During a plentiful breakfast, the housemates sat at a long table like birds of a feather that flock together, Neville and Theo were the connecting duo who engaged in chitchat of sorts. "I wonder where McGonagall found this team building fort?" Theo inquired, icebreaking.
Neville observed, "What I'm more nervous about not be allowed to use magic. I'm not the greatest athlete."
Blaise jumped in, "Who is? We practised mostly on flying and playing Quidditch. Fighting a war gives you battle experience, but I don't think we will need that."
"I sense some hostility, but nothing that will require self-defensive skills," Lavender corrected her foreseeing act fastly, "For the most of us."
Pansy, Draco and Harry exchanged apprehensive looks, Hermione ignored them all, keeping a low chat going on with Ron.
-oOo Fortress of Boyard –oOo-
The ten arrived at the gates of the stone fortress early in the morning, with the Portkey provided by the Headmistress. The gatekeeper took them to their sleeping quarters through the maze of tunnels, under the complaints from Ron and Pansy about the many staircases until they reached the dungeon level. On the contrary of the other two, Neville and Hermione enjoyed the sight of the stone walls, "To me, this fortress belongs to the time of the Middle Ages. The secret prison for the GreyJoy's clan."
Neville made Hermione burst into a laugher, "You read the book 'A Song of Fire and Ice', Neville?"
He shrugged, "I like the dragons…"
She touched his arm, leaning closer to him, "I'm team Drogon," the sly smile followed her eyewink.
Theo joked, "I'm surprised that you chose the big black dragon, the most furious of the three."
Eyeing him warily, she asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Relax Hermione, it is my favourite Draco too." Theo teased her, winking back at her. His hint was not lost but got ignored, "He's quite a rebel force indeed. Needs a strong hand to control, something Daenerys excelled at."
"Between you and the Targaryen princess," Blaise pitched in, "The only difference is the hair colour. You are both rebels, strong-minded and powers to be reckoned with, fearless hearts."
Tightening her lips and chin, she stared at him for a second before shrugging and continuing her path downwards, "I've heard worse." Deciding to give them the benefit of the doubt, she eyed Slytherins cautiously, even Pansy hadn't said a wrong word to her since yesterday. Maybe they were as invested as she was to return to Hogwarts. She needed all her focus on the challenges coming up, and hated to be clueless. Also, preventing her from beating the crap out of the blond wizard, a few steps ahead of her.
Pansy nudged Draco's shoulder while walking, "You okay, Draco?"
He grunted, "For now." He paced fast behind their guide at the head of their group, to avoid any contact with Hermione. The sound of the talking carried with ease through the walls, and he listened to the teasing talk between Hermione and the boys in her company. Theo's jab irritated him, my favourite Draco, my arse, Theo, be less visible.
Their guide, a goblin who introduced himself as Gnarluk, grunted unintelligible words, a few drown out by the jingle of keys on his hand. He stopped at the end of the hall and pointed first at the boys and to their right side, groaning. He repeated the gesture to the girls, concerning the opposite side.
Their quarters were primary, bare stone walls, bunk beds and shower facilities behind a wall, almost no room for privacy. The girls sighed in unison, "Damn, McGonagall didn't exaggerate. This is basic needs only." Pansy sat on one of the beds and bounced up and down, "At least the mattresses are decent, not heavenly but they'll do. Girls, how do we split?"
Hermione spoke first, "I'll sleep in the lower bed, Lavender do you want to take the upper one?"
Pansy faced Tracey, "I sleep upstairs, Tracey dear, catch me if I fall, will you honey?"
The other witch snorted, "In your dreams Pansy Pans." All the girls laughed.
The Slytherin witch thought with relief, At least here no problems to be expected, for now, before addressing the Gryffindor Princess, "Granger, could I have a word with you?" Pansy touched Hermione's arm lightly guiding the brunette to a corner, "I have no right to ask you this, but I'm doing it anyway."
Hermione nodded.
Pansy continued, "I know Draco was an arsehole to you. But he's trying to mend his actions, and I know that he's keeping an open mind about this whole thing, so I'm asking you to give him an honest chance." Pansy pleaded, keeping a hand on the other witches' arm, "Please, Granger?"
