Hold On - Dramione

Chapter 8

They now understood why Kreacher had so much trouble trying to destroy the locket. Hermione and Harry - well, mostly Harry - had tried majority of the offensive spells they knew but the locket still came off without a scratch.

Harry then put the locket over his neck, saying that they needed to keep it safe until they found a way to destroy it.

It had only been a day since then and Hermione was trying to heal Ron's arm using more conventional spells and supplies as opposed to the Dittany because it was incredibly difficult to brew and even still, a single batch only yielded so much.

Ron was now resting inside the tent as he had an old radio playing. The others were outside as the sound of that crackly radio tended to drive them crazy despite the way they said otherwise.

Hermione was out in the woods, surrounded by the protection of her shields which covered a large area. She was still within view of the tent as she breathed the fresh air and plucked some twigs from the ground.

She was almost too scared to reach out, to see if he held on, but the curiosity, the need to know that he was ok outweighed any fear she felt.

"Malfoy? Are you there?"

"Not entirely. I'm currently in a meeting, Granger, so I'm unable to appear and grossly short on time, so make this quick."

"I take it by your quips that you held on," she stated but Draco's voice changed when he replied. Even in her head, it wasn't the same. there was something about his next words that sounded both genuine and almost...thankful.

"Yes, Granger. I held on."

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened?"

"Why would I want to tell you and why would you even ask? It has nothing to do with our alliance."

"Please," she scoffed. "You've seen me cry twice and helped me stand back up and I did the same for you yesterday. At the very least, we're friends, Malfoy. And I want you to answer my question."

She could almost hear him sigh. Or maybe, he did. "Not now. I don't have the time or energy to get into it now."

"Ok. Tell me something else then."

"Like what, Granger? How boring this meeting is? How my father constantly tapping his foot on the floor out of nerves makes me want to shave his hair off? How half the people in this room are too stupid to even be here?"

"I meant like your favourite colour."

"What bearing could my preference of colour possibly have on your life?"

"Shut up, Malfoy. Now, answer my question."

"Do you want me to shut up or answer the question, because, I'm a little confused, if I'm -"

"Malfoy!" she snapped. "Don't be annoying. Just answer my question."

"Blue."

"Why blue?"

"First, I find this line of questioning completely absurd."

"And second?"

"Because when I fly high on my broom, it's the colour of the sky."

Her smile was triumphant even though he couldn't see it but she felt like he knew she was smiling. "Now was that so hard?"

"Now you answer the question."

She contemplated it before settling on, "Silver. Silver like the stars."

She could almost see his eyebrows raising in question.

"Any particular reason as to why?"

"Nope."

"So I have to answer your questions but you don't have to answer mine?"

"Precisely. Now....what's your favourite book?"

"Granger, you do remember that I'm in the middle of a meeting, right?"

"Well, it must definitely be boring if you're still entertaining me."

"I don't have one. I have many, as I likely suspect that you do as well," he said, changing the topic and confirming her statement.

"You would be right about that."

"Uh, Granger as much as I'd like to continue this little game of yours, this meeting just became interesting, so we'll have to cut this short."

His words still registered but it was definitely slower than normal as she spotted Harry in the distance. He was sitting outside the tent as he clutched the locket and his head moved sharply from side to side as if he wasn't in control of it.

"I have to go too. I'll see you soon, Malfoy. You still owe me that hug."

"I owe you no such thing. You stated it and I never agreed to it."

"We'll discuss this and I'll tell you why you have no choice later. Bye, Malfoy."

"Bye, Granger."

Hermione stalked through the woods to reach Harry just as he was pulled out of the vision it would seem. "I thought it stopped," she said, a cluster of twigs held in her hand. "You can't keep letting him in, Harry."

"You-Know-Who has found Gregorovitch," Harry told her as she sat cross-legged before him, the boy still trembling after his experience inside Voldemort's head.

"The wand maker?"

"He wants something that Gregorovitch used to have, but I don't know what. But he wants it desperately. I mean, it's as if his life depends on it."

"Something to make him stronger," Hermione said, recalling what Draco told her the day that she saw him last before their trip to the Ministry. It was a statement that she said to herself, but Harry took it as a question.

"I don't know, but probably. As if He wasn't difficult enough to beat as it is." Harry flinched violently at the sound of the radio static inside the tent.

"Don't," Hermione warned, knowing what Harry wanted to do because the sound of the contraption annoyed her as well. "It comforts him."

"It sets my teeth on edge. What's he expecting to hear, good news?"

"I think he's just hoping that he doesn't hear any bad news."

Harry got to his feet as Hermione stared at all the dead leaves scattered on the ground. "How long before he can travel?"

Hermione looked up slowly, Harry reading the answer from her eyes. "I'm doing everything I can."

"You're not doing enough!" Harry snapped at her.

"And you are?!" she fired back, not knowing where that heat, that flash of anger had come from. Hermione hardly ever got angry when the boys hurt her feelings, she mostly just got upset.

Harry then began to stomp off away from her before her voice halted his journey.

"Take it off," she ordered. "I said, take it off now." She got to her feet as Harry pulled the Horcrux out from under his shirt and wriggled the cord over his neck before he placed it in Hermione's waiting hands. "Better?"

"Loads," he answered, the gravity of what he'd said weighing down on him but Hermione's expression told him that she didn't blame him.

"We'll take it in turns, ok?" And Hermione left him with that as she headed inside, wanting nothing more than to curl up with one of the books Draco had given her.