Deep into the watery depths Hermione dived, eager to return to her home. She came to an underwater grotto and smiled as she reached her familiar place. Entering a cave, she made a beeline to her kelp and seaweed bed. She stared at the ceiling for what seemed like half past the hour before she drifted to sleep.
She dreamed of grey eyes, platinum blond hair, and pale arms wrapped around her in the most intimate of embraces. In the moonlight, baby soft lips caressed the nape of her neck and feather-light touches could be felt all over her body. A voice whispered her name as if it was imploring her to turn around. It felt so natural as she turned slightly and saw the silhouette of a man. Catching the glimpse of a smile, she moved to grasp her lover's hand but he was just out of reach. The silhouette continued to back away and began to change shape. The moonlight seemed to dim as Hermione struggled to see what had become of her mystery man. In place of her lover, she could barely make out the new creature standing in its stead. It looked like a horse with a funny looking thing at the top of its head. Before she could make her way to the steed, she felt a sharp pain in her back as it galloped away.
She woke up quickly after that, breathing hard and wondering what her dream could mean. The man felt so familiar and yet she could not fathom where she knew him from. Where had she seen those eyes and that hair? Why was her body so accustomed to that passionate embrace? Her only conclusion was that that much familiarity could only come from her life before the curse. Try as she might, that life seemed to be so far gone she couldn't even access any of those memories. It frustrated her so that she had to take a midnight swim to clear her thoughts.
Leaving the cave, she swam away from her sacred grotto. So many thoughts swimming through her mind. Before she knew it, she was back at the boulder where she first laid her eyes on the unicorn. She made her way over to the shore and climbed onto the land. While waiting for her tail to dry she came across a peculiar scent. Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. Though faint, the scent was none other than unicorn blood.
Hermione decided she had to follow it. Her tail had completely dried and legs had once again appeared in its place. She used her scepter with less difficulty than before and followed the scent through the forest. On and on she went, following the scent until it faded into nothingness. It wasn't until this point that she gathered how long she was able to be on land before her skin started to desiccate. She hadn't even found the unicorn yet but her health was more important. Before she had a second to go back the way she came, she heard the softest sounds of running water. Eager to get to it, she ran until she came to a quaint spring.
Intrigued, she dipped her scepter into the water to see how deep it was, not knowing that the scepter had now given the water magical properties. She stepped in and fully expected her tail to return. When it didn't she was shocked, to say the least. She looked at her scepter and noticed it was glowing slightly. Looking back at the water, it now had a slight iridescent hue. She smiled to herself but decided to return home.
Leaving the spring behind, she walked in the direction of her black lake. A few minutes into her trek back, she heard the tale tell snap of a twig a few meters behind her. She immediately crouched and breathed deeply. She felt it. Whatever creature has been stalking her, she felt its presence. She inwardly cursed, berating herself for not being cognizant of her surroundings.
Slowly she turned completely around and faced the general direction of the creature. It moved into her line of vision and she looked upon the countenance of a centaur. She heard more movement and two more centaurs stepped forward to flank the first one. Hermione narrowed her eyes, staring into the black ones of the creature directly in front of her. Clearly, it was the leader.
Baring her fangs and hissing, she realized that she might have stumbled upon centaur territory.
"What is your business here?" The first centaur demanded.
Hermione thought about how her vocal capabilities might still be shot but figured she could use this to her advantage. She let out a piercing screech, one so loud it could have awoken the whole forbidden forest, and ran straight for the spring.
The centaurs hot on her trail followed in bewilderment. She jumped head first into the water. As soon as she did so, the spring began to bubble and give off blue fire. The head centaur held his men back as he had come across such fire before.
"My businesss isss none of yoursss," a feminine voice hissed as Hermione's head broke through the water.
"It very well is our business as you were on our land!" Exclaimed the second-in-command.
The chief gave his second a look before beginning to speak.
"He is right, you were in our territory and there are consequences for those who disregard the boundaries."
Hermione looked at him for a moment and brought a pale hand to her chin. "I am not bound to the laws of your kind, therefore they do not apply to me. You can carry on with whatever you were doing, you will not be bothered by me---
She was cut off by the sound of yet another twig breaking a few meters to her right. Hermione and the centaurs looked immediately and out of the trees came a man in a loincloth with a double-edged spear.
"Well, well, what have we here?" The man said with a smirk that made him seem vaguely familiar.
"What business is it of yours?" The chief centaur questioned with his chest puffed.
"Actually," Hermione interrupted. "Thisss man isss my friend. Carry on asss you will have no problem with usss."
The trio looked thoughtful. The chief nodded to his second, as well as his third, and they turned to leave.
"See that you don't," he warned. The centaurs left Hermione and the mystery man to their own devices.
Sighing, Hermione relaxed in the water until the man spoke once more.
"Hermione?" He questioned. "How are you here?"
She frowned and answered him saying, "I apologize but I only sssaid we were friendsss because those creaturesss were sure to kill you. Do I know you?"
The man looked toward her confused and slightly saddened.
"It's me, Draco."
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