in the morning and therefore preferred to bask in the sun first.
And yet, less than ten minutes later, Harry and Ron decided to take a dip, leaving the girls to sunbathe alone. And as soon as their backs disappeared in the waves, Ginny turned sharply to Hermione and grabbed her hand.
"Tell me everything."
"What?... What do you mean?" Hermione shuddered in surprise and stared at her friend indignantly.
"I mean yesterday s events that we haven t had a chance to talk about properly until now," Ginny explained patiently to her, cutting off all escape routes.
"What the hell made you leave such a great party?! When I saw you in the arms of that Italian, I thought I was the one who would have to leave the club alone."
"I just had a drop too much, remember? Then I got sick, and... I decided to leave," Hermione said, thanking Merlin for wearing glasses. At least Ginny couldn t see her expression, and her voice sounded pretty convincing.
"My sweet Hermione," Ginny began in a sugary voice. "You can fool Ron or Harry, but these things won t work with me. Tell me everything as it is!"
Hermione glanced at Ginny, then let out a long breath. In any case, a friend should know part of the truth.
"I ran into Malfoy."
"I thought so," Ginny slapping her knee. "And what happened next?"
"And then it was... Damn it, Ginny, I feel so bad! Maybe I shouldn t tell you?" Hermione tried to wave it off, but when she saw her friend s reaction, she continued anyway. "Okay, I ll tell you. We danced."
"And?" Ginny stared at her in confusion.
"And it was terrible, believe me! He was so close, and his hands... They were touching me! And I hate myself for letting..."
Hermione stopped short at these words, and Ginny suddenly realized.
"Holy Merlin, don t tell me that..."
"Nothing happened. I ran away."
Hermione s voice sounded firm, and Ginny didn t say anything else. She just looked at Hermione weirdly. There was a surprise in her eyes and fear?
"Why are you looking like that?" Hermione finally asked her, but Ginny didn t seem to hear. She was in her thoughts, and only after a few seconds, she regained consciousness.
"Hermione," she began with an unusually serious tone, looking her friend straight in the eyes. "Promise me just one thing."
"What kind of thing?"
"Promise me you won t do anything stupid, that you won t do something you ll regret later."
Ginny s face was tense as she took Hermione s hands and looked at her firmly.
"Do you promise?"
Hermione wondered if Ginny was joking or serious. Usually, Hermione herself took such promises from her, restraining the glibness of her friend s temper, but now for some reason, everything was different.
"Yes, I promise. But please don t squeeze my hands so tightly!" freeing herself from Ginny s "shackles", Hermione finally said in a puzzled voice. "Anyway, I don t understand your reaction. You re acting weird."
As soon as she said that, Ginny s expression suddenly changed and she laughed.
"I m sorry if I made you nervous! I just wanted to make sure that even under the influence of Firewhiskey, nothing happens next time that will make you drag me out of a great party again!"
"I d like to think so..." Hermione drawled slowly, still looking at her friend in disbelief.
What s gotten into her? In the end, Hermione didn t even admit to... what had happened. She only hinted but didn t say directly.
Meanwhile, Ginny made herself comfortable on the lounger and put on her sunglasses to keep the sun out of her eyes. Her face expressed serenity, though hardly anyone could know what was really going on in her soul at that moment.
Hermione, on the other hand, felt discouraged. She had just recalled the events of the previous evening and told her friend about them, who reacted in a very strange way. As if Hermione had ever done anything rash in her life that Ginny had scolded her for. It was uncharacteristic of Hermione to act rashly. It was only at this resort that she was surprised at herself because her behaviour was clearly atypical. Maybe Ginny had noticed it...
Soon, Hermione saw the happy faces of her two best friends approaching. From a distance, they already looked quite tanned, and their bright bathing shorts stood out against the general background.
"Well, girls, are you warm enough? Would you like to cool off?" Harry asked, putting his hands on his hips, flashing a snow-white smile.
"Oh, yes, I see, they just crave it..."
With these words, Ron sprayed Hermione and Ginny with water, which felt icy against the heated body. Startled, the girls screamed and jumped up, beating Ron with their fists.
"I ll strangle you one day, you red-headed scoundrel!" Ginny exclaimed, trying to hit harder.
"Wait, wait, I was just kidding!" Ron raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture, continuing to block the girls blows.
"Well, watch out!" Ginny said displeasedly and again lay down on the lounger. "Although, however, such an impromptu irrigation is quite enough to continue to sunbathe and not feel like a fried chicken."
"I think I ll take a dip!" Hermione said, cheering up. "Is anyone going with me?"
But no one supported Hermione s idea, and she, with a wave of her hand, went to the sea alone.
Draco loved to swim. He found a lot of advantages in this, ranging from maintaining good physical shape to the amazing ability of water to wash away all negative emotions. Still, Draco concluded that no water reservoir in the world could compare with the sea of The Beautiful Magnolia. At least, not among those where he had a chance to swim.
He was in a nasty mood. The conversation with Lorenzo had pissed him off. He felt in his gut that the Italian knew something and wasn t telling, and it made him angry. But the climax of everything for Draco was the fact that Elisa would be leaving the day after tomorrow, and for some unknown reason, he would have to stay here and, like a faithful dog, wait for her return. If it hadn t been for El s tearful pleas, he would have left this damned resort long ago, and he wouldn t have regretted it in the least. Maybe he d miss the sea a little. But in any case, he wouldn t have been a participant in all those strange events that have already happened in just a couple of shitty days!
