Yayy me! I updated sooner than you guys probably thought I would *blows raspberry* Take that! But seriously guys, thank you for all the story alerts and favorites. They help motivate me so much to keep updating! That and listening to the film scores of the Harry Potter movies while I write. So keep at it!
Disclaimer: I know what I said while I was drunk, but I didn't really keep JK Rowling in my basement and make her write out my ideas. That would be absurd. ;)
"Well here we are." Draco motioned over to a clearing, marking the front of the muggle farmer's market.
Vendors of all kinds could be heard throughout the market, selling their handmade and homegrown wares. There weren't very many people out due to what the magical world knew as the war and what the muggles knew as high threat organized crimes. Although there was a lack of people to enjoy the merchandise , it seemed like a very welcoming environment nonetheless.
"Fresh organic meats and produce! Nothing but the best!" A young humble farmer yelled while he smiled. His plaid shirt was drenched with sweat from the beaming sun, but he looked happy to be there the same.
"Ooh! Draco! I betcha Icould get some from bangers from him for breakfast." Hermione said as her usual innocent smile morphed itself into a smirk, staring at the farmer glistening with sweat.
"I'm sure that's not all you can get from him," he muttered under his breath.
"Of course I'm not just thinking about breakfast-"
Draco sniggered.
"I'll get enough food for about 2 weeks." Hermione was talking to herself by then, completely missing the blonde's attempt at a sexual inneuendo. He smacked his forehead and slumped behind towards the farmer's stand.
"Well we're not any bloody closer to destroying these damn horcruxes, even while Hermione was here." Ron glared at the raven haired boy for what seemed like the thousandth time that week.
"Don't you go blaming Hermione on the fact that we haven't destroyed anymore horcruxes. If anything, she's the reason we even have horcruxes to destroy. That's more than you can say." Harry flared back at the redhead, hexing him in his head.
Ron folded his arms in disgust thinking about the insufferable know-it-all he thought he fell in love with. "Yeah well she's not here anymore-"
"No thanks to you."
He growled. "-SO we have to keep going on without us. There are people waiting for us." Thinking back to the family he left behind without even a goodbye. "We need to think. What have we used before to destroy them?"
"Oi" Harry rubbed the back of his neck while he thought. "A basilisk fang and—"
"And what?" Ron sat up in anticipation.
"The sword of Gryffindor." Harry thought out loud.
The red head threw his hands up in the air. "Yeah, because we have the bloody sword of Gryffindor laying around this tent somewhere. The minister said it wasn't Dumbledore's to give to you."
"This coming from the very same minister that has me wanted all over the magical world and is in cahoots with the Dark Lord. We knew what we were doing, and he knew it would help us get it done."
Ron gave an exasperated sigh. "So what do we do now?"
"We look for it."
It was nightfall by the time Hermione and Draco started heading back to their tent in the middle of the forest. Their hands were filled with groceries for the next 2 weeks, but they always had room to carry their wands; just in case. When she first came to the forest with Harry and Ron, she was always a bit paranoid of what they'd run into considering who they were running from. Tonight however, Hermione wasn't the least bit afraid; not of snatchers, deatheaters, magical creatures, not even the Dark Lord himself; all because a certain blonde haired Slytherin was right next to her. She wasn't one to depend on anyone, especially someone of the opposite sex. But for some reason, with Draco, it felt just right. Even if he was still venting about the farmer from the market.
"I swear, you were going gaga over him, with your big bubbly eyes. There's not one thing in our hands that we didn't get from his stand." Draco fumed, feeling a tinge of protectiveness towards the bushy-brown –now-tame-haired bookworm.
"Why are you getting your knickers in a bunch about it? I can flirt with whomever I damn please, Malfoy. Besides, I wasn't flirting to begin with; it's called being friendly."
"Well you were being a little too friendly if you ask me," The ferret said, folding his arms.
Hermione interjected, "I didn't ask."
The blond's eye turned to a dark steel grey as he looked down to the ground. Why was he even upset at her actions? It's not like they were together. Draco bit his lip hard at his last thought, almost drawing blood. What came over him all of a sudden to make him so… territorial?
Her face snapped quickly from frustration to concern after seeing his eyes shift forcefully to the ground. Did she hurt his feelings? Why was he acting so weird anyways; like a dog over his favorite toy. Her eyes widened at her sudden realization. Did Draco harbor some sort of…feelings for her?
They suddenly heard a branch crack under someone's feet that wasn't their own. In the darkness of the forest, all that could be seen was a patronus in the shape of a doe. Wait, a patronus? Hermione thought. Who else was out there?
Their minds had synchronized, for they had pulled their wands out simultaneously and started to search for the origin of the patronus.
As they got closer to the doe, they realized that it was standing over a frozen lake. But as soon as they got close enough, it vanished. A crash into the lake could be heard from afar and they quickly ran over to the sound.
"Oh my goodness, someone's jumped in!" Hermione exclaimed, dropping to her knees onto the ice floor and looking for the victim.
Feeling movement under his feet, Draco grabbed for Hermione's hand. "I think I found him. Come on, over there," pointing over to some trees whist running off the frozen floor.
"Why are we hiding? We should be saving them! They're stuck under a floor of ice for Merlin's sake!" she angrily whispered to him.
"We don't know who we would've been saving! We could've just walked into our death for all we know!" he exclaimed back in a hushed tone. The last thing Draco wanted to see was Hermione's body in a mass of blood.
Just as the Slytherin prince was getting lost in his thoughts, a gasp was heard from the lioness as a tuft of raven hair and a faint lightning bolt scar could be seen popping up from the frozen lake.
"Harry? Harry!" Ron exclaimed as he ran over to help his best friend out of the freezing cold water. "What the bloody hell are you doing out here?"
"Followed a patronus…found…" he tried to regain steady breathing as he pulled the word of Gryffindor out the water he just ascended from.
"Merlin." His eyes widened as he realized what this meant for them.
Watching in the distance, Hermione immediately got excited as she too understood what this meant. "They can finally destroy the locket!" she whispered as she looked over to Draco. He gave a empathetic smile but his eyes were clouded with sadness. They both knew that no matter how secluded they were from the war and their world, they still rooted themselves to a side; whether they wanted to or not. Hermione looked back to the past month she spent with the once cold Malfoy to the now understanding, sweet Draco and before her watered eyes threatened to shed a tear, she closed her eyes.
Warmth instantly hit his lips as he realized the cold air wasn't hurting his face anymore. Reaching a hand up, he cupped her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek gently. As he finally closed his eyes, he felt the feeling just sink in. The tingling beneath his feet, the growing warmth on his lips towards the rest of his body, and the very real Hermione Granger, sharing all their unspoken emotions towards each other through touch. As he lost himself in her, he was abruptly brought back to reality as he felt a stinging tear fall on his face.
"Hermione?"
Her heart ached a thousand times over. "I-I'm sorry; I have to h-help them. I'll miss you." And with another kiss, she vanished from his side and into the clearing towards the frozen lake.
The two boys looked over into the darkness of the woods and saw the missing piece to the golden trio standing at the edge of it with a broken smile.
So? What'd you guys think? Questions? Concerns? Anything you guys want to happen in the near or distant future? Please review and let me know! I love hearing from you guys!