Hermione's eyes fluttered open because the sun was hitting her in the face. She groaned and put her arm over her eyes, trying to shield them. The fact that she was stranded in the middle of nowhere with Malfoy finally began to sink in.
She sat up with a start and started looking around. It was still blazing hot out, so Hermione whipped the sweat off her forehead. She looked to her right side and saw Malfoy sleeping on his side. He was facing her. Why? she wondered.
"Malfoy."
He didn't budge. If they were going to get back on time, he would have to wake up. She had no choice but to force him. "MALFOY! GET YOUR LAZY SELF UP!" she screamed.
He woke with a start and glared at Hermione when he saw her smirking at him. "What the hell, Granger?"
"If you want to get back to the school, then you have to get up early, so we can get a move on."
He groaned, "you're acting like my mother."
"Fine, then I'm leaving without you."
He grabbed her wrist and stopped her. She turned and looked down at him. "I'm coming with you," he said.
They packed everything in about five minutes. They kept walking forward, hoping they were going in the right direction.
They walked for a long time in the heat. Hermione started breathing heavily, so she stopped walking. "Do you think we can stop for a while? Maybe sit in the shade?"
Malfoy didn't hesitate. He was hot also; his hair was almost completely soaked over his eyes.
They decided to sit under a near-by tree. Hermione leaned back against it and closed her eyes. She couldn't bear the heat. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wand. She pointed it to her mouth and said, "aguamente." The water flowed smoothly into her mouth and she instantly felt relieved. She heard Malfoy do the same, but she didn't open her eyes.
"This heat is unbearable." Draco mumbled.
Hermione opened her eyes and looked over to him. "Tell me about it. And I have a feeling this is just the beginning. There will be much worse things as we get closer to Hogwarts."
Draco groaned, "great."
They sat in silence for another five minutes while their tired bodies recharged.
"Why are you staying here with me? You keep saying you're going to leave, but when are you going to do it?" Hermione asked.
He looked at her, "I don't know."
"If you hate me, you should leave."
Their eyes met.
"You have all the supplies, Granger."
She looked away from him and didn't say anything. She could see the heat radiating off the forest floor.. The heat actually seemed to be coming from the floor, not the sun. Hermione knew the forest was enchanted. She was just hoping that some of the charms wouldn't be completely deadly. But she knew Dumbledore, and he would do anything to keep Hogwarts and its students safe.
"Granger?"
Hermione sighed, "what?"
"Can we just aparate into the castle? Neither of us has the charm on."
"Malfoy, think logically here. If anyone could just aparate his way into Hogwarts, it would be destroyed. I was told long ago that there was a protective charm on the castle and everything around it for miles and miles. We can't aparate."
"And if we do?"
"We'll probably get splinched or die."
"Ripped apart?"
"Yup."
Draco sighed and looked away from Hermione, "when do you think this heat will stop? I don't know if I can take it anymore."
"I can't take it either, but we have to keep moving. I think that once we get to a certain point, the heat will completely stop." She said.
"How do you know?"
"It's called an educated guess, Malfoy. Now, shut your yap. We have to start moving again if we want to escape this heat by nightfall."
They kept walking at the quickest pace both of them could conjure in the extreme heat. Hermione wanted to run away. Get away from this heat and from Malfoy who always seemed to be at her heels. She was getting a bit annoyed with him. Correction, she was ALWAYS annoyed with him.
As the sun started t set in the distance, Hermione felt a breeze hit her face. "Do you feel that?"
Malfoy's eyes seemed to sparkle, "a breeze..."
Hermione was smiling from ear to ear and she turned and faced him. "I think we finally beat the heat!"
A breeze blew Herione's hair out of her ponytail and it flew around her face. She clapped her hands together, "I can't believe it! We're going in the right direction AND we're almost there!"
Even Malfoy looked relieved, but he said nothing.
"We should set up camp... We had a long day." Hermione said.