The brunette witch closed her lips tightly, "Parkinson, no promises. Much will depend on how he acts."
"I take what I can, at this point." Pansy shook her head lightly, "I want to apologise too, for my actions. I regret all I did and said in the past, Granger. I hope you can find a way to accept and forgive me."
"You want me to forgive you?" Hermione's eyes were fixed on the other witch, "Than start by calling me Hermione instead of Granger, Pansy. Rome wasn't built in a day, wounds need time to heal."
"I can't ask for more, Hermione. Really can't ask for more."
-Boy's room-
Neville took the upper bed to stretch his full body without obstructing anyone's night's rest, "This is my bed, guys."
Harry and Ron fought for the possession of the upper level playing a small rock, paper and scissors game which ended with Ron gleaming at Harry, "You can't win them all, Harry!"
Draco side eyed the whole event, but felt his shoulder being jabbed by Blaise, "Up or down?"
The blond shrugged his shoulders, "Don't care, you choose."
"I take the upper one, you can lay down below me. For once I stand above you."
The blond snorted, "Mate, don't illusion yourself too hard, it's only sleeping arrangements. If you fall, tough nuggets for you." His anxiety was rising: his first challenge and work with Hermione. He didn't doubt her psychical skills, her endurance nor her tenacity. What he didn't need was a bushy-haired swot on his back, blaming him for all the plagues of Egypt even if some were justified.
The wizards sat one by one on the lower beds, waking up Draco from his doom daydreaming. Harry started to spill his beans, "I think it's necessary for us to clean the air. The war is over; we all have had our share in it and all the blah blah blah. Rome hasn't been built in a day, all our grudges won't disappear like snow in the sun. However, I want that 8th year and if I need to bury the hatchet to achieve it, count me in."
Ron grunted, "Harry, I…"
Harry retorted, "Ron, yes. You might not like them all, I don't either. I'm not asking you to profess your love and go for ice creams. If we continue to have prejudices against each other, then we have fought in vain."
Blaise butted in, "Potter," extending his hand, "I'm Blaise Zabini, a first class son of a bitch." He rolled his hand, gesturing 'you know what else', "I come from Italy, and I've known this prat here almost all my life," nodding at Draco, "Nice to meet you." Draco snorted, as Harry took Blaise's hand in a gentleman's handshake, "Harry, from 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging." They all burst into laughter.
Draco grabbed his courage and extended his hand towards Ron, "I can't go back in the past and fix it, but I am truly sorry for what happened with Fred. Your twin brothers always made Hogwarts feel a bit lighter with their jokes." The laughter died off, and five pairs of eyes glared intensely at the ginger-haired wizard, who's his glare was fixed on the pale hand before him.
"Malfoy, fuck." Ron closed his eyes, trying to keep himself composed; Harry nudged him mouthing, C'mon mate, be better. "Fred…" He rose to his feet and walked towards the small window high up the wall, facing it. Draco retreated his hand, feeling awkward and embarrassed, although hiding his face behind the stoic Malfoy mask, unaffected, his eyes gazing the floor.
Ron turned around, walked to Draco and reached his hand, "Harry is correct. You'll never be a mate or a friend. But you're not my enemy either, not anymore. And yes, Fred died, by someone else's doing, not yours. I appreciate your condolences." The blond wizard didn't hesitate and shook the ginger head's hand. He would not deny an extended hand, forgiving himself was hard enough already. Still, there was one question burning on his lips, "Any hints on how to deal with the Gryffindor princess?"
Harry and Ron crossed a look, sighed and spoke at the same time, Harry started, "Malfoy, Hermione is a temperamental thing, the volcanic kind."
Ron added, "True, and I can know it, I've been enough on the end side of her fire to know it."
Harry contributed, "Malfoy, avoid lectures, don't use your M word. – Though if you hurt her our peace offer is off the table."
Blaise raised a finger to intervene, "Potter, we are more concerned if our man will make it out alive, her hexes are legendary."
Ron snorted, nodding, "I know, Zabini."
Harry stared at Draco, "Try to be humble, not the arrogant arse. Throw a genuine apology or two for the use of that M word. You know how misplaced that one turned out to be, right?"
Blaise couldn't let go of his curiosity, "Weasley, allow me one piece of gossip. You and Granger?"
