Parade of the Sun - Dramione

PART THIRTEEN.

May 29; 8:13am

Malfoy was awake when she looked over to where he was laying, wondering if she should start making a poultice yet. Then again, she didn't think she had seen him asleep once - she had thought he was often enough, but then he said something or moved, and his eyes were always open. She usually just couldn't tell if he was awake when it was dark and they didn't sleep any closer than three meters from one another, and usually more. Robots don't sleep, though, from what she had heard.

"What are you going to do when the Ministry is there?" she asked, having thought about it ten minutes ago.

"Walk faster."

12:48pm

"Is it just me, or do you smell salt?"

He stopped when she did, glancing at her when she turned around, and wiped at the leg of his pants. "I smelt it thirty minutes ago, Granger."

"I think we should wash off... In case we get to the sea and find people."

"Being clean isn't going to make them think any better of you. You still have that hair to deal with."

"Ha ha," she said dryly, pulling her bag off her shoulder. "Do you still have the stuff I gave you?"

He gave her a tired look, like her asinine questions were something akin to trudging through quicksand for hours. "No, I fed them to the squirrels. They love bath products, you know."

"Right then. I'll uh...go up here."

She started walking back the way they had come, hearing Malfoy start walking farther away. She glanced back, walking until she could no longer see him, and then turned for the river.

3:47pm

Malfoy was looking a little grey, his fingers clenched hard into his robe, but she didn't think she could stop him from walking if she climbed his back. The scent of salt had gotten gradually stronger until the wind was carrying the unmistakable sea smell in full force to them. The river had started to curve, but they followed where the wind was blowing into their faces instead. An hour later and she could hear the water, the sound of people as a hum.

It was louder now, some voices yelling out and distinguishable from the buzz, and they could see the tops of buildings over the trees. They starting sloping downwards, the trees and vegetation thinning out until they emerged from the forest completely. Only small plants and olive trees were spread sparsely across the grass of the hill, and hundreds of people carried on below them. Malfoy looked like he was barely holding onto himself, their descent down the hill putting a lot of his weight onto his knee. If he were a friend, she would have reached out to give him some support, but she figured Malfoy would prefer losing his leg over accepting her help for something like walking.

Maybe a person who during the war had lost so much of what they used to be proud of, held onto what they had like a port in the storm. Malfoy used to exaggerate his injuries when they were kids, but now he barely acknowledged its existence if she looked or asked about it. He hated for her to see him weak, though she understood that, because showing weakness to Malfoy was never something she wouldn't mind doing.

He came to a stop when they reached the bottom of the hill, standing on the foreign-looking cement that made up one of the small, narrow paths through the buildings. She stood awkward and hesitant, adjusting her bag on her shoulder and looking at the city she had first entered when she came to Lipari. It felt like a month ago.

"Shouldn't you be off to find the Ministry?" he drawled, but his voice sounded a little tight and he was sweating too much. His knee was probably pounding in pain.