Her Last Sentence

Hermione smiled at me, and sighed. Then she got up abruptly and ran over to a large grass field filled with trees. I followed her curiously, my heart strangely uplifted to see her so happy again. Hermione's hair was covering part of her face and her hair was more in disarray now.

She had taken off her scarf and her school robe. She was left with her Gryffindor tie, her blouse and skirt. Then, grinning at me teasingly, she fell to the soft grass and rolled around in it. Before stopping to a standstill with her eyes to the sky.

"It's so beautiful, I don't want to leave," Hermione said as I settled myself and lay down beside her. She peered at my curiously out of the side of her eyes. The grass was so soft and dry, i could smell the earth below me. Then she closed her eyes, I did the same…

I did not know how long it had been but my snapped open when I felt a stray drop of water on my cheek. The clouds were thunderous and black, the rain threatening to fall.

"Hermione," I blubbered groggily, "get up!" Hermione's eyes opened blearily, she rubbed her eyes and then looked at me in concern.

"What?" she asked. My head motioned to the direction of the sky. Just as she realized it, the rain started to fall and the nearest trees in the wide open field were a yard away, wondering regretfully why we had wandered to the exact middle of the field, I pulled Hermione's hand and ran towards the lone oak tree.

The rain was heavy, threatening to drown us all. Our sight was limited to a few inches away and only trusting my instinct to where our shelter was. My feet felt like lead and my arms ached, my neck hurt and my shoulders drooped.

We were halfway there when Hermione collapsed. Thankfully, her hand broke the fall, being what she is; she brushed it off and continued running towards the tree. The rain was now thundering on our heads making little drumming noises, this was going to be a very long rainstorm, and we were already soaked through before we reached the magnificent oak.

My heart suddenly felt like a ton, we had been running for what seemed like hours in the rain, slipping every few steps and regaining our composure and continued sprinting.

The wind howled, managing to lift my wet hair.

The grass there was already muddy, because of the slope which led water to pool around the bottom of the oak, but because of the thick canopy the tree had, the trunk remained dry.

"We'll have to climb up, 'Mione" I whispered, her lean frame was already shivering slightly, no matter how much she tried to control or hide her cold from me. She tried to hide her face from me, turning her head away.

I climbed up the rough bark of the tree. The roughness of the bark, clawing through my palm, scratching it roughly, it was torture to drag myself up the height of the tree. Once I had reached a part in the tree where there was space, I reached my hand down to pull Hermione up. She was already halfway up when she met my hand, I pulled her up and she slumped tiredly on the fairly large platform. There was space for two to sit, but not to sleep.

She was looking at her cut across her palm. Her blood was red, crimson red, oozing across the clean slit. Her blood was exactly like mine. Red, no more, no less.

I had contemplated returning to the portal, but our wands were more than two kilometers away. I cursed myself for running to the tree, now we were stranded here. Hermione looked like she could not walk another step, and I certainly could not make a trip there and back without apparating or collapsing.

Our only choice was to stay here until the rain stopped. I shifted myself to the side of the tree, my legs dangling precariously of the edge. Making barely enough space for Hermione to lie down, I flashed a comforting smile.

"You can lie down, Draco," Hermione mumbled, hugging her legs, trying to create warmth through her sopping wet clothes.

"Nah, you need to rest, you look exhausted,"

"I'm not the one who had to drag me here, using double the strength," she argued.

"There's not enough space for the both of us, 'Mione" I hoarsely replied, wondering just when I picked up that nickname for her.

"There is if we lie closely to each other,"

"That would be ungracious of me" I said.

"Just damn it and lie next to me, Draco," she shot back fiercely.

I was too tired to retort, she was positioning herself carefully, leaving space for me to lie next to her. My eyelids were drooping, the drumming of the rain sounded just like a lullaby when I was in the tree, egging me on to the rejuvenating slumber.

I scooted next to her, and laid down gingerly, my arm had touched hers. Her sleeve was wet and her hand was icy cold.

"Are you cold, Hermione?" I asked worriedly, my eyes straining to keep open.

"No," she replied shortly.

My face was too tired to shoot her a look. It was just like her, to not tell anybody that she needed help. Her hair was matted with water and stuck to her face. Her blouse was wet and clung to her skin, revealing her curves and her skirt lay across her legs. She was curled up in a fetal position, her hands hugging her legs tightly.

I sighed and wrapped my arms around her, bring her body as close to mine as I can, her face was buried in the crook of my neck and her position relaxed. I could feel the exact texture of her blouse and can almost feel her skin through the thin material soaked with water.

My hand traveled up to stroke her wet hair, her eyes eventually shut, and her peaceful breathing was clear to me.

Just as I was about to drift into a sleep I desired, I felt her slim arms snake around my chest, one on my chest and one reaching my back. And before I knew it, her soft lips was on mine and stayed there until...