In the past couple of hours, he and El had already had a fight and made up, but still, the atmosphere of an argument persisted. And in order not to start fighting again, Draco, as soon as they came to the beach, decided to recover a little in the already proven way. He waded into the cool seawater and took a deep dive. It eased his mind instantly, but for the best effect, he decided to swim some more.
His movements were swift and sharp. He was swimming breaststroke and seemed to be sparing himself no mercy, venting all the accumulated anger. In the end, he didn t notice how he swam to the farthest rock, protruding from the depths of the sea with uneven edges. Draco gripped it, caught his breath and looked around. The beach seemed like a small dot against the background of the general panorama of the coast, and Malfoy was amazed at how far he swam.
There was no one around him and it wasn t surprising: hardly anyone would have dared to swim to such a depth, especially since the line beyond which it wasn t recommended to swim was left far behind.
But suddenly Draco s eyes caught a movement about 65 feet to the shore from him. At first, he thought he had imagined it, but soon he saw something red flashed in the depths of the waves, and a hand appeared out of the water. But it wasn t until he heard a woman s muffled cry that Draco felt a jolt of sudden realization. He immediately took off from the spot and jerked as fast as possible, swam in the direction of the girl. The sea was choppy, so she periodically disappeared from his sight, but Draco rowed even harder, and when he was about 30 feet away from the goal, his fears were finally confirmed. Hermione Granger was calling out for help, and she was undoubtedly in trouble.
He seemed to be floating on the brink of possibilities. Every second was precious, and Draco was horrified to realize that if he won t get there in time, then Hermione had noticed him. Her eyes were filled with terror and animal fear. She was in a panic, trying to shout something, but only drowned in water more. She was only ten feet away when she disappeared headlong into the depths of the sea.
"Granger, no!" Draco yelled desperately, making one last dash towards her. His ears were ringing, his vision blurred with horror, but he couldn t let the panic get the better of him.
He couldn t let Hermione drown.
Draco dived with his eyes open and saw her body, which was going further down. He jerked abruptly towards her and, grabbing her around the waist, jerked out of the water. Water poured into his nose, and he, quickly clearing his throat, shook the girl, who was already in a semi-conscious state.
"Granger!"
"Malfoy... My leg..." she managed to choke back a cough, and Draco felt as if something was pulling her down. Granger unconsciously grabbed his shoulder, trying to stay above the surface of the water, and Draco had to make an effort to grab her hands.
"Listen to me carefully, Hermione," he said quickly, breathing heavily. "You ll stop panicking right now, and I ll dive in again and try to help you. Just try to stay above the water, do you hear me?"
But Hermione didn t hear him. Her consciousness seemed to be somewhere far away, and her only goal was to survive. In any way.
"Fuck, Hermione!" Draco shouted, cutting off her next attempts to drown him. "I have to do it."
With these words, he sharply slapped her in the face. The effect was instantaneous. Granger s gaze took on a look of meaning and malice.
"You bastard!" She spat, swallowing even more water.
If the situation hadn t been so critical, Draco would have grinned at Granger s ability to defend her true Gryffindor pride even in mortal danger. But as soon as she said that, she was pulled down again, and Malfoy, without thinking twice, dived under the water again. He saw Hermione struggling desperately, trying to swim up with the last of her strength, but something was blocking her. It was only when Draco saw the twigs wrapped around her leg that he realized the reason.
Malfoy grabbed Hermione by the ankle and yanked hard at the twigs, causing them to snap instantly, freeing her from their grip. But as soon as Draco did, he saw new vines of an unknown plant rising from somewhere deep inside, and he realized that if they didn t get out of this damned place right now, there was a chance that no one would help them anymore.
It was all too surreal. As if from the side of Draco, he watched as he, instantly emerging from the water, grabbed Hermione and with all the strength he began to row towards the shore. As luck would have it, there was no one around to help. He tried to shout something to Granger, but she didn t seem to be able to do anything anymore, so she just hung on his shoulder like a submissive weight. From time to time she regained consciousness and still tried to swim on her own, but that only made it more difficult for Draco.
"Just don t faint, Hermione! Don t close your eyes!" Malfoy gasped, and she fought valiantly, but her strength was running out.
The damn shore was close, but Draco thought he would never make it. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but only one was particularly clear: he had to swim, he had to help Granger. What if he doesn t make it What if it s too late What if she The thoughts were so monstrous that it was as if he had a second wind.
He can do it.
Draco grabbed Hermione tighter around the waist, put her arm around his shoulders and rowed as hard as he could. Finally, they were noticed. A couple of mature wizards swam far enough that when they saw Draco and the unconscious Hermione on his shoulder, they immediately rushed for help.
He didn t remember how they got to the shore. All the memories were scraps of some kind of madness. Shouting people nearby, flashing white robes with the Magnolia badge, and Granger, sprawled on the sand, unconscious. And then his own screams, his hands on her shoulders and futile attempts to revive her. And the main question: is she alive? And only when they gave him an affirmative answer, he staggered, stepped aside and lost consciousness.
