Draco and Hermione

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Night had fallen and the two escapees were walking deeper into the forest, away from where they had arrived. The first thing they instantly began to realise was the cold. Wherever this forest was, the climate was freezing. The full moon was their only light source, it's silver moonlight streaming down on them through the forest canopy and guiding their uncertain path in the darkness. They found an area where the trees grew huge, thick and tall, and Hermione quickly began looking for firewood. The plan was to find a place where they'd be hard to find with plenty of tree cover. Their breaths came out as mist on the chilling night air. Draco sat down, leaned against a tree and huddled up for warmth while Hermione built the fire. He put the sword of Gryffindor beside him and clutched his arm in pain.

"How's your arm?" Hermione asked curiously. Her voice shook slightly as she shivered from the cold.

"It's burning," he responded dejectedly. Mist swirled around them both from their fast breaths.

"It's the venom. Like I said, it will take a few hours for the magic to kill all the venom in your body," said Hermione. She decided to ignore the fact that he wasn't helping, since he was in pain. Her shivering was getting worse and it felt as if the cold was biting into her skin. After a minute or two she'd finally put enough small sticks and bark into a pile.

"Incendio!" she hissed, igniting the pile into a warm fire. She then jumped down beside it, warming her hands and body. Draco moved away from his tree to get closer, on the opposite side of the fire. He was beginning to shake as well, even with the cloak. Minutes passed in silence, but the fire just wasn't big enough to warm them both. Hermione's shivering got worse, to the point where she couldn't stop. Draco noticed this, watching from across the fire with a slightly worried expression.

"It's s-so c-cold," Hermione shivered, her breath forming a cloud of mist around her.

"I know," Draco replied shortly, saving his breath. He was much warmer as the large cloak trapped the heat like a blanket around him. Hermione's bare skin on her stomach and legs was ice cold. She looked at the cloak longingly. Nearly twenty minutes had passed in silence, and Hermione was getting colder and colder as the time went by. Finally, she could no longer stand it.

"M-Malfoy, the c-cloak is b-big enough for t-two p-people," said Hermione, struggling to pronounce the words because of her shaking voice and chattering teeth. As she was saying this, to make matters worse, it began to rain.

"You're n-not s-serious?" Draco said, but he knew she was right. The rain made her ripped clothes soaked, and the fire went out. She was going to freeze to death if she stayed that way. She considered using a hot-air charm with her wand, but it wouldn't stop the rain and it couldn't cover her whole body like a cloak. Draco moved backwards under the tree and leaned against the thick trunk. Left alone in the rain, Hermione had no other choice: she hurriedly crawled over as well. They both sat against the same massive tree, avoiding most of the rain. But Hermione's clothes were so soaked that she would've been warmer without them on. Her lips had turned blue and she was looking at the cloak desperately.

"M-Malfoy p-please," she shivered. Draco sighed. Reluctantly he raised the cloak for her. Hermione moved underneath it, shakily wrapping her arms around him with her head on his chest. Draco cursed aloud, she was cold as ice.

"D-damn it y-you're s-so c-cold," he said shakily, wrapping the cloak around them both. Minutes ticked past and the rain began to poor down harder than ever. The tree managed to block most of the rain so that it only dripped down on them. The wind was like an icy whip, but the thick black cloak protected them. Any thought of them being enemies seemed to vanish as Hermione cuddled closer to get warm. Draco awkwardly put his arms around her shoulders, because there was no where else to put them. She stiffened when he touched her, but didn't move. She was the one hugging him, after all. As time went by, it began to work: their body heat warmed them both, and after an hour the shaking had stopped. Draco couldn't help but admit that it felt nice being this close to her. It felt nice to be warm and relatively safe for a change. The rain had tamed her bushy hair, making it long and wavy. She had her eyes closed and he could just see her face, leaning against his chest. He'd never noticed at Hogwarts, but she was actually kind of...