Ron shook his head, "We tried to go down that road, but we think of each other more like siblings than as life partners. It was ruining our friendship, and we left that road just in time."
"So she's single?" Blaise kept poking.
"I think so, but she's no one's fuck buddy, so keep your little me in your pants, Zabini."
Offering his hands up in peace, Blaise deflected, "I'm asking for a friend," glancing for a second at Draco, who gave him a death glare in return, with a snarky whisper, "Blaise, drop it."
-o0o-
They all met in the central atrium of the fortress, wearing the sports attire provided, the bottoms Slytherin green shorts, the top's Gryffindor red skin-tight tank shirts and black sneakers. Harry voiced loud everyone's thoughts, "McGonagall's hilarious attempt at House mingling. It could have been worse."
Blaise gave all the girls a run-over, "Potter, for once I agree with you," whistling, "The eye wants some too…"
Pansy responded in kind, "We are admiring your abs and pectorals as much as you fancy our arses and the size of our breasts, now in full display." Heading over to Draco she patted on his abdomen with a wicked look, "If you all are done sizing up the merchandise, maybe we can start."
They heard a scrap of a throat, noticing two goblins behind them. Gnarluk began to growl his speech, "Per day a challenge, retrieve key or hint. Lose challenge and you locked in jail for a day. You need minimum 10 keys and on day seven, the big challenge with keys and hints, to find the answer to the riddle. Trophy at the end. All clear?"
Hermione answered sarcastically, "Crystal."
Pointing at Neville and Theo, the other goblin motioned them to follow. They leave the group while Gnarluk indicated a finger towards a big screen behind them. Harry exclaimed, "We can follow the challenges from here?" A grunted "Yes" was followed by Blaise's "Cool" behind the goblin's back.
*Neville and Theo*
They followed the fast pacing goblin, and after running through multiple stairs and halls, they arrived at a heavy wooden door. A finger points at a page explaining the challenge, Neville read out loud: "One player must move a barrel from one side of the maze to the other. The path must be cleared by a second player for this object. The key - attached to an immobile barrel - is released by using the tool fixed on the used barrel."
The goblin pointed at a sand-glass and showed five fingers, Theo asked to be sure, "Timed challenge? 5 minutes?" The mute goblin nodded, motioning a lock movement if time ran out.
"Okay Neville, one moves the barrel, the other makes room free to navigate. What do you prefer?"
"I'll push the barrel forward, will you move the others?"
Theo raised his hand, "High five, mate?"
Neville slapped back, "Let's do this."
The door cracked open, and as the two entered, the goblin slammed it shut, and locked them in, "Holly shit, these guys really mean it."
Theo became slightly nervous, but Neville clapped his shoulder, "Hey relax, we've got this."
They found the barrel quickly, and Neville started pushing it, grunting at the exert of strength he had to employ, "This weights a ton." He got the hang of it, under the supportive shouts from Theo, "You can do this."
While Theo moved one barrel at the time, some light, others really crude and bulky; Neville navigated through a maze of more than 20 barrels, both breathing hard from exhaustion. In between, both grunted multiple 'Fuck's' and 'Shit's'. Neville kept an eye on the sand-glass, calculating they had already lost more than three and a half minutes by the time they arrived at the end. Working as fast as they could, they were finally able to shove the side of the barrel with the tool as close as possible to the key, with Theo releasing it from its locker.
They sprinted towards the already open door and moved forward - with the little energy they still had left - to join the others, eager to tell them about their proof. Hermione was waiting for them with two bottles of water, "Amazing what you did, I imagine those barrels were heavy as hell?"
"How do you know?" Theo stopped dead on his track, eyeing her curiously and noticing the huge smiles on everyone's faces.
"We followed it on this big screen," She pointed to the big black device behind her, "If I recollect this right, Blaise called this-"
Blaise jumped in, "Cool! I called this cool, mate," High five'ing Theo, "This is awesome."
*Ron and Tracey*
They all analysed Neville and Theo's challenge - except for Lavender. Hermione summed up, "There's the time limit issue on top of the difficulty level." The rest nodded in acknowledgement, "And they take us per couple separate, but the remaining group is not in a position to help. So not only time is important, but also figuring out the fastest way is a required skill."