"Malfoy..."
"Harry, thank Merlin, she s awake! What did you say, Hermione?"
"Malfoy... Where is he? Is he... alive?"
She opened her eyes slightly and saw the worried faces of her friends bending over her.
"Yes, he s okay, honey. How are you?" Ginny s worried voice sounded as if from somewhere far away.
"Me? I m okay... Where am I?"
Feeling an unbearable weakness throughout her body, she nevertheless made an effort to get up, but collapsed into bed again.
"You re in the hospital, Hermione. Drink this, you ll feel better," Harry explained patiently, carefully handing her a mug with some pleasantly smelling liquid.
Hermione accepted it dutifully and drained it to the bottom. The liquid tasted sweet with a slightly sour aftertaste. As soon as it spilt on the bottom of her stomach, the girl immediately felt a surge of vivacity.
She looked around. White walls painted with magnolia flowers, a row of perfectly made beds and cupboards filled to the brim with medicine confirmed Harry s words.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"About four hours. Are you feeling better?" there was concern in Ginny s voice.
"Yes, better," Hermione answered mechanically and froze. Suddenly she remembered everything that had happened and unexpectedly burst into tears. "I was so scared, Ginny, I felt so helpless..."
"Holy Merlin, Hermione, if you only knew how worried we were!" her friend hugged her impulsively, pressing her head to her.
"We almost went crazy!" Harry added anxiously, taking Hermione s hand.
"Forgive me, I was such a fool " she said through sobs and, looking at the faces of her friends, suddenly asked. "Where s Ron?"
Ginny and Harry exchanged glances and looked down strangely.
"He s in the hallway talking to the nurse," Harry began slowly. "And, frankly speaking, he s very upset."
"Of course, I can understand him! How could I be such an arrogant fool to swim so far and make you worry..."
But from Ginny's reaction, Hermione knew she was saying something wrong.
"He s upset that he couldn t help you. What if it wasn t... If it wasn t for Draco, you might have... God, Hermione, this is so awful I can t even say it!"
Ginny hugged her friend impulsively once more and, pulling back slightly, turned to Harry.
"I think we should call the nurse and Ron. Go get them, please."
Potter didn t need to be told twice.
As soon as he disappeared, Ginny turned back to Hermione.
"You don t have to tell me now, but I m very interested in how it happened that you ended up so far from the coast?"
"I I don t know. I just kept swimming forward, and then this terrible vice... It pulled me down, and Malfoy... Draco was there."
That was all she could say without crying again. She felt bitter not from the situation in which she found herself, but from the fact that she made the people dear to her heart go through this stress. And besides, she endangered the life of another person...
Ginny stroked her head and Hermione finally calmed down. She realized that it was all over and that if she continued to behave this way, she would simply go crazy herself and drive her friends crazy.
"Ginny, how is he?" she finally said, and her friend s hand froze on the back of her head.
"He lost consciousness, but quickly came to his senses," instantly realizing who she was talking about, Ginny calmly answered, and again continued to stroke Hermione. "He came here earlier with Elisa."
With Elisa.
The name of the Italian woman echoed in Hermione s mind with some strange emotions, which made her heart sink.
"The nurse gave him a medicinal infusion for prophylaxis. He got off lightly, which can t be said about you," continued Ginny as if nothing had happened.
After these words, Hermione pulled away from her friend and, throwing off the covers, lowered her legs from the bed.
"What are you doing?" Ginny exclaimed in bewilderment.
"It was very difficult for him, believe me. I have to thank him," Hermione said confidently and tried to get out of bed, but her friend sat her down again.
"Wait, where are you going? You re still too weak, and the nurse said that at least two more days..."
"Damn the nurse. I feel pretty good," Hermione said decisively and seemed to strengthen even more from these words. "Where is my stuff? I need to change."
At that moment, Ron rushed into the room and, seeing that Hermione was conscious, rushed to her. She didn t have time to understand what had happened, as she was already in his arms.
"Thank Merlin, you came to your senses! Forgive me, Hermione, I was such a donkey!"
He squeezed her so tightly that Hermione s breath caught in her throat and she tried to pull away.
"I m glad to see you too, but, Ron, firstly, don t squeeze me so hard, and secondly, it s my fault! What does it have to do with you?"
He pulled back and looked at her seriously. His expression was frowning.
"I didn t keep an eye on you. I had to be there. Me, not this one..."
"Stop it, Ron! You re making Hermione nervous. She just calmed down," said Ginny, abruptly grabbing his arm.
"You re right," he agreed easily and looked at Hermione in dismay. "You should rest more, better lie down."
Suddenly, behind him, the face of a plump, dark-skinned witch in a white cap with the sign of Magnolia appeared. She was holding some kind of medicine in her hand.
"How wonderful that you have come to your senses, miss!" she said making her way to Hermione. "But you better follow your friend s advice and lie down after taking the medicine."
"But I ve already taken one! And I feel fine," Hermione protested, smiling softly at her.
"And yet, drink this," the nurse insisted, handing her a small bottle.
It was useless to argue, so Hermione dutifully took the medicine in her hands and drank it. She grimaced with bitterness but immediately felt her body acquire incredible lightness, and all thoughts disappear. She suddenly felt like lying down, and as soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep.
