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Summary: Hermione was riding horses before she could walk. When her parents died when she was just a few months old, she moved to live with her uncle on his ranch. Imagine her surprise when one summer, Draco Malfoy arrives for lessons.
Gypsy Hollow
Chapter 3 - Lesson the First
"Granger?" Malfoy's stunned exclamation could've been heard in the village - and that was saying something. Hermione rolled her eyes as her uncle looked between them with suspicious eyes. She didn't want to know what he was thinking.
"Yes, very observant of you, Malfoy." Hermione congratulated him seethingly, earning her a fuming glare. The boy was wearing pristine, white jodhpurs and a green shirt, with expensive looking leather ankle boots and emerald green gaiters. Luke eventually gave up on evaluating the tension between the two teenagers, sighing as he moved to walk away.
"I trust you can handle this alone, Hermione?" Luke questioned surely.
"Yes, uncle." She reassured him. Malfoy's eyes flickered dangerously.
"You have got to be kidding me!" He shouted, startling the horses. Luke glared at the boy, quickly developing a dislike for him. "She is your niece? The girl who will be teaching me?" Luke just nodded, giving Malfoy a look that clearly said exactly what he thought. Well done, brainiac.
"I am." Hermione confirmed out loud for him. Malfoy was burning up, apparently furious.
"No! Somebody else will have to teach me! Why can't you teach me?" He demanded towards Luke. Hermione's temper was slowly rising, but she checked herself when Jazz Man started shifting uncomfortably beside her.
"Uncle, can you take Jazz Man for me?" She requested politely. Luke took the horse but kept his gaze firmly locked on the boy, eyes narrowed. His fist was clenching around the reins in his hand, the knuckles turning white.
"What, pray tell, is the problem with my very talented niece teaching you to ride?" He asked, his voice frighteningly cold. Hermione knew that she was one of the very few things that could set him off. She also knew he would beat a man twice his size if she was uncomfortable with his advances - she'd seen it.
"There's not much issue," Malfoy shrugged, pretending to be cool, "other than the fact that she's a filthy little Mud-"
"You finish that word and I swear I will have Thumper run you over." Hermione's hand was at his throat, and the terror was obvious in his expression. Luke watched with raised eyebrows, a look of amused surprise on his face. When she was sure he'd stay quiet, Hermione released him.
"Young man," Luke intervened, slightly calmer, "if you would no longer like your lesson, I can give you your money back -"
"No." Hermione interrupted. "No, you don't give up, do you Malfoy? Neither do I." They held each other's eyes for a while, and Luke walked Jazz Man back to the stall, leaving them alone. "Now let's get this lesson over with, Malfoy. Follow me."
"You don't tell me what to do, Mud-" Hermione spun round, her fist flying into his face. He shouted in pain, but kept looking up at her as he held his jaw. She shook her head, glaring at the boy.
"Lesson the first, Malfoy - you do what I say, without argument or insult. I could easily put you on a horse that loves to throw the stupid little boy in it's back around. Understood?" There was a hesitant pause before he slowly nodded. She smiled brightly. "Good! Now, follow me."
She headed up towards her section of the stalls, reaching her hand out to stroke Thumper's muzzle as she walked passed. Arriving at Rowan's door, she stood aside and gestured towards the horse.
"This is Rowan," she introduced to the boy who had obediently followed behind her, "and she will be your horse for the lessons." As she came over to nudge Hermione's outstretched hand, Malfoy flinched slightly. Hermione sighed. "It's fine, Malfoy, she won't hurt you. Not unless I tell her to, anyway." She smiled again, and Malfoy recoiled, causing her to laugh.
"I'm kidding, Malfoy. Rowan is the gentlest, calmest horse we have here. Just perfect for beginners - I swear, she won't let you get hurt, okay?" Malfoy seemed to search her eyes for some hint of a lie, and finally deciding she was being honest, tentatively reached out towards the mare.
"That's it," she encouraged gently. "See? Easy." Hermione could've sworn she saw a flash of a smile at the corner of his lips, but it was gone before she could be sure. She watched him interact with the horse for a while before moving to open the door.
"Can I take her?" He suddenly asked, surprising her. Hermione smiled gently at him, all traces of bitterness gone as she discussed horses. She nodded, untying the reins to lead her from the stall before handing them to him, showing him how to hold them correctly.
"Always lead from the left." She instructed him, a sense of triumph washing over her as he obeyed. "You pretty much do everything from the left, really," she explained, "get on, get off, lead, tack up, untack... It goes on." Malfoy looked up and cocked his head to one side, making her chuckle lightly. "We'll get to that stuff later. First, though, pull on the reins a little to encourage her forward... Yeah, like that - there you go. Now come on, down to the arena, first."
They walked down in silence, Malfoy just gazing at the horse, Hermione just gazing at Malfoy. She always loved watching people's first experiences with horses - it was almost always a beautiful moment, in her eyes. This was one of the better ones.