Glares exchanged between them, assessing their weakest link. Lavender confirmed their unspoken conclusion, with her silly remark, "I hope those cells are comfortable, will there be room service?"
Blaise growled, slamming a palm against his face.
Draco flashed a look at Hermione who rolled her eyes at the idiocy. For a second, he thought to hear her mumble, "You'll find out soon enough, methinks."
The goblin came and pointed at Ron and Tracey, who set off at a pace. Halfway Ron reached out for Tracey's hand to pull her with him, "Tracey, push it harder, girl."
She was puffing, "I'm going as fast as I can," though, she was relieved that Ron didn't leave her behind.
Before they knew, the pair arrived at the front of another massive door. The detailed page was nailed against the wooden frame, and Tracey read it aloud as soon as she regained her breath, "Challenge The Board, the participant has to walk over a board until the end to collect the key."
The goblin showed them the sand-glass, five fingers and opened the door allowing them to enter the sunlit room, locking it soon after. A surfboard of sorts occupied the place, pivoted at the centre as a seesaw. Figuring it out quickly, Ron starts off, explaining in between, "I'm getting on it, walk over to the end, grab the key and we're done."
"It sounds too easy Ron, I think you'll have to be careful, it seems to be a balance trick." Ron's assessment gave Tracey a wary feeling.
"Let me try." His first step on the board confirmed Tracey's suspicions. It shifted with weight, and Ron had no foothold in it. "Bloody hell, I can't get on it."
"Ron, try to make that first step closer to its centre point," suggested Tracey, fearing he would fall. He made a far-reaching step, passing almost half of its first-half. The shift was minimal, and he used his balance to his right leg to move his full weight onto the board. It shook but remained stable.
He faced her, flashing a huge smile and a thumbs up, "Thanks, Tracey!" He took a moment to breathe deeply, "Okay now to the other side." Shovelling slowly forward, soon he learned it was impossible to get to the key alone, "Tracey, I think we need to do this together."
"How, Ron?"
His stress kicked in "Shit, we only have half a time left, Trace."
"Means at least a two and a half minutes."
-oOo Atrium oOo-
Hermione grunted, "Ron, move on damn it!" They watched the scene unfold, especially the small countdown clock that flashed 2 minutes. Harry shook his head, figuring it out earlier than Ron, "He will need Tracey to balance the board while he moves, otherwise no key."
Blaise agreed, "I think your bro just reached the same conclusion. Luckily for him, he's a big guy, the cord is too high up for Tracey to reach."
Draco and Theo nodded, "Yeah, you are correct, but the ginger head isn't stupid. If they work together, he'll pull it off." Draco's comment surprised Hermione, but she kept her gaze on the screen, showing no emotion.
They followed on the screen how the ginger wizard kept his balance, stretching out a hand to help Slytherin witch on board. Once stable, Ron and Tracey moved in unison away from each other until Ron whisked the key from its holding. Jumping coordinated on the floor, Ron and Tracey made it out with only 10 seconds left.
-oOo Ron/Tracey oOo-
"Bloody hell, that was intense." Ron's blue eyes were shining brightly at Tracey, smiling widely at her, while he dangled the key.
She surprised him by hugging him tightly, beaming, "I can't wait for another challenge, Ron. This is awesome."
He froze for a moment, her excitement and feeling her arms around him, threw him off guard. He forced a smile, "Let's get back to the group, show them we made it." He snaked an arm around her shoulders instinctively, nudging her close, as they started on their way back, at a more relaxed pace. Stealing a look, he thought, this Slytherin witch is not that bad after all.
Harry welcomed him with a huge high five, "That was a close call buddy, you barely made it."
"I had a good partner in crime." Ron winked at Tracey, keep his arm around her, before accepting everyone's congratulations.
Pansy bumped Tracey, smiling smugly at the witch, who cut her loose from Ron, "Hugging the ginger head eh?"
A big blushed crawled over the other witch's face, "He's not so bad, Pans."
Smirking, the Slytherin princess poked the bear some more, "Not so bad… oh, boy."
*Blaise and Lavender*
A grunt was the only thing Blaise and Lavender heard, to know it was their turn. They followed promptly, but it was soon evident Lavender had zero endurance, puffing and complaining about the speed. Blaise had to demand the goblin to wait several times, giving Lavender the time to catch up. Thankfully for wizard and witch, it wasn't far away.