It was the first time in a long time that she had slept without dreams.
08/09/2002
Questions tear me apart. Why? For what reason? What will happen next? I m too tired of looking for answers. The most important thing is that she is alive.
But if this damn resort again... Something like that...
I have no strength to write anymore.
She s alive and safe now. That s all that matters.
Hermione woke up the next day at about ten a.m. and felt full of energy. If yesterday her condition was ambiguous, then today she knew for sure that her strength had returned to her.
All the beds in the ward were still empty. She looked around for the nurse and found her gaze across the room, moving around behind a folding screen.
"Good morning, signora!" she said loudly, being a little hoarse from sleep, but still with a sonorous voice.
The nurse s pleasant plump face emerged from behind the folding screen and broke into a smile.
"Good morning, miss! How re you feeling?" she asked, stumbling over to Hermione. As she walked she grabbed a tray with food that suddenly appeared on it.
"Perfectly!" she cheerfully answered the girl and, looking at the tray, suddenly realized that she was insanely hungry.
"Here s your breakfast, miss!" the nurse said as if reading her mind. "And just try not to eat it I will feed you by force!"
"Oh, signora!" Hermione laughed. "I would eat a troll now, I swear by Merlin!"
"Well, we don t have troll meat, but we have delicious freshly baked croissants with honey filling!" the nurse said almost seriously, dexterously placing the plates on the bedside table, which made Hermione laugh again.
She ate breakfast with such an appetite as if she hadn t seen food for a month. The plump Italian woman explained to her that appetite is a good sign and she might even let Hermione go tonight.
But, fortunately, the nurse turned out to be more accommodating than, for example, Madame Pomfrey at Hogwarts. So Hermione left the hospital at noon, making an oath promise to take the medicine for another three days and come for a check up every day.
She breathed the air delightedly, saturated with the scent of flowers, and stretched contentedly. The nurse said that her friends came to her early in the morning, but she didn t let them in, ordering them to come to lunch. Hermione was already looking forward to the joyous moment when she would hug Ginny,
Harry and Ron because their concern was over.
But it will be later, and now...
Hermione knew where she was going. It wasn t far from the hospital and her bungalow. She couldn t concentrate in any way and find the right words to express everything she felt. And when she knocked on the door, she realized with panic that she hadn t come up with anything sensible except for the most common phrases.
It seemed that it took an agonizingly long time to approach the door. Her heart was pounding violently, and she was so overcome with excitement that she shifted from foot to foot.
But finally, the door opened, and Hermione froze in place, silently looking at Elisa, who, dishevelled and wrapped in one sheet, walked out onto the threshold.
"Oh..." Hermione could only say, then, slightly blushing, looked away. "It s probably not a good time..."
Everything inside her suddenly snapped for some reason.
What a fool she is. She didn t even remember that he was living with a girlfriend. And that she might bother them...
For some reason, Hermione s elated mood instantly dropped at the thought.
"No worries, Hermione, It s okay!" Elisa said in surprise, closing the door behind her. "To be honest, I didn t expect to see you here!"
"I just wanted to Okay, another time. Sorry to bother you!" forcing to collect herself, Hermione blurted out and had already turned to leave when Elisa called out to her.
"Hermione, wait! Are you okay?" grabbing her hand, asked the Italian, peering into her face.
"Yes, thanks... I m fine now," Hermione said dully, trying not to look at El. "And how is... Draco?"
As soon as she asked this, she realized how stupid her question sounded after all. Looking at Elisa, it was easy to tell that Malfoy was okay. Cheerful, fresh and capable of much.
"He s fine, thank you," Elisa replied politely, smiling slightly at her thoughts, but immediately turned serious. "I m so sorry, Hermione, that you had to go through this yesterday!
"Well, everything is fine now! Thank you for your concern," she thanked, trying to hide the sarcasm.
There was an awkward pause.
"Well, in that case..." Hermione began, but the Italian interrupted her.
"Look, I m leaving tomorrow, and we were planning to have a little farewell party tonight. Would you like to come?.."
Hermione was in a stupor at her words.
"You're leaving?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yes, but not for long! I ll be back soon," the Italian waved her off. "Ron, Ginny and Harry will be here, but I take it they haven t told you anything yet, have they?"
"Right," Hermione agreed. "But, Elisa, I don t even know, after all, yesterday was such a day, so..."
"Exactly, that s why we all need to get distracted and try to forget this unpleasant moment!" the Italian said, actively gesticulating.
"Okay, I ll try," Hermione forced out a smile. "Well, alright then, maybe I ll see you tonight!"
"Definitely!" Elisa assured her.
"Agreed. See you!"
"See you!" Nodding goodbye to the Italian, Hermione turned and walked down the steps of the bungalow. She felt extremely stupid. Elisa must have noticed her strange behaviour. And what the hell is going on with her?...
"Hermione!"
She heard El calling her. Hermione turned around at the sound of her voice.
"Why did you come after all?"
"Oh, I was just nearby! Never mind."
Hermione s answer was so ridiculous that she hurried away from the bungalow.
Elisa watched her in silence. Conflicting feelings reigned inside of her.
"Who was it, El?"