In the arena, Hermione showed him how to mount from the mounting block, with a promise to let him try mounting from the floor at the end, and adjusted his stirrups. She then took the mare's throat latch in hand and began to lead the wary boy around the arena in a smooth walk.
"Calm down." She ordered. "You'll only make her skittish." She saw him visibly try and fail to relax, so offered some advice. "Close your eyes, and just fall into her movements. You won't go anywhere, I've got you steady. Go on, try it." He narrowed his eyes at her, as if judging her intentions, before finally closing his eyes and let his body slump. Hermione nodded in approval as she kept Rowan walking.
"Better now?" She asked him sweetly as he opened his eyes, but kept his body relaxed.
"Yes, thank you." They both seemed to freeze as he spoke those words, looking curiously at each other. As Hermione halted, so did Rowan, and the two teenagers just kept eye contact, trying to decipher the other. After a short while, Malfoy shook his head, before trying to recover. "I mean -"
"You're welcome." Hermione insisted, before he could take it back. She clucked for Rowan to walk on again, before suddenly stopping. Malfoy raised his eyebrows at her determined expression.
"I have an idea." She informed him.
"There's a surprise." Malfoy smirked. Hermione held back a smile.
"Just for the summer, while I'm working with you, let's be civil." The boy looked at her as if she had just asked him to jump off of a bridge. Alarm clouded his expression.
"Us, civil? How do you plan to make that happen, Granger?"
"Well it happened just now." She insisted quietly, dropping her head and calling Rowan on again. "We expressed manners towards each other." She shook her head, before carrying on with the lesson. "Do you want to trot?" His face lit up and Hermione watched him try to hide a grin.
"Alright." He shrugged instead. Hermione laughed quietly before gently tugging on the throat latch.
"Kick her to move faster," she reminded him, watching as he struggled to position his feet correctly in the new gait. She slowed the mare back down again and replaced his feet, showing him exactly how to move. "And when you trot, stand up in your seat - not all the way, or you'll probably fall off - but just a little rise. Get it?" He nodded, not very confident. She placed a comforting hand on his leg without realising what she was doing and quickly yanked it away before he spat at her.
"I get it." He insisted. "And alright Granger, I'll try."
"Huh?" Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion, and she heard an almost silent chuckle.
"I'll try with the pleasantries if you will. Agreed?" He offered. She looked back up at him, cocking her head like he had earlier. Finally, a response fell from her lips.
"Agreed." She smiled devilishly. "Now, get ready to kick."
An hour later, a red faced Malfoy and a laughing Hermione emerged from the arena, a placid Rowen trailing contentedly behind the pair. Luke watched from the office window as the couple chatted. The boy, whose jodhpurs were definately no longer the blinding white they had been earlier that afternoon and had a curious bruise starting to form on his jaw, seemed to be trying to defend himself against something. Whatever he said just made Hermione laugh harder.
Luke shook his head and turned back to his computer screen.
"I'm a guy," Malfoy growled darkly, "it probably hurt a bloody well lot more than it ever has you."
"But did you have to - to shout? And your - your face!" Hermione burst into another fit of giggles. Malfoy grumbled dejectedly under his breath, trying to hide his rather noticeable bow legged walk.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it off, Granger. I might just take that pledge back." He threatened, hopeful she would quieten down. Hermione didn't stop laughing. In fact, she didn't stop all the way up to the stalls, and only started calming down when she decided to show Malfoy how to remove the tack.
"Now see, this is the girth." She told him, still grinning. "Basically the belt of the saddle. You need to make sure that's nice and tight when you get on. Lots of horses have a habit of breathing out when you first tighten it, so the best plan is: tighten it once in the stall, and once again the arena. Likely there'll be a noticeable difference in how secure that is." Malfoy nodded along as he listened to her explanations and instructions as she went on to talk about the bridle, eagerly taking everything in.
"Well, that's it for today, I guess. Gotta get out and work those other horses!" She cheered with enthusiasm. Malfoy laughed lightly, following her from the stall. He reached out to stroke the mare's soft face as Hermione went to put the tack back. She came back with a different saddle and bridle in her arms, and just watched him interact with the horse. He shrugged.
"I had fun today." He admitted, somewhat hesitantly.
"I'm glad." Hermione answered truthfully. It was then that he smiled at her for the first time. It wasn't a bright, blinding smile, nor was it big or cheesy. It was small, but it was real. It wasn't a smirk or a sneer, and that meant something.
"My next lesson is on Monday, I think." He told her. Two days from now, she registered.
"Okay, well, great! See you on Monday, Malfoy."
"Right. See you... Granger."
Hermione watched him walk away, lost in thought. Lifting her hand to slap herself lightly on the cheek, she blinked out of it, turning towards Fleet with a sigh. Wake up, woman! She commanded herself, there are horses to exercise!