Anyone But Me

Chapter Forty-Nine

For an immeasurable moment of time that could have lasted a few seconds or a whole hour, Hermione stood perfectly still and continued to try to process her mind-boggling surroundings. It was as if someone had reached into the past and plucked a recurring scene from her childhood to bring it back to life. That was, of course, impossible. She had never even been there. Only obsessively read about it....

To the left was a small wooden cluster of matured oak and linden trees. To the right was a glistening river that flowed along the entire length of the wall. The two sides were connected by a lush carpet of green grass that was spotted with different bunches of wildflowers, some of which she had solely seen in photographs. The walls and ceiling had not escaped the magical remodeling, they had been enchanted to depict perfect white fluffy clouds floating on a bright blue sky.

On the riverbank sat a white picnic blanket adorned with the makings for a casual cup of tea. There were even bees buzzing lazily and the faint chatter of squirrels somewhere in the woods! A restlessness wound its way into her stomach, it was as if the White Rabbit really could jump out and run across the scene in front of her. To counteract the feeling her feet moved her into the surreal landscape attempting to verify the physical existence of the incarnate fantasy.

Slowly she made it over to the mid-way point between the tiny patch of woods and the blanket before stopping to take it all in from the different vantage point.

How?!?

How had he flawlessly recreated the opening scene from her favorite childhood fairytale? How did he even know about the muggle story when her best friends didn't know? How was he able to read her mind without Legilimency?

She stood there unable to find the words to articulate her manic thoughts. Once again Hermione resorted to the singular question that seemed to enveloped the bafflement she felt. "How?"

"Magic..." Draco whispered playfully in her ear.

The shock of his close proximity caused her to start, she had not realized that he had followed her, but the mischievous taunting tone in his voice triggered her immediate mischievous defiance. Without thinking she flung her arm back and smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand like she would have done with any of her other close friends. She felt him tense under the playful assault. Instantly she found herself regretting her impulsive decision.

Why couldn't she respect other people's personal space? As soon as the thought registered she tried to pull away, but before she could get very far his fingers wrapped around her wrist stopping her recoil. When she tried a second time to draw her hand back he only tightened his hold causing her to peek over her shoulder. Instead of the anger she expected, his features were oddly blank as if he was assessing her own response before deciding on his.

Yet another silence stretched and she found her gaze wanting to slide from the one place she usually had to fight to ignore. To cover up the internal dilemma she inclined her head in agreement to his previously ignored answer to her question. "Right and a masterly example it is Draco! Let's see, you had to of used: 'Meteolocreo' for the weather. 'Augeoherba' for all the foliage. And should I wager a galleon on 'Eam Parvumrivus' being of great importance in the making of the river? I'd dare to say Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick would both be proud of the special interest you have taken in their subjects."

"Granger." Draco interrupted her, the same teasing tone from before her assault ringing his tone. "You are doing it again..."

"What?" She asked, her confusion evident on her face. Did he know she made it a habit to physically assault her friends?