Chapter Eight: Land!!
When you develop an infatuation for someone, you always find a reason to believe that this is exactly the person for you. It doesn't have to be a good reason-The Beach.
Harry woke up early with the grey light of dawn. Hermione slept soundly by his side. He slipped quietly away from her out from under the blanket they shared. He sat up and drew his knees to his chest.
He was scared.
He didn't know what was happening to him. It was strange, since the accident he hadn't needed his glasses. His vision was perfect. And then yesterday, the incident with the shark… He remembered closing his eyes and the feeling of energy surge through him. Yes, he did that. He knew he did. But he was frightened by it. And he didn't want to tell anyone about it.
"How is she feeling?" a quiet voice asked.
Harry looked over at Terry. He climbed atop the tarp, careful not to wake Hermione.
"She's alright I guess. Still a bit frightened and I doubt she'll never go into the water again," Harry sighed.
"I doubt anyone wants to," Terry replied as he sat next to Harry.
They sat there not speaking for awhile until Terry spoke up.
"Do you love her?" he asked Harry. Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "I love her, too," Terry sighed. "I would do anything for her. Does that sound crazy?"
"No…no, it doesn't," Harry answered.
"I never thanked you for saving her life," Terry said.
"You're the one who brought her back," Harry said.
"Yes…but you're the one who went in after her," Terry shifted his weight and leaned back. "It hurt you know. She called out for you to save her."
"Old habits die hard."
"Is that what it was?" Terry asked softly then he gave a quiet laugh. "You know, I have to wonder if it's always going to be like that. Is she always going to call out for you? I'm waiting for the day she'll call for me."
"I don't ever want her in a position where she'll have to call either one of us."
"But it's more than that. You didn't even hesitate jumping in the water for her. It should've been me to do that. But I froze."
"We were all scared, Terry."
"But you're always the brave one. Always the hero."
Harry angrily turned to him. "I never asked for it," he hissed sharply. "I never asked for any of it."
"Oh my God, you guys! Wake up! Wake up!" Ginny's shouts from the other boat woke everyone up.
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"What happened?"
"Where's it coming from?"
Draco made his way over to the other boat. The bottom of it was covered in water.
"Shit," he muttered. "Somebody hand me a bucket!"
Ron made his way over with two of them. Immediately they began to bail the water out.
"The boat is leaking," Ginny groaned.
"We are, too," Neville muttered.
Hermione, Harry and Terry scrambled off the tarp. The bottom of the boat also was wet. Their situation was dangerous. Stranded in the middle of the ocean in two leaky lifeboats. Terror and panic hit the castaways.
"What are we going to do?"
"We're going to die!"
"No one is going to die."
"I don't want to go in the water."
"Would everyone just be quiet and let me think?" Terry shouted.
Squak!!
Everyone immediately became silent. It was a familiar sound but they hadn't heard it in so long that it was hard to place where it came from. Terry slowly turned around.
There resting on top of the tarp at the bow of the ship was a bird!!
"LAND!!" Hermione screamed out, pointing in the distance.
There they were, ahead of them, peaks of some small mountains. They were so far away but it was the most beautiful sight they had ever seen.
"Undo the ropes that are tying the boats together!" Harry said and some of the students scrambled to the task. "Everyone grab an oar."
"We'll never make it!" a sixth year, Andrea cried out.
"We've got to try," Draco said determinedly. He split everyone into two groups so that each boat would have strong rowers. They took turns amongst each other, when one group tired out they would rotate while the other rested.
The sun had fully risen over the horizon, nearly halfway and they were still a ways away from the island.
Draco turned to look at Harry on the other boat. "This one's going to go down before we reach the island. We're leaking pretty bad here."
Harry turned to look at the island, gauging the distance. "Right," he sighed.
"Harry, this boat won't be able to hold everyone," Hermione said in a low voice.
"We've got to try, Hermione. With more people rowing, maybe we'll be able to get closer faster before this boat goes under due to the weight."
Draco and Ron tossed the silver survival kits into the boat Harry was on.
"Neville, Seamus, Dean, Ron, Luna and Hannah," Harry called out. "I want you guys to tie these kits to yourselves. I have a feeling we're going to have to swim to the island and I want these kits with us." Groans and moans came from some of the students.
"I don't want to go back in the water, Harry," Ginny trembled. "Please don't make me." Draco frowned at her, a little worried.
"It'll be alright, Gin," Ron soothed.
"I'll swim with you," Harry volunteered. "Now, who can't swim or isn't that strong of a swimmer?" Several hands went up in the air. "I want the strongest swimmers to pair up with one of them. Everyone will make it onto the island." Harry sat back down on the bench. "Hermione, you're going with Terry," he said quietly next to her.
"Harry, I can swim just fine," Hermione protested.
"You're going with Terry and that's final," he said a bit harsher than he intended. "I'm sorry," he said softly and sighed. "I'm not taking any chances, Hermione. Especially not with you."
