"Granger."
"I said no Malfoy, we're not ready yet!"
"We don't. Have. Time." He hissed.
"But we have to master the basic principles before we can attempt more complex, combat magic." She started to mumble, as if she were reciting an imaginary text in front of her.
"We have mastered" he mimicked, "every damn charm there is to learn and the same thing happens every time - it works and our magic doubles the effect."
Hermione sighed, knowing he was right. They had tested several spells over the past couple of days, learning that their connection simply amplified things, but nothing beyond that. She was biding time and he knew that, obviously.
"Alright." She agreed, tying her hair up out of her face. "We should try something defensive. Let's see what happens if we conjure a joint patronus."
Malfoy blushed and her stomach sank.
"Have you ever cast one before?"
"Of course I have." He spat. He looked to the sky, cursing under his breath. "No. I mean, no, I haven't. Not exactly a Death Eater priority."
She smiled slightly, twirling her wand in her hand, preparing her explanation. "Well, the first thing you need to do is think of a happy memory. It needs to be something that is powerful enough to have left an impression. Something important."
Malfoy frowned. He felt a surge of revulsion at his past, flashes of grey and black, desolate hallways, of his father's impassive disapproval, his mother's tears before she disappeared and left him with them.
Hermione tilted her head sympathetically, as if reading his mind in this moment. His chest tightened and he was reminded of how the colours started to change with her.
"I think I have one." He stated, his voice more assertive than he felt. He was still proud, even now.
"Ok, good." She nodded. "You need to let the memory fill you up, hold it at the forefront of your mind and then say the words. I'll show you if you like?"
"Sure."
She closed her eyes, filing through her most potent memories. She thought of Harry and Ron, her parents, then they morphed into his face, his eyes and him holding her. Hermione coughed, but rose her wand anyway, "Expecto Patronum!" Her voice rang out.
Draco watched in awe as a wisp of white smoke poured out of her wand, forming a playful otter that swam around Hermione. She giggled as it darted about. It then travelled over to him, looping up and around above him, before she called it back silently, it disappearing back into her wand.
"Your turn." She encouraged.
He thought of his mother. It wasn't exactly a happy memory, but it was the strongest one he had of her before she left. She had brushed his cheek with her black glove, telling him to be smart, which he knew was her way of saying that she loved him.
Malfoy held the image in his mind, raised his wand and uttered the words. Nothing happened. He glared at his wand.
"It's ok." Granger reassured hurriedly. "It rarely happens on your first go. Just, um, out of curiosity. Was the memory a happy one?"
He narrowed his eyes at her.
She bit the inside of her cheek, clearly restraining herself from saying something didactic. A strand of her hair fell loose.
Malfoy thought of her eyes, the fire reflected in them and her pupils dilated with desire. He remembered the feeling of invisibility in that moment - that he would do anything to protect her.
He raised his wand before the memory passed, "Expecto Patronum!"
His wand vibrated, something pouring forth, a feeling of euphoria washing over him. A silver eagle burst into the air, spreading its wings magnificently.
Hermione felt a swell of something as he grinned, laughing unselfconsciously as the eagle dove around him, settling on his arm. He lifted it up into the air and captured it in his wand.
"You did it." She clapped.
"Yeah." He laughed. "And an eagle too, which makes sense, as I do love to fly." His smile faltered then, as he remembered he couldn't.
"And you are so very lofty." She taunted.
He rolled his eyes.
"Should we try it together?" Hermione suggested.
Malfoy nodded, standing beside her raising his wand level with hers. He lightly touched her back with his left hand, the contact focusing the flow of their magic.
"Do you think we'll create a different creature?" She asked, suddenly nervous.
"Only one way to find out." He spoke quietly. "On three?"
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"Expecto Patronum!" They called together.
The veins underneath their forearms glowed gold and magic surged through their wands. Hermione almost stumbled back from the force as silver smoke erupted. An eagle burst from Draco's and her otter danced towards him. They spiralled up together and then started to transform, morphing into something else.
"What's happening?" She murmured. "Is that a-"
"Dragon." Malfoy finished for her.
They backed away, amazed as it settled, spreading its wings which spanned the length of the decking. It gazed at them both and then reared its head to release a roar of silver fire.
"Holy. Shit." Hermione swore.
