Chasing Shadows

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

At first glance, the bridge looked pristine.

They set to work looking for the loose planks. Draco went all the way to the opposite end and Hermione stayed at the other while the two of them moved toward the center. They checked each one for issues, such as water damage from the excessive rain. That's what Hermione's money was on, anyway.

Hermione couldn't muster the courage to sneak a glance at him as they worked. Her nerves were frazzled. Her mind flipped like a galleon, telling her that even though it seemed like they had been about to kiss, she was delusional for thinking that he would want to.

"The issue is at the center," Draco announced as she neared him. He placed his hands on his hips and looked up above them. "There's a leak in the roof overhead."

Hermione let her gaze dart upward as fast as she could. There was indeed a leak, and a couple of small holes near the beams that stretched from either side of the bridge. When she glanced back down, she saw that five of the wooden planks were darker than the rest of the bridge. Rain fell in a concentrated stream from the holes above, and puddles spread in each direction upon the planks.

"Would a stability charm even be enough?" she asked.

Draco knelt down and ran his fingers over the wood. Hermione watched as he tinkered with one plank for a moment, pushing in several spots and jostling it.

"I mean, yeah," he answered. "It's just water. I could cast drying charms until the wood is dry, and then stabilizing them should work well. The issue is the hole in the roof. If we don't fix that, the rain will just keep rotting the wood."

Hermione looked down into his eyes, and then averted her gaze. It was hard to look at him and not remember what "We can fix that with transfiguration? Or maybe a conjuration charm."

"Ace," he said, and then he slapped his knees with his palms. "You do the roof, and I'll work on the planks."

They worked in silence. Hermione pointed her wand up at the holes and conjured something to cover them. It took her a few tries of finding something that would work, but she was finished before Draco was. For a moment, she wanted to tell him that she'd see him later. To turn around and leave, running like the Devil was at her heels.

She stayed.

As Draco finished drying the first plank and moved on to the next one, Hermione began to pace back and forth. She had come to realize that it wasn't anxiety that she was feeling. It wasn't fear, or mistrust.

It was rejection.

When she peeled back the layers of war, their past, and the Pureblood ideologies that had hindered their journey to friendship, they were just a man and a woman. A man who had just rejected the woman who fancied him. He could have kissed her, but he didn't. He had the chance. She had been ready. She'd been practically salivating for it. But he hadn't.

And that made Hermione feel like she wasn't good enough.

"Knock it off." Draco's voice sounded cool, but not angry. "Don't walk back and forth on the planks like that. It's dangerous. It's too close to the damage."

She stopped. "Oh. Right."

Things went quiet again, save for the pounding of the heavy rain on the roof. Eventually, she spoke.

"How much longer do you think this will take?"

Draco paused. "Like...an hour? Maybe less."

Hermione grimaced and glanced around. Perhaps there was a leaf or something inconsequential that she could transfigure into a chair. Her legs were tired and she was starting to get bored. When she saw nothing, she sighed and leaned back against the railing.