Their challenge was symbolised by a strong arm, painted on the parchment right under the sand glass. Blaise growled, "I guess I'm up," barely disguising his horror when Lavender leaned against him; patting his biceps, "I know you will nail this, these are not made from foam, Bon-Bon."
His face grimaced, "Woman, get a grip please."
-oOo Atrium oOo-
Pansy broke into laughter, "Poor Blaise. Lav-Lav wants a piece, and he wants to run away."
Hermione joined in, "Ron, can you give Blaise some advice? You know she can be kinda gluey."
Ron screwed up his face, "Hermione, please just don't. I feel bad for him already."
But Hermione mocked him further, "Oh, Lav-Lav." She sent him kisses and batted her eyelashes several times. Pansy grasped her belly, from laughing so hard.
The laughter rose high within the group. Draco mumbled to Harry, "Karma can be a bitch. You really shouldn't mess with Granger."
Harry nodded, "Hermione's wrath can be epic, believe me."
Ron's face was tomato red, gesturing his palm at his throat, for Hermione to cut it. She stuck her tongue out in return.
-oOo Blaise/Lavender oOo-
The pair got locked inside, and Lavender gasped at the sight of a man with the looks of a sumo wrestler sitting at a table.
Gritting through his teeth, Blaise sat down, faced the man and looked up, praying to the higher powers for a miracle, There's no way I can beat this bloke.
They grasped hands, and Blaise sensed his arm being pushed to the side almost immediately. Calling on every ounce of strength he possessed, he pushed back hard barely preventing his hand from hitting the table.
Lavender's comments were not improving his mood, "Blaise, C'mon push again, use your muscles."
He growled through his teeth at her, "Woman, what the hell do you think I'm doing?"
"You are not doing it strong enough, push harder baby."
"I'm not your baby."
"You will be, Bon-Bon. I will not let you down."
"Thank god the atrium has no sound." He closed his eyes while making a more laborious effort to push the other man's arm for at least a fraction of an inch. His muscles were strained and covered by a layer of sweat from exertion.
He stopped listening to her comments, her last "Hmm," left him wondering what else could come from the enervating witch. As by wonder, he felt the pressure from the man's arm relax, at first lightly, but soon the man stopped pushing at all. Blaise noticed the man loss of focus, staring at some point behind him.
Grabbing the moment, Blaise gave a firm push, and the man's knuckles slammed hard against the table. Relieved, Blaise rose his arms in the air in victory, "Yes!"
Turning around, the puzzle fell into pieces, Lavender was seducing the man, her tongue wetting her lips and fingers ghosting over her breasts. Blaise was stupefied, his eyebrows nearly disappeared in his hairline "What the hell, woman?"
"What are you complaining about? It's thanks to my beautiful curves that you won the damn challenge. You should be thanking me. Now, let's get out of here." She grabbed his arm and pulled him behind her, marching back to the group.
Blaise never felt this awkward when they arrived at the group. Theo and Draco had at least the decency to hide their grins behind their hands, while the others doubled from laughter. His embarrassment was complete when Lavender put her hands on his face and pecked a loud kiss on his lips, "Now, that's what I call a thank you."
Blaise wished he could dig a hole to hide when he heard Draco and Theo cave and join the others the fun.
A barked announcement, put a stop to the laughter, "First lunch, then you and you," pointing at Pansy and Harry.
Harry saluted the goblin, marching right behind him.
*Harry and Pansy*
Their lunch consisted of simple sandwiches and soft drinks. Hermione and Harry sighed at the sweet youth memory, sipping from the Coke can. The others enjoyed their first sparkling soda, delighted, "We need to sneak in some of these to Hogwarts," Theo suggested, receiving a simultaneous "Agreed!" from the gang.
Their break was short-lived, Harry and Pansy were forced to follow. Pansy clapped on Harry's shoulder, "It's you and me now, Potter. But don't expect me to flash a boob."
Harry flashed his puppy eyes, batting his eyelashes at her, "Really? I'm kind of hungry, puhlease?" Her grumpy face told him enough.