Draco edged towards it, his hand outstretched. The dragon lowered its head and met his palm, closing its eyes. "Come here." He turned to her.
Hermione shook her head, terrified of the beast they had created.
"It's ok, it's ours." He reassured her.
She took a breath and strode to meet them. The dragon turned to her and spread its wings high and wide.
"Its beautiful." She whispered.
"Let's try to call it back." Malfoy suggested, raising his wand again. She did the same and the dragon dutifully rose in the air and twirled, its wings folded around itself, back into their wands.
They stared where the dragon had been. It had started to snow again.
Hermione looked up at him, her chest rising and falling. She had never come across any witch of wizard who had been able to cast a joint patronus, let along a dragon.
"I suppose you'll want to tell your Order about this." Malfoy muttered.
She hesitated in responding. "I-I should."
He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
"Is it wrong that I want to keep it to ourselves for a little while? We just conjured a dragon!" She spread both arms wide.
"One day couldn't hurt."
"No." She smiled mercurially.
"What else do you suppose we can do?" He spun and caught his wand.
Hermione's smile dropped as she realised what someone else with their magic might do. She also wondered what could happen if one of them were injured, or worse, killed. Would it sever the magic or would the other person feel their pain? Worse still, if one died, would the other survive?
"Uh, earth to Granger."
"Sorry, just…thinking."
"Of course you were. Now, what else shall we do. I want to set something on fire, or blast something into the ether."
She laughed, "you know the wards would stop that."
Draco pouted ridiculously.
"But we could try duelling."
He frowned, "wouldn't that be a bit risky? Like two magnets or whatever you muggles call those things."
Hermione was impressed he'd bothered to remember that fact, "true, but if we don't try, we don't know our own limits."
"Bloody Gryffindor."
She smirked, rolling her sleeves back and getting into position facing opposite him. Malfoy circled her for dramatic effect and then assumed a fighting stance. Hermione's eyes looked him up and down, noting the tense of his muscles and how he assumed his full height when he pulled up his posture.
"Like what you see?"
"Expelliarmus." She flicked subtly, throwing Draco's wand across the floor.
His eyes darkened.
They threw spells back and forth in a dance with one another. Hermione moved quickly, he noted, her movements were fluid but strong. Draco's were practically balletic, but always with a tinge of sharpness.
Malfoy was grinning, enjoying this foreplay between the two of them. She laughed, blocking another one of his nonverbal spells.
Hermione was sweating now. He had obviously practiced duelling while at Malfoy Manor. She grew more tired, but her competitive edge wouldn't let up.
Draco started to feel slightly odd, as if his insides were itching. He looked over at Hermione - she seemed focused, so he ignored it.
She started to get more creative with their space, using the snow to distract him by pulling it into a tornado and shooting it at him, blurring his vision. Not bad.
He retorted with a spell that tripped her up, making her fall flat on her back.
She launched back a spell with more intensity. Her skin was prickling ferociously and her stomach felt inflamed.
He smirked, his hands still free, "protego!"
Hermione's eyes popped out of her head as their spells fused in the middle, golden light pouring from their wrists through and down the trail of their wands, locked together.
"Malfoy!" She yelped, using both hands to try and stop herself being pulled forwards.
He tried to let go, but he couldn't.
The connection sucked them in, growing more and more intense. Draco tried to dig his heels in to stop moving forwards. He heard Hermione scream right before a loud crack.
Draco hit the balcony, falling on his front. Everything was blurry and he couldn't hear. His arm was bleeding.
"Granger." He groaned, trying to pull himself up.
Hermione's body lay across from him, he wrist slashed open, blood pouring on the floor.
He gritted his teeth, hauling himself onto his feet.
She wasn't moving.
"Granger." He shook her. "Damn it, if you don't wake up right now-"
Crawling back, he tried to stem the bleeding by using the healing spells he knew. It worked a little, but she had already lost so much blood.
"Accio Granger's bag!"
Received that actually worked, he rifled through searching for the right potion. "Shit. Shit." He muttered to himself.
He poured a blood replenishing potion down her, his bloody fingers lightly holding her mouth open. She was so pale.
There was a loud pop.
"What happened." Remus shouted, Snape following behind him.
"We- we were practicing. Duelling. I used a shield and she, she sent something non-verbal but it didn't work. Our wands joined and then it repelled us and we're bleeding and that's all I know." He spewed rapidly, not moving from Hermione.
