AN: Thanks as always for reading! I told a few readers that I would update today, so here goes nothing!
Hermione rolled out of bed, turning off the TV with a flick of her wand which she had kept in her pocket after falling asleep so hurriedly after the fight with Draco. She shut down Rocko before he could wake Draco. She snuck out holding her flip flops so as to make as little noise as possible and tip-toed to the elevator where she woke the sleeping attendant who still managed a smile for her despite being waken after only getting two hours of sleep because a group of club-goers had not arrived until four o'clock that morning.
"How are you awake so early, Miss?" He mumbled through a yawn as he pressed the button for the main floor.
"Well, I come from England, so it is much later there, and I guess my biological clock is set to a different time."
"Er, Miss, the biological clock is a bit different than what you seem to think..."
"Oh!" Hermione's hands flew to her mouth as she giggled at herself. "Right, I am sorry. Even though it feels like it is late in the day, I did only wake up five minutes ago." She excused herself and did not look back to spare her the embarrassment of seeing the young elevator attendant laugh at the crazy Englishwoman.
She skipped past the concierge who was grooming a new potted hibiscus on his desk and instead walked to the calming beach as she did yesterday. Hermione found her least favorite talking bird (don't worry, she only knew one, Rocko did not annoy her that much) and start stroking his head. He did not even ask who was touching him before lifting one leg and letting it shake as she ruffled his feathers in the best way possible.
A breeze blew by and shook Rocko to his core, practically making him fall off his perch, so he regained his balance and turned around to finally identify his pleasurer. "'Ello, Hermione!"
"Hello, Rocko. How are you today?"
"Good, thank you, how are you? You know, I haven't seen much of you lately."
"I'm alright. Draco and I have just been fighting and waking up late, and we don't want to be disturbed."
"Fighting?"
"And sleeping in late. He's still asleep right now too."
"Fighting?"
"Would you settle down?" She took a step away from him even as he tilted his head towards her to garner some more pets. "My relationship with Draco is very private. I am not even sure that you could call it a relationship."
"Oh, well, I dare to think that he definitely calls it a relationship, Miss Granger."
"What? Have you been talking to Draco? Having midnight chats while I sleep? Are you spying on us?"
He flapped his wings to get closer to the pet-giver but did not move from his perch because they were clipped. "I am just very adept at observing people. I have been doing it all of my life, every day, every hour. Even when you turn me off, there are people here. And even when you think that people would be far away from the beach, they are here. I know you wondering, so I'll tell you that I am a firm believer in power naps. Twice and hour for a minute each time is usually enough to get me through the day."
Hermione was courteous enough to turn her head before rolling her eyes in disdain, but Rocko had one last word: "If you are going to spend the rest of the week with him, you might as well at least try to get along with him a little better than you have been."
She yelled over her shoulder, "You don't understand, Rocko." Hermione waved to him and started walking down the beach.
Passing a breaker with six foot waves hitting against it. Anyone else other than Rocko would understand the amount of abuse she had suffered caused by Draco's words and no one else could see the scar she still had on her middle finger's knuckle where she had hit the blondie in their third year. For a few years, she had tried to keep a journal, but each entry had turned into angsty rants against Draco that got her nowhere in her emotional struggle. A flock of seagulls swooped around her and for the first time, she did not feel as though the birds were dirty scavengers. They were just like her-majestic, but horribly misunderstood. She thought back to her last date with Ron when she had tried to hold his hand in the popcorn bucket and he had laughed about the odd occurrence without realizing what she had meant to do.
The ensuing night and morning passed with little interaction between the two. Draco was dining when Hermione went to bed and did not make any noise when he returned, not even having to use a silencing charm on himself. Rocko greeted them that morning more timidly than ever before, still recovering from his spat with Hermione. "There is, um, a volcano that I, um, think you two would enjoy. It's very peaceful up there. I can have a driver pick you up in an hour." His claw lay on his own on/off switch in case someone started yelling at him.
The couple shrugged and Draco admitted, "Well, I didn't have anything else planned for today."
"Planned?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled on a sweatshirt and some jeans, hidden behind the bathroom door.
