Determination| 𝐴 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 (𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚛 4, 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 2)

Chapter Six | Bad Liar

Bad Liar, by Imagine Dragons

  Hermione gasped as she felt her stomach lurch into her throat. Her cheeks went sour and she felt as though she were going to throw up. Nausea caused her to waver, but Draco's arm held her securely against his chest. What was happening?! Where was he taking her? It all happened so fast, her mind couldn't fully process what was going on. It was almost as if they were traveling through a portkey. Hermione felt her body twist in various ways and she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for it to end.

Then she realized what was happening. They were apparating. How was that possible?! Fear settled in whatever was left of her stomach, she was fairly certain it had been left back at the campsite in the woods. What if they got splinched? Draco was underage, he couldn't possibly perform that type of advanced magic without any complications! And aside from that, they should have reached their destination by now. From what she had read, apparation only took a few seconds. If it were not performed correctly and if there were two or more passengers over a long distance then it might take longer.

   But even though Draco should have been too young to perform such an act of magic, he was well-collected during the travel and accomplished it beautifully. Hermione did not feel any pain, as if she were about to be splinched, but rather, she felt safe. Draco's arms were wrapped around her back, holding her protectively. She let out a shallow breath and pressed herself closer to his chest. Hermione closed her eyes. She forgot how safe she'd once felt in his arms. She hadn't realized how much she missed it.

Hermione berated herself for thinking such things but she couldn't help but remember how it used to feel. And she realized that that feeling had not changed or gone away as she had thought it would. Shouldn't it have though? Shouldn't she feel differently after all that had happened? Hermione overruled the idea, but she couldn't help but notice, part of the reason it felt so right was that Draco held her in the same way that he had before. He didn't act any different than he had when they were together.

   Hermione gasped as her feet came in contact with the ground. She wavered slightly but Draco kept a firm grip around her waist, holding her upright. Secretly glad for his support, Hermione lifted a hand to her head and tried to stop the world from spinning. She took a deep breath, filled her lungs with cold air, and repeated the process. Hermione was glad she hadn't thrown up, especially with Draco holding onto her so closely. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light.

She wasn't certain where they were, but it was much colder than it had been in the forest at the campsite. The wind nipped at her nose, biting her cheeks and she shivered. Draco's arms were still around her back and he pulled her closer. Hermione hadn't realized it, but he had wrapped his velvet cloak around her. It pressed her closer up against him and she laid her palms flat against his chest. He was terribly warm. Letting out a shallow breath, Hermione rested her head against his chest, soothed by the steady rhythm of his breathing.

   Then, Hermione blinked and gasped. She pushed herself backward and almost fell but Draco caught her by the shoulders. When she regained her senses... and her balance, Hermione shrugged his hands off and pushed herself away from him. "How dare you?! What even was that?!"

He gave her a quirky smile. "Apparition?" He said uncertainly.

"I know what it was! I mean, how did you do it?! Your underage! You shouldn't be able to aparate!"

Draco frowned slightly and looked down as if he were ashamed. "My family doesn't exactly follow the rules, remember? My father began teaching me at the beginning of the summer."

Hermiones eyes widened. "But that's so dangerous!! You could have been seriously injured."

"Is that worry I hear? So you do care, Granger."He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.