Their run through the walls of the fortress ended again at a set of heavy doors. Pansy gave it a quick read while the page blazed with the wind, "Players are handcuffed to each other and a pipeline, have to move together, navigate through valves and so on until they reach the end and grab the key to cut loose."
She faced Harry, "You and me in handcuffs? I prefer to play that game somewhere else, Potter."
Harry chuckled, "A tit for tat."
The goblin hooked Pansy right arm with Harry's left over the pipeline and their other free wrists separately to the pipe. Showing them again the fingers, he locks them in, and the pair starts immediately to move synchronised forward. "Alright Potter, we'll have to cooperate with our linked hands to open these valves."
"I follow you, let's do this and get out within our five-minute window."
They cooperate as if it was something they did for years, one requesting more arm freedom to open a valve, the other asking it in return when it was closer to him or her. Three and a half minutes later, two grinning faces winked at each other and high fived, massaging their free wrists while walking back to the atrium.
On their way back Pansy pondered, "I hope Draco and Hermione find a way to work together as you and me."
Harry nodded, "You and me both."
*Draco and Hermione*
They watched on screen how easy Harry and Pansy had teamed up and faced each other. Hermione approached Draco, "We can do the same I hope."
"Granger, I'm game. It will do no one good if we fight each other and end up losing our trials." Draco's remark came softly out of his mouth; will she let her grudges go?
Harry ran up to her with a worried look on his face, grabbed an arm en took her aside, "Hermione, these challenges are really cool. Enter with an open mind 'Mione, try work with him peacefully and enjoy it to the fullest. Don't let your grudges kill the buzz, wildcat."
"I don't want a free day jail sitting. I'll play it cool, no fighting unless provoked." She agreed, "I hope Malfoy does the same."
"Believe me, Hermione, he will. Pansy told me he's trying to redeem himself." He rubbed her arms, studying her face, "We called it a truce in the boy's room, even Ron and Draco have reached a sort of understanding. Do the same, 'Mione. Do it for me, please."
"I'll try, Harry, I can't promise miracles, but I'll try."
Draco scraped his throat, "Granger, the goblin is here for us."
Her eyes shined with excitement, "I'm ready, Malfoy." Her smile threw him off, leaving him wondering, has Saint Potter performed a miracle?
They ran off, linking hands halfway as Hermione fell behind, unable to keep up with Draco's wide strides. Breathing heavy they arrived at their destination, and Draco started to read, "Revolving webs of bungee cords, two parts. One retrieves the tool, the other uses tool to release the key." He looked down at her, "I guess we should decide who does what inside. If the key is up high, I'll take the second part to my account."
She nodded, "I agree."
They entered the room like all the others before them, with a warning of five minutes before the door locked into place. "Here we go." Draco saw his guess become a reality, the key dangled high up on a bouncing cord, "You will have to start here, Granger."
Not losing one second to answer, she nodded and climbed up the web that revolved while she moved along to the right. Always listening to what Draco shouted at her, "Rise two quadrants up Granger. Now, wait until the cords are in a better position… it's time to move forward."
She faltered a step, dangling on her two arms and one foot, "Damn it."
Draco shouted, "Are you okay?"
She glanced down at him, "Yes, just a scare nothing more." Refocusing again on her path, she reached the tool at a faster pace, with more confidence about moving on the web. Retrieving the instrument was a piece of cake, and she returned to her starting point, handing it smoothly over to Draco, who climbed to meet her at her height, for the smoothest transition.
Draco tried to focus and guide her the best way but found it hard to maintain his attention, the shorts hugged her behind like a second skin, and the tank top left hid nothing, her lithe waist and the nicely shaped bosom, all out at his display. Taking a deep breath, he willed his body to regain composure before she would notice his arousal, just how much did this witch hide under her robes.
She reached him faster than the outward journey, transferred the tool into his hands and made the intention to go back to the floor, but he stopped her for a second, touching her upper arm, "You sure that you are okay, Granger?"
His friendly tone unsettled her more than she gave away, "Don't worry, I'm fine." He started his path to the left, faster than her attempts, using his knowledge from watching her to his benefit.