She turned to see Draco standing on the doorstep with bare chest wearing nothing but pajama pants.
It took her only a second and a smidgen of wits to decide what to answer.
"Oh, no one. The girl just got the wrong bungalow number."
It took Draco a second when he saw a cloud of brown hair in the distance and realized that Elisa was lying.
They came to the Great Hall just at the moment when the show programme was already beginning. Elisa had arranged for the table in advance, so that in a minute, making their way through the crowd, they had already taken their places. The atmosphere of carefree fun reigned around, only Draco wasn t laughing. It was only when a glass of red wine appeared on the table in front of him, and he took a sip, that Draco felt a little relaxation.
Yesterday was a terrible day. So terrible that even the appearance of Potter and the Weasleys on the doorstep of his bungalow couldn t brighten it up. In a different situation, Draco would have triumphed, accepting thanks from Dumbledore s golden children, but not yesterday. He would have preferred that the very reason that made Potter come from the Weasleys to his doorstep didn t exist. So Draco didn t know how to respond to their words. To say "You re welcome"? "Always happy to help"? Or "I would do it for anyone"? Too stupid. And, in all honesty, deceitful.
He wouldn t do it for anyone.
No, he would try to help, perhaps. But not like yesterday by risking his life and wasting all his strength.
And Draco was certainly not happy to "help". He thought that nothing could be more terrible than the feeling of responsibility for the life of another person.
How often he had to experience this, being in the ranks of the devourers, watching terrible scenes of violence, pleading and humiliation of the victims of the war. Situations when the life of another person was completely in his hands, and he had a difficult choice, weren t uncommon in those years.
But no, Draco knew for sure now that the worst thing that had happened to him was his sense of responsibility for Granger s life, and he had no idea what the fuck was going on.
Perhaps she became closer to him than he expected.
His closest enemy. How accurate. Draco smirked bitterly at his thought.
"It was nice of them to offer to spend this evening together," Elisa said.
"In part, you contributed to this by saying that you re leaving tomorrow."
"It was necessary to say something at a time when you couldn t find the words for an answer."
"I invited them to come in."
"And then you just silently looked at them."
"I had nothing to say."
"I got it."
They were silent for a while. Draco peered at the bottom of the glass while Elisa nervously fiddled with the napkin in her hands.
"Either way, this will be a great opportunity to come to terms with old grudges," she finally said, glancing cautiously at Draco, who only grinned mournfully at her words.
"One thing is good: now we are quits with Potter."
Elisa didn t understand what he was talking about but didn t elaborate.
She was used to Draco s odd behaviour. And she learned not to ask too much.
There was a theatrical scene on the stage. The costumes of the actors, as always, were amazing. The audience seemed to freeze as they watched the story unfold, and Draco didn t care.
He poured himself more wine.
"Oh, here they are!" after a long silence, Elisa suddenly exclaimed, and Draco wanted more than anything else to get out of this place.
But that would be too easy. He had already fled from his problems once, wandering around different countries and cities, but in the end, he could hardly change anything in his life.
Draco watched distantly as Potter and the Weasley siblings approached them. Granger hasn t been seen yet, though...
Almost immediately, he noticed that Hermione was mincing right behind them, looking down. She looked so helpless and gloomy that Malfoy almost wanted to hug her, but he immediately stopped that train of thought. The last thing he needed was this nonsense in his head.
"Hello everyone!" Ginny exclaimed carelessly and sat down next to Elisa.
"Hi, guys! Finally, you have arrived. And I thought we were late!" cheerfully responded the Italian, looking at the friends who had arrived.
The rest of those present exchanged with each other only polite nods in greeting. As for Hermione, she didn t even look at Draco and El at all, but just sat down opposite them.
There was tension at the table.
"Well, how about some wine?" Elisa asked, trying to defuse the situation.
"With pleasure!" Ginny responded and, not seeing the reaction of her friends, asked: "Do you mind Harry, Ron, Hermione?"
"Pour it up," Ron said sullenly, who was glancing sideways at Draco.
The others nodded in agreement.
A bottle of expensive red wine and four glasses, already three-quarters filled with dark red liquid, immediately appeared on the table.
An awkward silence arose again.
Draco realized that this could no longer continue. Fortunately, Potter figured it out too.
"Listen," he began, looking around the audience. "Yesterday was a terrible day for all of us. I suggest to try to forget about it at least for tonight, or better, forever. There is no right or wrong in what happened. The main thing is that everything is all right now. Although, Draco, I have to admit that this is largely your merit. And you know how grateful we are."
Potter s head was held up proudly. He looked straight at Draco with true Gryffindor dignity, and his eyes seemed to read: "I don t give a damn what you say I stick to my opinion ."
Malfoy suppressed the urge to swear.
"Think nothing of it, Potter. Consider this a courtesy in return." They stared at each other for a while, and Draco was sure Harry knew what this was about.
"Well, let s drink to the fact that such situations no longer arise in our lives!" Elisa raised the glass, interrupting the tense moment, and everyone else followed her example.
They clinked glasses, after which each took a sip from his glass. Draco noticed that Granger only pretended to drink.
