The Crash

Part 11

When morning came, the rain didn't take the hint and kept pouring. By now the ground outside was pure mud and none of us wanted to walk on it.

We found some things to do in the tent though. Pansy came up with a few games and so did Luna, thought most of her's didn't make much sense. I think you had to be in her head for it to.

Around noon, the skies finally cleared and the rain stopped. I walked around outside, my feet making squelching noises in the mud, just grateful to be out of the tent.

It was nice to have shelter, but it was tiring being confined to one place, knowing that I couldn't leave.

"Harry!" I heard Hermione's voice shout and I immediately hurried back to the tent. Pansy and Luna were both dragging in what looked like Pansy's trunk.

"We found it about half a mile east of the carriage. We couldn't look for more because we needed two of us to carry it back. The ground is so muddy, it wouldn't drag."

Malfoy walked into the tent carrying a few more pears in what used to be my shirt. I was pretty sure I was never getting that back.

Pansy popped open the trunk and inside there were just clothes, mostly wet from the rain, but there were other things like books and journals and textbooks. At least now we had something to do other than hunt for food and wait.

Pansy grabbed her sweater and slid it over Hermione's head. She hadn't stopped shivering until just then. "Thank you." She said, a blush on her cheeks.

"Can you take us to where you found your trunk?" I asked Pansy and she nodded.

"Yeah. But shouldn't someone stay with Hermione?"

Luna raised her hand. "I'll do it!" Hermione gave me a look and I just grinned at her as Pansy led us out of the tent.

"I hate you Harry Potter!" She called behind us and I just laughed.

Pansy led us through the woods and, after a lot of walking, to the place where she had found her trunk.

I wandered through the trees, looking for any signs of anything, but saw nothing. Suddenly, I heard Malfoy shout, "Over here!"

I ran to where I heard his voice and saw that he hadn't found a trunk, but did find the surviving thestral. My hopes soared once again. That meant we could get out of here!

"Yes!" Pansy said, a grin on her face. "Now one of us can go to the school and tell them where we are!" I looked at her in confusion.

"Why not all of us?" It was her turn to be confused.

"I mean, obviously we can't all fit on one thestral, and it can't carry that entire carriage by itself, even though it's a wreck. If one of us flew to the school, we could tell them where the others are and lead them here."

I looked at the thestral, then between Pansy and Malfoy. Naturally, I wanted to be the one to go, but I knew that it would probably be best if I stayed. Something told me so.

"It should be Luna."

"Luna?!" Pansy exclaimed.

"Yeah, Luna. She flys on them all the time. She's great at controlling them. Plus, she's a Ravenclaw so she probably knows the fastest way to get there and back." That last one was a guess, but I was trying to get us out of there as quickly as possible.

Malfoy studied me thoughtfully. "I happen to like Luna, but I can't help but think she'd get distracted. I mean, what if she thought she saw a Wrackspurt somewhere and got sidetracked? I think it would be best if one of us went. Granger obviously can't and you don't seem willing, so what if I went?" Pansy scoffed.

"Please. I'll be the one to go."

"No way in hell. You'll make a beeline for the bath instead of the Headmaster's office." Pansy rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You don't give me enough credit, Draco. I could-"

"It should be Luna." I said again. "She is the best option. She gets along with them and knows how important this is."

I knew in my heart that I was right. It should be her. She wasn't mandatory here, and she was a good flyer. She wasn't petrified every second.

"Why are you pushing so hard for her? You have a crush on her or something?" I saw Malfoy look down at the ground and wondered why he suddenly seemed awkward.

"No. I just think she's the best choice." I walked over to the thestral and started leading it back the way we had come.

"So that's it then? Because you decide it, it's what we're going to do?"

"Well I don't see either of you chasing after me, so apparently yes." I called behind me.