Hermione followed his steps from the ground, advising him along the way, "Malfoy, wait a second… now is the moment." Pay attention Granger, stop drooling! She had to admit she was having trouble focusing on being a good team player. From where she stood, she had a full display of his etched abdominals, and the outlines of his pectorals - his tank top had loosened up from his shorts, giving her a full view of his torso; his muscled legs flexing at each leap he took. He wasn't heavy built like Neville or Blaise but had an athletic build, stealth and muscular. He is quite the perfect specimen of the male sex.
It was almost too late when she saw him do a breathtaking manoeuvre, she yelled, "Malfoy, what the hell are you doing, git?"
"This stupid cord runs away every time I try to grab it, Granger." He grunted between his teeth, sweat drops running through his face.
"You'll get hurt, Malfoy, try to swing to it." Her fear shone through her voice, feeling apprehensive about how far he was willing to go and make a dangerous move.
"Bad seed doesn't die easily." His grunted answer didn't appease her; instead, she watched terrified how he bounced back and forth on the web; swinging with an outstretched arm, the tool between his teeth. His hand got a hold on the bouncing cord with the key, but in the aftermath, he slipped on his feet, hanging on one arm, "Ugh! Fuck!"
"Malfoy!"
"Shut up." He got a grip again on the web, focused first on releasing the key and got down on the cords until he was low enough to jump.
She ran to him, grabbing tight the arm that had held his whole weight up, turning it around searching for a wound. Her fear was correct; he had a bleeding scrape on the back of his lower arm. "Malfoy, you git. What is this good for?"
"Why do you care?"
"Malfoy…" Her frustration was just below the skin, and she felt extremely irritated, "Let's get out first, so I can take care of this." The door was open, but they only had 30 seconds left to exit. Standing outside of the chamber, Hermione demanded from the goblin to show them the fastest way to their dungeons, dragging Draco behind her, her hand in a vice hold around his wrist.
He followed her meekly, stupefied, to the girl's chambers, and he got shoved on a lower bed. His partner left him alone for a few seconds cursing and mumbling, returning with her arms full of first aid supplies.
Hermione chose a dressing pad and some pink cleansing liquid and took his arm in her hand to start treating his scrape, but he stopped her movement with his free hand, "Granger, why do you care?"
"Malfoy."
"Why do you fucking care if I'm bleeding?"
"Malfoy, please let me take care of this…" His reluctance to cooperate was angering her to no limits.
He kept her wrist in his hand, pressing slightly harder when she tried to pry herself loose, "Granger, it's me, Malfoy, not one of your cosy idiots out there. Why do you fucking care?"
"Know what?" She released his arm, opened his hand and shoved the first aid pad into it, "Here's the pad, use that cleanser and do it yourself. I'm done with your whining about my reasons." Turning around, she marched toward the door.
His soft "Granger, wait… Hermione, please," made her stop at the threshold.
"What now, Malfoy?" her tone was cold, and she refused to face him before he answered her. Her anger was melting. To hear him say please and her given name in the same sentence made fissures in her walls.
"I'm sorry, I'm fucked up okay? I don't deserve any kindness from you, not after what happened in the Manor, or the way I've treated you all these years." She turned slowly around, watching him speak with his eyes on the floor, one hand shoved through his hair. He faced her, forehead creased, and eyes shut, drawing in a deep breath, "Hermione, can you help me? I understand bullocks of Muggle healing stuff, please."
"It's going to sting, and I'm not sorry for it." She pouted first, but soon one of the corners of her mouth turned up in a half smirk. He remained quiet, afraid of destroying her mood. Having a Granger smile beamed at him did something to his system.
If he only knew how to get through her, make her see he felt sorry for all his injustices. How he regretted being a coward when she needed him…
Her actions were determined while tending to his arm. The pink solution she used, sting like a bitch, but he bit his tongue instead of whining as he did in the third year. It didn't take long before she had bandaged the wounded area, nodding satisfied. She pat on his head, "Did it hurt badly, baby? Want me to kiss it better?" The annoyed glare he gave her, made her laugh. She put everything away and waited until he joined her on her way back to the atrium, "If you need kisses, ask Lav-Lav, ha ha!" I like to mock him.
Her wall built out of grudges, and long fostered anger was crumbling. It was useless to deny or prevent it from happening. She wondered if this side was a one-time thing or something she never saw before.
Time would tell, he wasn't yet on her right side, just a little less on her bad one.