Fifteen minutes later, a light-hearted conversation ensued at the table. The wine helped everyone relax after all. Draco had lost the thread of the conversation a long time ago, and only watched Hermione, who hadn t yet dropped a word. She still frowned, looking down. Sometimes she smiled a little when Ginny said something funny, and sometimes she even threw short glances in the direction of her friends, but never looked at Draco.
For some reason, it began to make him angry. He wanted to see the expression in her eyes, to guess what she was thinking, what was going on her mind, but
Granger didn t give even the slightest opportunity to do so.
Sometimes, Malfoy wanted to start a conversation with her, but there was Weasley between them, who actively participated in the discussion, and, in the end, what would he say to her?!..
The second bottle of wine was already half empty when the show finally ended and a familiar band appeared on stage, playing Latin melodies. Many of the wizards had already risen from their seats to dance, and Draco was sure it wouldn t be ten minutes before the Weasley girl dragged Potter onto the dance floor.
"Do you know what we should drink for?" Ron exclaimed in a drunken voice. "Let s drink to the beautiful ladies sitting at this table! You are all just charming!"
"If I knew that you, Ron, after the fourth glass of wine become so courteous, I would forever forbid you to drink Firewhiskey," laughing, his sister responded.
"Oh, Ginny, what are you talking about! Even in those distant times, when we first met, it was clear to me that a real man would come out of Ron," smiling meaningfully, Elisa saluted to Ron with her glass.
Draco snorted at the sight of the Weasley blushing and drowsy at El s words.
Such an idiot.
"Well, well, here s to the ladies!" Harry supported the toast, and everyone knocked glasses again.
"Do you know, Elisa, in order not to disappoint your ideas about me, I decided to act like a real man and ask you for a dance!" Ron got up from his place, having drained his glass to the bottom, and held out his hand to the Italian, but immediately turned to Malfoy. "If your boyfriend doesn t mind, of course."
Draco didn t know whether to be angry or to laugh. Weasley reached the point where he didn t understand what he was doing and what the consequences could be from this. Malfoy smiled ironically and looked at him, then at Elisa. He was about to express his opinion caustically when the Italian got ahead of him.
"Oh, I will accept your invitation, Ron! And don t worry, Draco won t mind, right?"
El looked at him warily, as if asking him not to make a scene. But she didn t have to worry Malfoy still wasn t in the mood for a row.
"Go. Watch your hands, Weasley, got it?" he threatened Ron and he nodded diligently in agreement.
As soon as he said that, an unprecedented thing happened: Granger glanced at Draco and immediately looked away.
Malfoy didn t have time to catch the shadow of any emotion in her eyes.
"Harry, I think it s time for us to dance too! Let s go!" as Draco expected, Ginny exclaimed, tugging at Potter s sleeve.
"But, honey, I don t feel like..." he began, but her pleading look made him rise from his place anyway.
"Will you go?" Ginny turned to Draco and Hermione, to which they shook their heads.
Soon all four disappeared into the crowd, joining the general dancing fun.
Malfoy sipped wine from his glass, discreetly examining Hermione. She sat half sideways, with her legs crossed, and from time to time nervously tucked the stray strands behind her ear, watching the dancing wizards. Her skin was already touched by a beautiful golden tan, which was in sharp contrast to the white cocktail dress, that hugged her figure. Draco reluctantly noted that Granger s physical appearance was much better than he had thought. So much better that as he glanced up at her chest, billowing upward with nervous breathing, Draco felt the tension in his groin area.
As if sensing his gaze, Hermione turned sharply.
"Stop staring at me, Malfoy."
Draco was thrown off for a second by being caught, but almost immediately grinned, tilting his head slightly to one side.
"Sorry, Granger, but the combination of your dress and the pose you ve taken create a wide range of viewing opportunities. And considering that you are sitting right in front of me, then..."
"That s enough, just shut up," Hermione cut him off a little blushing and turned to face him.
She was nervous.
Draco was silent.
"Look, Malfoy... I need to talk to you."
He looked up, surprised, at Granger, who seemed to be out of place.
"I m all ears," he said calmly, once again wearing a calm expression on his face.
"Not here. It s too noisy," Hermione looked around and looked directly at Draco again. "Let s step outside for a minute?"
Malfoy was taken aback by her proposal.
"Alright," he replied simply, forcing himself not to joke about it.
Something told him that the conversation would be extremely serious.
They got up simultaneously and walked towards the exit. Hermione walked tensely a little ahead, periodically turning around to make sure that Draco was following her.
He followed, wondering at the same time how often Granger wears such tight-fitting clothes. In his memory, this was the first time. Although, how on earth would he know what Granger is like in real life, especially four years after their last systematic meetings at Hogwarts?!
That s right, he didn t know. But it was at this moment that he was given a wonderful view of the feminine curves of her figure, accentuated by the dress. A thin waist, smoothly flowing into the rounded lines of the hips, and slender legs, shod in sandals with small heels, indicated that an already formed young woman was walking in front of him.
Draco tried to look away from Granger. He got aroused like a snotty teenager just looking at the woman. Fuck. It wasn t hard for her to notice it.
They went out of the Great Hall to the street, but everything around was quite noisy. Hermione turned to Draco in confusion and looked around.
"To be honest, I thought it wasn t that crowded here..." she began, but Malfoy interrupted her.
"I think I know a place. Follow me."
