Forever and Always - Dramione/Blinny Veela Sequel

Ch. 40

Draco could tell that Hermione was still bothered by her thoughts as the week went on, and he did his best to keep her occupied; whether it was with excursions around the islands, another massage, or even just sitting on the deck with her reading, he tried his hardest to make sure that she was happy.

It wasn't until dinner on that Thursday evening that he finally sighed and set his fork down, looking at her. "Hermione, I can tell you are extremely bothered right now and I think we need to talk about it."

She looked up at him with surprise and then her shoulders slumped slightly as she looked back down and leaned back into her chair. "I've been trying really hard to not let it get to me, but I don't know why it's bothering me."

"The thought of leaving everything behind?" He asked.

"It's not just the thought," She said. "It's the fact that I was so willing to do it. I've never once really shoved off work or friends for myself, and it just seems so selfish that after everything that's happened, I was so willing to do it."

He frowned and reached over to take her hand. "It's not selfish, it's trying to take care of yourself. And you're right; you've always put work and friends first, never yourself. It's okay every once in a while to put yourself first, especially after what you've been through."

She didn't say anything in response, looking out towards the ocean and thinking to herself. He was happy to just sit there quietly with her, listening to the peaceful sound of the waves pushing against the sand.

"You're right, Draco."

He jumped slightly and looked at her. She was smiling slightly now and she squeezed his hand. "I didn't really think it would be okay to put myself first for once, but you're right. I need to right now. And it's not like I'm going to put myself first all the time."

He smiled and kissed the back of her hand. "How about this: I know we decided that once a month we'd come back here for a small vacation. Why don't we make that your weekend to put yourself first for anything? That way, you don't feel guilty about pushing things off until later and you can still be there for your work and friends when we aren't here."

"I think I can manage that," She answered. He could finally feel the stress lift off her shoulders with this moment of clarity.

A sudden flash of red light hit Draco square in the chest and he fell backwards into the sand with a groan. Hermione jumped up and whirled around, her wand out and pointed back towards the trees where she assumed the source of the spell came from.

There was no movement, and then another jet of red went whizzing by her head and she was able to dodge it, firing of spells into the forest. Draco was soon right next to her with his own wand out, a low growl coming from his throat.

"Can't even have one week!" He yelled angrily as two cloaked forms appeared out of the trees.

He recognized Dolohov on the left, and after a few moments he realized that Rabastan Lestrange was the one on the right.

"Hermione, get back to the house," He ordered as he fired off more spells.

"Absolutely not!" She argued.

"This is not up for debate!" He yelled. "Go now and alert Harry!"

"I'm not going anywhere!" She put up a quick shield as a jet of green came their way, anger coursing through her veins. She sent off a shot of white light and watched as Dolohov fell forward into the sand, stiff as a board.

Rabastan didn't even notice, continuing to fire off spells towards Draco, one of them hitting Draco directly in the head and causing him to fall to the ground, unconscious.