The Crash

Part 9

Malfoy and I walked into the trees and I handed him my shirt when he asked, and he tied it and converted it into a little bag. Why does everyone have all this outdoor knowledge and I have nothing? Seriously! I had no idea what I was doing!

"These are poppies. Crush them up and they can put you to sleep in seconds." Malfoy said, kneeling next to a small patch of flowers.

"Alright. You put them in the bag and I'll keep looking for food." He nodded and I kept wandering.

I heard thunder rumble above my head and just hoped there was food nearby so I didn't have to stay out too long.

Being drenched during Quidditch was one thing, you could go inside when you were done, but here all we had was a tent at ground level, so what happened if it flooded? Then we would have nothing.

I found a tree that had small pears growing on it and my hopes soared. I personally hated pears, but it was far better than just eating berries for who knows how long.

I climbed up the tree and started picking them one at a time, nesting them in in a crook between two low branches.

"Potter! Where did you go? It's going to rain any minute!" Malfoy's voice called out.

"Over here!" I called in response.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked as he walked over.

"Oh, just hanging out with the bowtruckles. I'm picking fruit, what does it look like I'm doing?" He rolled his eyes and leaned against the opposite tree.

"Well, are you almost done? I don't fancy getting drenched." I smirked.

"Why? Would it mess up your perfect hair? I hate to be the one to tell you, but it's already a mess." I couldn't help it. That shot was just wide open.

"Oh shut up. You know, you're-" "Shit!" My foot slipped on the tree branch and I started falling. I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for impact, but it never came.

I opened my eyes and saw that Malfoy had caught me. His other arm had been repaired by the potion overnight. Again, amazing how fast they worked.

"T-Thanks." I stuttered as he helped me to my feet.

"Yeah. 'Course." He said with a pink tint on his cheeks, then turned and picked up the bag/shirt, which I saw had not only poppies, but several strangely colored berries and leaves.

"Let's go. Like I said, it's going to rain any minute." I nodded and gathered the pears from the tree, trying not to drop any as I walked.

Just as we reached the tent, the heavens opened up and it started pouring.

We both rain inside, completely soaked. You couldn't have waited five more seconds to start?

I set the pears on the tent floor, then collapsed next to Hermione.

"Any luck?"

"Yeah. I found some fruit and I think Malfoy found some more medicinal stuff."

I opened my eyes and saw as soon as I looked at her that that was not what Hermione had meant.

"Oh shut up. Nothing is going to happen! You're delusional. As soon as we get out of here, I'm taking you to the hospital to make sure nothing weird is happening in your brain." Hermione chuckled lightly, then glanced over at Malfoy.

"But did anything happen?" I sighed, figuring I may as well tell her the truth, even though I would never hear the end of it.

"When I was getting the pears off of the tree, I slipped and fell and he caught me, that's all." Hermione was grinning, but I stood and walked away, resigning myself to the fact that I would have to hear all about it later.

Pansy and Malfoy were sorting through the things he had collected across the tent.

"Bloodroot? How on earth did you find that?" She asked in amazement.

"I saw some growing underneath a rock. It pulled out easily."

"What's bloodroot?" I asked, walking over.

"It's a root that, once swallowed, can highlight the places in the body where something is bleeding, hence the name bloodroot. That way if there is internal bleeding, it can be found before it's too late. It's really rare. I guess not many people come out here, so it was able to grow." Malfoy explained, the glimmer in his eyes identical the the one Neville always had when he was talking about plants.

"How much is there?" Malfoy checked the bag.

"Enough for all of us to see if we are bleeding internally, and a little left to bring to Madam Pomfrey if we get back."

"When we get back." I corrected as I grabbed one of the bottles of water and brought it to Hermione.

"Because we are going back. It just might take a while." Malfoy didn't look certain, but he didn't argue the point.

I had to have hope. If I didn't I had nothing, and I wasn't ready to have nothing yet.