Snape looked at Remus sharply, before pushing Malfoy out of the way. He waved his arm over Hermione's limp body. The blood started to recede and more colour came into her face.
"Let me have a look at that." Remus suggested calmly.
"No. Fix her first." Draco spat.
"Draco, if I don't help you as well, she won't be healed."
Malfoy turned to him dumbly. Remus flashed a quick smile, before muttering over his arm. He felt dizzy and then everything went black.
Draco woke up in a different room. He knew it wasn't Hermione's from the slightly colder smell to it. He was in a plainer room, underneath green and blue silk sheets. This was probably where they thought he slept. The familiar pain of distance settled in his abdomen.
He jumped, seeing Professor Snape sat on a chair opposite him.
"Where is she."
Snape rolled his eyes, "sleeping."
"I want to see her." He tried to get up, still weak.
Snape watched him curiously. "Before you do Draco…" The professor's voice lulled.
Malfoy stopped in his tracks.
"You must be careful. You cannot duel one another again."
"Figures." He responded dismissively, trying to get to the door.
"Your connection is a lot stronger than we anticipated."
"Look. I'm sure this is all very important and by all means, follow me there, but I need to see her."
Snape eyed Draco wearily.
Malfoy glared back and ran down the corridor to Hermione's room.
Remus was there to block him.
"Professor Lupin, politely get the fuck out of my way."
"Easy Draco, she needs her rest." He held his hands open.
"Just let me see her." He growled.
Remus stood still.
Malfoy was about three seconds away from blasting him from the door when he heard a muffled sound.
"Malfoy?" Granger breathed sleepily.
Draco glared at Remus, who reluctantly withdrew. He strode straight past him and sat on the side of her bed, checking over her face for anything wrong. Her arm was healed, but she still looked pale.
"What's wrong with her?" He demanded.
Remus sighed, offering him the chair.
"I'm not moving."
Snape joined and the professors shared more silent looks between them.
"I'm sorry we separated you. I can see now that that was a mistake." Remus tried to calmly reassure him. "She'll be fine, she just took quite a hit from the rebound."
Draco frowned.
"Your magic works when you are symbiotic. If you try to challenge the other, you only end up repelling one another with, as it turns out, quite considerable force."
"So she'll be ok?" He looked up, dropping his defences slightly.
Remus smiled, "she just needs rest."
Malfoy nodded, resuming his observation, checking she was breathing in and out.
Snape caught Remus's eye and they both tried to hide their shocked expressions.
"Do you plan on staying the night?" Draco snapped. He could see Snape restrain himself from reprimanding him.
"We'll let you get some sleep." Remus rose, beckoning Snape with him. "But we will be back tomorrow Draco, it seems we have plenty to discuss." He gave him a knowing stare.
Malfoy narrowed his eyes and didn't bother showing them out.
He waited until he'd heard them leave before climbing under the covers. He carefully moved his arm under her, collecting her into him.
She stirred, feeling the heat of his body beside hers.
"You're here." She mumbled into his chest.
Draco closed his eyes, relief washing over him.
"Oh my god." Hermione pushed herself up. "Are you ok? What happened? All I remember is our wands-"
"Ssh, you'll exhaust yourself."
"But- the magic… Wait, how did I get here?"
"Professor Snape and Lupin came to save the day."
"Oh." Hermione blushed, brushing her hair away from her eyes.
"They're gone for now, but back tomorrow morning for a catch up apparently." He smiled sardonically.
She nodded, letting the information settle. "But you're ok?" Her eyes widened, searching his face.
"Concerned?" He joked.
Hermione thwacked him on the chest playfully.
"Ouch, I might've broken a rib."
Her eyes flashed slightly with worry.
"I'm fine, promise." He tucked a hair behind her ear.
She lay back down on his chest, trying to get as close as she possibly could. He didn't move her away, gently wrapping his arms around her.
Hermione shifted so she was on her side and he settled behind her. She grabbed his left hand, bringing it around her stomach. She could feel his breath on her neck and it took all her concentration to not press herself back into him.
He chuckled, as if guessing her frustration. "Maybe another time."
Her heart lurched and she felt her cheeks burning. She took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself.
"Goodnight Granger." He kissed her on the back of the head.
She smiled, "goodnight Malfoy."