The lifeboat lowered considerable more in the water as the others piled onboard. The other lifeboat sank. The students rowed, the boat was heavier but it was moving faster. You could now hear the breakers off the island. The water began to get choppier as waves rolled beneath them.
"We're not going to make it past the breakers," Terry said.
It was true. The waves would crush the lifeboat.
"Alright everyone!" Draco called out. "This is going to be rough. We're going to ride the next wave. When it breaks, everyone bails and swims for the shore. It's going to be a tough swim…about thirty meters. Try not to break anything."
Pansy trembled next to him, her eyes wide with fear. Draco looked back at Harry and nodded, Harry nodded back. He flickered his gaze to Ginny then back straight ahead. She would be fine, she was swimming with Potter.
Harry's heart beat loudly in his chest. This was it. A final run to land. He put an encouraging arm around Ginny. Ron looked back at him then at Hermione. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. It will be okay. She gave him a small smile but Harry could see she was terrified of being in the water again. He glanced at Terry. She had better make it to the beach. Terry nodded as if reading his thoughts.
They caught a wave and they were carried away. Ginny gripped the side of the boat as the wave crested. The boat rose in the air then slowly began to tip down like the beginning of a roller coaster ride. Then down the wave it went.
"JUMP!!" Harry called out as the wave broke above them.
The wave crashed onto the lifeboat, crushing it. You could hear the sound of breaking wood. Harry and Ginny surfaced along with their fellow students and began to swim with everything they had for the shore.
"Harry…I'm too tired…," Ginny gasped when they were halfway there. "I'm not going to make it."
"Hold on to me," Harry breathed. "And don't let go."
His arms burned with fatigue and he was sooo tired. He could hear the sounds of the waves breaking behind him and the splashes of his fellow students as they swam for shore.
Finally, he felt the wonderful feel of sand beneath his feet. Staggering on the beach, the students gasped for breath holding the stitches in their sides. Harry dropped to the sand and lay there limp, too tired to move.
"We made it," Ginny whispered next to him. "We made it."
~*~
"HELLO! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" Draco called out.
They all gathered together on the beach looking out at the lush jungle in front of them.
"Where are we?" Neville said.
"I don't know," Hermione answered. "There are hundreds of uncharted islands in the Pacific. We could be on one of them for all we know."
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Harry said. He pointed to the small mountain in the distance. "Tomorrow, I'm going to hike that."
"I'm going with you," Ron, Neville and Draco said aloud. Ron looked sharply at Draco.
"We should be able to tell what this place looks like from up there," Harry said.
"In the meantime, we should make camp," Draco suggested.
The tents were rudimentary. They had managed to take both the tarps from the boats and stuff them in a survival kit. They used those and some of the blankets to make their shelters.
Dean worked furiously on trying to make a fire, rubbing two sticks together with some dry grass. He showed Harry, Draco and Neville how to do it.
"Ah dammit!" Draco cursed and threw his sticks down. His hands were beginning to cramp and he was losing his grip. "I would give anything for my wand."
"We all would," Dean muttered.
Harry sighed and put down his sticks. He looked off into the horizon. The sun would be setting soon. Harry picked up his sticks and turned his back to the others. A crazy idea came into his head.
He rubbed the two sticks together lazily just to go through the motions. Fire. I want a fire. Just a small flame. He closed his eyes and concentrated picture a flame in his mind. The whiff of smoke came to nostrils and he opened his eyes. The grass was a little charred. Harry closed his eyes and really concentrated.
FIRE!
"Aaah!!" Harry sprang away from the two sticks that burst into flame.
"Quick! Put on some more wood!" Dean, Neville and Draco tossed their sticks into the fire. They sprinted to the edge of the jungle and grabbed anything they could set aflame. The fire roared heartily into a mini bonfire.
"Alright, way to go, Harry!" Dean clapped him on the back.
Harry didn't say anything, he just stared at the fire.
That night Draco lay awake. He rested on his stomach as Pansy slept next to him. They had a tent to themselves while the other Slytherins slept in a tent next to them. They were furthest from the group, separating themselves from the others. The Ravenclaws had their own tents as did the other houses. The exception was Luna who stayed with Hermione and Ginny in their tent. Draco's eyes were watching Ginny's tent.
He didn't know why he was worrying about the youngest Weasley or why he was even staring at her in the first place.
Pansy lay next to him awake, he only thought she was asleep. She followed his line of sight to the tent where Granger, Weaselette and Looney were. Why was he watching them? A wave of jealousy came over her and she began to caress Draco.
Draco looked down at her. "I thought you were sleeping," he whispered.
"No, I'm awake," she whispered back.
He saw the familiar look of want in her eyes. He wasn't going to deny her, it had been awhile. She sighed softly as he entered her, reveling in his familiarity, smiling smugly at the fact he was making love to her. They were quiet and she only let out a small gasp when their reached their climax. Draco rolled off her and she snuggled next to him. An unfamiliar feeling of guilt washed over him. As he climaxed he imagined that he was fucking another person, imagined himself tangling his hands in her red hair, imagined that it was her that sighed. He was in despair.
Oh God…what was she doing to him?
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