"Yes, I, um, thought through some things on the plane."
She pulled a brush through her hair and let Draco brush his teeth. "Oh, I see."
Rocko craned his neck to watch for a final 'okay' from Hermione before shutting himself off to avoid any other risky encounters. The two of them grabbed a quick bite to eat from the Starbucks after an uneventful elevator ride and loaded themselves into a waiting limo complete with TV screens. Rocko buzzed to life in front of them and started filling in the details. "The limo driver will drop you off at the base of the mountain and be there waiting when you choose to descend. Enjoy yourselves." He clicked himself off, but Draco quickly lunged forward and turned the TV back on.
"Wait! Don't you have some witty retort! A little verbal jousting against me as per usual?"
"No, no," Rocko assured him before turning off again, "Hermione and I had a little chat yesterday, and I feel as though she had a valid point and have decided to be a more passive guide on your trip."
Draco turned to her as the moutains rolled past in a sea of green behind the sea of blue that surrounded them. "Thank you, Hermione, for getting that awful bird off our backs! I had no idea that he was included." The blond started chuckling to himself in gratitude, and Hermione joined in, whether in genuine happiness or forced politeness, she could not be sure. The two had started to blend together when it came to dealing with Draco.
The driver dropped them off without a word on a ledge that overlooked a rich valley more magnificent than anything that could be seen in England, even from the back of a Hippogryff. They both bemoaned their lack of brooms until Hermione summoned a couple from her storage locker in London that she had stored there after their Hogwarts years and the end of both Harry and Ron's quidditch careers.
She mounted hers and hovered in wait for Draco, muttering, "This one was Ron's when we were in our sixth year."
Draco quickly but fluidly changed the subject, "So then this one was Harry's?"
"Yes, I suppose. One of Ginny's must be in the storage locker somewhere, too."
They started their ascent, more majestic than a plane and devoid of the drastic change in air pressure.
"So you and Ginny were close?"
"Yes..." She racked her brain for someone in Draco's life that was similar, but came up dry. "She was like a sister to me."
"I wish I had someone like that."
They were both at a loss for words as they led each other around palm trees as they continued up the volcano, neither of them knowing exactly what they would find at the top. Each tree and valley was like a Christmas present for them, better than any Weasley sweater. Hermione expected to see bunnies jumping out at any moment, but had to keep reminding herself that the little creatures were rare here and in these conditions, many animals lived farther down the mountain where trees were more abundant. They passed the tree line like the finish line of a marathon. Beyond that, the only marker was the top of the volcano where the land stopped and levelled out, looking like it fell off the face of the earth. They crested the top and stared in awe at the most beautiful valley they had ever seen staring back at them with old, vivacious eyes. "Woah. Don't see anything like this in London."
"Not even in paitings."
"It's places like these that must make the British very sad that they did not colonize Hawaii."
Hermione rolled her eyes at his imperialistic comment, but could not take them off of the beautiful sight in front of them. She had been to Hogwarts and seen the English countryside and been to the Department of Mysteries, and yet nothing compared to this!
Draco tapped her broom with his to wake her from her reverie as they watched the sun set over the earth: a marvelous event that took only a minute once it started. "Race ya," he challenged.
"You're on!"
And they were off! This time involved no circles around trees and absolutely no investigating the view. Everything passed by like they were on the Knight Bus, and Hermione's eyes started to water, but she didn't care. Racing, she knew, gave her a great endorphin boost and the happiness she felt now would last the rest of the day.
Draco beat her by about five seconds but for once did not brag, instead rolling off his broom and handing it back to her to send back to the storage locker. "Good race," she congratulated him.
"And you," he replied, stepping off towards the limo that has hidden from their view behind a grove of trees.
The driver stood in front of the car, slack-jawed, stuttering to himself.
"We are ready to return," Draco instructed him, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Oi, crikey! Sorry there, mate. Just thought I saw a couple of witches flying 'round on 'roomsticks. I 'ave not been gettin' enough sleep, I tell ya."
Draco and Hermione could barely contain their laughter before falling into the back seat of the limo.