Sang Sacré

Chapter 12

The next days passed in a similar fashion. They barely remained conscious for more than enough time to shower, eat, and drink before they climbed back in bed together.

Hermione felt like the whole week passed by in a dreamlike state. Sunny appeared whenever they woke, force-feeding them potions and snacks before they inevitably passed back out again. While she spent no waking hours doing much else besides taking care of her basic needs, those sleepy hours spent in Draco's arms didn't go as expected.

At first, the rest was dreamless, just blacking out for periods of time. Then, every once in a while, short dreams started popping up. Her dreams became progressively more vivid as time passed, and eventually, she was taken by surprise. She began walking the length of a beach she frequented with her parents as a child. By then, she'd grown accustomed to the real-life sensations she experienced in her dreams and smiled to herself as she walked along the coast.

The beach looked just as she always remembered, except it was completely empty besides herself. She walked barefoot on the wet sand where the waves crashed onto the land, wiggling her toes as she sunk in. She continued forward despite the ocean's desperate attempts to drag her in, and she walked with her head down as she watched small rocks roll with the waves to the sea.

"Where are we?"

Although unexpected, Hermione didn't startle at the sudden voice. An additional set of footprints joined hers before they vanished together, the waves determined to wash their existence away as soon as they could.

"Bell Wharf," she replied, tilting her head to face him. "I used to come here all the time growing up. It was my favorite place to read. My father was always very put out that I'd rather have my head buried in a book than jump in the frigid water with him."

Draco smirked at her and bent over to scoop up a rock as they trudged through the now ankle-deep water. "Water's pretty warm today," he remarked, eyes scanning the horizon.

They were quiet for a few minutes before she let her curiosity overtake her. "Are you really here with me right now?"

He examined the rock in his hands, twisting and turning as he assessed the angles. He frowned. "I think so. I was in a different dream before I found my way here," he discarded the rock with an audible plunk as it disappeared beneath the water.

She hummed in thought. "So you're not just a version of you that my subconscious has created?"

His hand darted back in the water, splashing water everywhere, as he yanked another rock out. He appraised it victoriously before regarding her with a raised eyebrow.

"You think your subconscious would summon a borderline narcoleptic, anemic version of myself to a beach you used to frequent as a child? Not something a little more fun like a hotter, taller version of me and a bottle of firewhiskey?"

Her cheeks pinked, partially from the sun, but mostly because of his insinuation. She, of course, would not be telling him about the quite imaginative renditions her brain had already conjured for her. Even then she could tell the difference, however, and knew that this Draco was somehow the one she knew she was cuddled up with out of this dream realm.

"Are we going to talk about it?" Hermione queried quietly.

His long fingers traced the edges of the rock in his hands as he rotated it, focused in thought. "What's there to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know," she sighed, collecting all of her hair into a ponytail at the top of her head before releasing it, letting her hair flow back over her shoulders. "The fact that we're soul-bonded and you've spent most of your life hating every single breath I took?"