He walked along the wall of the building they ve just been inside of, and soon unexpectedly turned into a barely noticeable opening in the wall. After taking a few steps, Draco found himself on a small, rectangular paved area with tall brick walls with no windows around the perimeter. On either side of Draco were boarded up doors that were used by the staff in the past. He turned to see Granger cautiously follow him, looking around.
"Where are we?" she asked warily.
"I don t know. I accidentally discovered this opening when I was strolling."
There was a short pause, after which Draco asked:
"So what did you want to talk about, Granger?"
Hearing the question, Hermione sighed sharply, then raised her bottomless brown eyes to him.
"I just wanted to say... I..." she hesitated, unable to find the words. Draco looked at her patiently, crossing his arms over his chest, and said nothing.
"I m very grateful to you, Malfoy. Thank you... I wanted to thank you," she blurted out in one breath, gathering all her willpower into a fist.
Draco curled his lips in an ironic grin.
"And that s why you came by this afternoon, right?"
At his words, Hermione gave him a short surprised look and blushed slightly, averting her eyes.
"I just wanted to say thank you, but you seemed busy," she crossed her arms over her chest, in his manner.
There was a subtle note of irritation in her voice, and Draco s eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Busy? What made you think so?"
It was clear that Hermione had some doubts, but in the end, she looked at him firmly and said coldly:
"A naked woman, wrapped in nothing but a sheet, with a dishevelled hairdo and a blissful smile, came to the doorstep of your bungalow. It s unlikely that she was not busy before my arrival. And considering that you live together..."
Draco just watched her for a while, but then suddenly laughed.
"If I didn t know you so well, Granger, I would think you re jealous!"
"But, fortunately, you know me well enough to understand that this is complete nonsense," Hermione retorted and for some reason blushed a little.
Draco chuckled.
"Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you, no matter what. You saved my life, Malfoy, so I ll forgive you all the taunts and stinging words! This, of course, is only a small part of what I can do, but I have to start somewhere."
There was so much dignity and pride in Granger when she spoke those words that Draco even felt nauseous from this shitty nobility. But beyond that, something flashed in her eyes that instantly sobered Malfoy. No. Don t, Granger. Don t look at me like that! Don t give me that look, or...
The decision came instantly.
"Stop. Just so you know," he began, without a smirk on his face. "You don t have to bother yourself with apologies and mass forgiveness of all my deeds. It was a simple calculation."
As he expected, Hermione blinked in confusion, shaking her head.
Great, so it s working.
"Calculation? What are you talking about, Malfoy?"
Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked at her intently, then began to slowly pace from side to side.
"Do you know, Granger, how Crabbe died, if you remember him, of course?"
Hermione was silent.
"I think you do. That day, in the Room of Requirement, ironically, Potter saved my life. Crabbe was far less fortunate. He died from the fire, which he conjured himself."
"And what are you trying to say?" Hermione asked in a low voice.
"Oh Granger, I think you already know the answer."
She lowered her eyes and didn t say a word.
Draco knew his words were cruel, but he couldn t do otherwise. If he doesn t stop her now, if he doesn t stop himself, then it will be too late.
"I will say it if that s what you want. I only saved you because that s how I repaid Potter. A kind of reciprocal courtesy. I don t like to be indebted to anyone."
Granger stood struck by his words. She looked at him with wide eyes, but soon her face was contorted with aversion.
"You re disgusting, Malfoy!"
"I m sorry I had to tell you the truth, but... What can I do! I ve never burned with noble intentions."
"No, Malfoy, you are disgusting because you are lying to yourself! You are a lying bastard! What are you trying to achieve?"
Draco had never expected such a turn of events. He was dumbfounded for a while.
Taking advantage of his confusion, Hermione stepped towards him, blazing with anger.
"I remember how it was Malfoy. I remember how you behaved, I remember your words, your actions. You dragged me to the shore! Didn t let me pass out. I heard you calling my name! And after that, you say that it was all just a simple damn calculation?!"
Granger was certainly smart; it was foolish to assume she d buy it.
Her words seemed to seep through Draco, eating away at him from the inside. Each phrase was filled with pain, which caused anger to rise in him more and more.
"So you see right through me, Granger, right?" Draco asked softly in a chest voice, trying to cope with the anger bubbling in him. "Why do you think I saved you then, you fucking Trelawney?"
Hermione stared intently into his face for a while, then threw up her hands.
"To be honest, I don t know. Perhaps, even for a moment, you have awakened the same nobility which you are so desperately trying to disown. Or maybe there was another reason, but you were certainly not saving me because of some damn calculation!"
Draco suddenly felt insanely tired.
"Look, Granger, I m not going to go back to the events of that crappy day right now, is that clear? If you want to discuss this, you can find free ears somewhere in the Weasleys lair! The important thing is that we are both alive, which is good on its own."
Hermione gave him a weird look and suddenly laughed unkindly.
"Come on, Malfoy, you might think you ve ever felt bad! You don t give a damn about anything! I doubt you have any feelings at all. You probably don t even know what it is like to feel!"
"Shut up, Granger, just shut up, for heaven s sake," Draco hissed, stepping on her threateningly as if about to hit her.
"You know, Malfoy, I m pretty sure that if I drowned or died in your arms, you wouldn t give a damn! You didn t give a damn about this whole situation from the very beginning!"
Then something clicked in Draco s mind.
He barely realized how he pushed Granger against the wall and squeezed her shoulders hard with his hands. She screamed in pain as her head banged against the cold stone of the wall.
"I do give a damn, you fucking idiot! Is that what you wanted to hear? That s what you wanted?!" Draco shook Hermione with force, causing her to hit the back of her head again. "Oh, that s right, you were saying something about the truth! So here s the truth I did give a damn from the very beginning!"
Hermione glared at him, trying to break free, but Malfoy held her tight.
"I did everything to prevent you from drowning, did my best to save your dirty-blooded ass! You can t imagine how much energy I wasted! And for what? To listen to those stinking words of yours?!"
"And yet, apparently, you haven t spent enough of your precious energy, since you could carelessly fuck your girlfriend, you deceitful freak!" Hermione spat, looking Malfoy in the eyes with hatred.
"And it s eating you up from the inside, Granger, that I m fucking while your sex life is only existing within books! And that s no surprise, you fucking downtrodden nerd!"
"So no surprise, Malfoy?" ceasing to resist, Hermione began caustically, her eyes flashing. "In that case, tell me, why did you kiss "that fucking downtrodden nerd" at the club then?"
There was such contempt in her gaze that Draco involuntarily shivered.
"Kissed? That s what you call the involuntary contact of the lips during a dance, which only children could call a kiss?! Granger, I suspected that Weasleys weren t particularly adept at love affairs, but not to that extent!" he twisted his mouth in a grin. "I bet you never even kissed with your tongue."
"You re talking nonsense, Malfoy!"
"Oh, Granger, judging by your phrases, I m telling the truth! Now it s clear why you re so concerned about sex. I m sure no one has ever fucked you properly yet!"
Draco came close to her, barely touching her body.
"Now admit it, Granger, you wanted me to fuck you that night."
Hermione raised her hand for a slap, but Malfoy reacted instantly and caught it, pressing it against the wall above Hermione s head. Then she tried to push him away with her other hand, which was also grabbed.
"What, is it unbearable to hear the truth?!"
"Fuck you, sick pervert!" Hermione spat, blazing.
"Hush, Granger, don t you worry. We both know the truth. You wanted me to fuck you when I did this..."
Malfoy pressed his whole body against her so that she could feel his aroused flesh through their clothes.
"And this "
He ran his hand down her thigh exacting, pulling up the thin fabric of her skirt.
"And also this..."
With that, he brushed his lips against her neck, running his tongue lightly over it, and Granger sighed impulsively. She once again tried to escape but to no avail.
"Let me go now, Malfoy!" She said dully, and Draco saw her eyes glitter with tears.
"Letting you go when we haven t even gotten to the fun part?" he asked with mock surprise. "Is that what you really want?"
"Yes, you dumbass! That s what I want!"
Draco clicked his tongue.
"Weren t you the one who accused me of lying, Granger? It isn t good to blame others for your own vices! Believe me, I know you d like more... Or do you lack the courage to admit it even to yourself?"
With that, Draco s hand moved from the outside of Hermione s thigh to the inside and slid up. And when his fingers touched the soft fabric of her panties,
Granger snapped. A moan escaped her lips and she instinctively clenched her legs, swinging her hips.
"I told you, you would like it!" Draco whispered hotly in her ear and, crushing her with his body, looked into her eyes, brushing her nose with his own. "Now just tell me that you don t want me!"
"I hate you, lascivious bastard, I hate you!" screamed Hermione, barely holding back tears of humiliation.
Draco felt triumphant. She had to get what she deserved.
"Oh, Granger, you have no idea how mutual this is. But you never answered. Do you want me or not?"
He slid his fingers up and down the fabric of her panties, which made Hermione gasp and bit her lip to stifle a groan.
Her eyes blazed with hatred and desire, her body shuddered with excitement and fear, and this turned Draco on even more. But when she swayed towards his fingers, he realized that he couldn t help it.
"I knew it, you mud-blooded slut..."
With these words, he fiercely dug into her lips, tongue bursting into the depths of her mouth. He needed it, too much. Granger didn t return the kiss at first and tried to dodge his demanding lips, but soon Draco felt her jaw unclench and a timid tongue slid into his mouth. The sensation was so intense that Draco shivered with excitement. They kissed passionately as if they were trying to get rid of all the anger, pain, despair that had accumulated over these days. Draco didn t notice as he let go of Granger s hands, and for a few seconds, she wrapped them around his neck, pulling him to her even closer. But suddenly he felt that something was wrong. Hermione s hands disappeared from his body, she pulled away from him and pushed away sharply.
In a surprise, Draco staggered backwards, barely keeping his balance.
"What the hell, Granger?"
"Exactly, what the hell, Malfoy? What the hell are we doing?" she exclaimed blazing and panting. In her eyes, there was a still uncooled desire and bitterness at the same time.
She brushed away her tears.
"I I don t want to see you again. And I hope this damn resort makes my wish come true!"
With these words, she turned sharply and walked swiftly towards the street.
Draco didn t hold her. It was as if it had been doused with ice water.
Granger was right.
What the hell?..