Anmarie Island

Every seat had a nametag on it and they each began searching for theirs. Hermione didn't hide her disappointment when she saw her seat was right next to Malfoy's. Why the hell do we get shoved together for everything? she wondered with frustration.

He noticed the seating arrangement too and glanced at Hermione. After a moment she returned the look and was surprised to see the blonde boy smiling. It was an amused smile, not one of contempt or scorn. She became slightly confused.

"What?" Hermione questioned with suspicion.

Draco shook his head, still smiling, and responded, "You are so easy to read. I could tell exactly what you were thinking when you saw the nametags. 'Oh no, I have to sit next that prat Malfoy. He's such a pompous bastard.'"

Hermione wanted to counter him with something, but knew in her mind that he was right. Without even realizing it, she began to smile too. "Am I really that easy?" she laughed.

Draco's eyes lit up, but he refrained from saying a nasty comment about her being 'easy.' He just nodded and sat down. "I hope everyone gets here soon."

"Me too," Hermione admitted. A long silence filled the room. It seemed like there was tension in the air, but Hermione didn't know why. She wasn't feeling spiteful toward Malfoy.

Draco noticed the awkwardness too, but also couldn't put his finger on it. He just hoped the others would arrive soon.

But many of the others were finding the short scavenger hunt rather difficult. Harry and Justin, for instance, found a ladder, but it was planted there to trick people. Justin climbed it to the top of a tree where he discovered a cozy spider's lair. Actually the lair belonged to a few hundred spiders. "Uh, Harry..." he trembled.

"What?" Harry answered from the ground. "What did you find?"

Justin began to inch his way down, shaking with fear. Halfway he noticed something tickling his left elbow. His nerves got the better of him and he screamed, grabbing frantically at where he thought the spider was.

"Justin? What's going on?" Harry could barely see anything from his vantage point.

Justin continued to twitch and throw his arms around wildly until he finally fell with a deep thud onto the soft, dirt-covered floor.

Harry jogged over to him quickly, afraid he could be hurt. "Are you all..." he began, but was interrupted as Justin sprang from the ground, feeling for the spider he knew was running rampant on his body. To Harry's surprise, Justin actually stripped off his robe and ran around in a crazed state until he caught the little bugger and threw him off into the distance.

Harry's confusion was obvious and as the Hufflepuff boy put his robe back on Justin explained, "It was full of spiders up there and one got on me. I hate spiders."

He's more like Ron than I realized, Harry thought to himself as they kept searching for the right ladder.

In the meantime, Padma and Hannah had found the right place and were waiting quietly with Draco and Hermione. They had originally been chatty and excited, but the dull atmosphere between the Slytherin and Gryffindor had considerably lessened their enthusiasm.

Hannah tried to start a conversation with, "So what do you guys think we're going to do tonight?" but failed miserably. Neither Hermione nor Draco acknowledged the question. They were not excited at all.

The group of four sat in silence, each person in his or her assigned seat, awaiting the other eight anxiously. Hermione began to twirl her hair absentmindedly in her right hand, thinking about her weekend homework. Padma and Hannah each let out occasional giggles as they admired Draco's handsome face, stern as it was.

Blaise and Lisa arrived next. Lisa sat down quickly trying to hide the mud all over her robes. Blaise smiled slyly before bursting out laughing and pointing at her red-cheeked partner. "You should have seen it! Turpin walked right into a group of gnomes and they started flinging mud at her! It was a riot!"

At this Draco smiled, noticing Lisa's immense embarrassment. Sighing, he suppressed a laugh and avoided making the poor girl any more humiliated.

"What, Draco?" Blaise inquired as she sat down. "You're not laughing. Is something the matter?"

Hermione turned her gaze sharply to Draco, ready to respond to any snide remark he gave.

"Blaise, grow up. Laughing at the shortcomings of poor Ravenclaws is below us. It's gotten old and I don't feel like making her feel any worse," he drawled without care.

Blaise snorted in reply and rolled her eyes. "What's gotten in to you?"

Draco shook his head. "Nothing. I just didn't find it that funny. Now if it was Potter, that would be a different story..." He shot a glance at Hermione.

"Harry's a lot better than you'll..." she began, only to be interrupted by Draco's dry laugh.

"Calm down, Granger. You're so touchy about your boyfriend. I only said it because I noticed you so intently watching the conversation between Blaise and me," he smiled mysteriously at her.

She was about to say something in return when Seamus and Ernie came hobbling into the room. "What happened to you two?" Padma asked in awe.

Ernie held his side in pain as he sat in his chair. "Did you know they have a whomping willow on this island?" They all shook their heads. "Neither did we."

Seamus rubbed his lower back. "Can you believe they put a ladder against it? Some trick, huh? Lucky for us it was a rather small one."

Blaise snickered, glaring slyly at Draco, who just didn't feel like laughing. He had more important matters running through his mind. There was no need to get caught up in poking fun at others constantly. He didn't mind it every once it awhile, but Blaise took it too far.

Hermione considered this for a moment. It's not like that prat to not laugh at the expense of others, she thought. There's been something odd about him lately. Either there's something wrong with him or he's just decided to become a nice person. She laughed inwardly. Yeah right, she thought.

A shadow suddenly engulfed the students as Snape violently swished in, followed by the mysteriously smiling Bargs and jolly Seedly.

He counted the students, barely parting his lips. "We're missing two," he said grouchily. "Where are Potter and Finch-Fletchley?" he asked with suspicion and annoyance.

The ten students shrugged and could offer no explanations. But before Snape could express any further disdain, two heaving boys plunged into the room, dirty and exhausted. "Sorry we're late," Justin breathed.

"Whomping willow?" Seamus asked knowingly.

The boys nodded. "And a spider's lair and quicksand," Harry chimed in.

"Don't forget the mud-flinging gnomes," Justin added.

The two took their seats, relieved to be through with the scavenger hunt. They were by far the roughest-looking students in the bunch. Snape sighed at them, disappointed as always, before telling them of what he had in store for them.

"I didn't think the scavenger hunt would be so difficult, but apparently for those with," he glanced at Harry and Justin, "limited knowledge it was. The real event hasn't even started. First we will have a short dinner prepared by the island's house elves." Hermione frowned with disapproval. "And then Mme. Bargs will explain tonight's...fun." The word sounded strangely ironic coming from his mouth.

The meal appeared instantly: a rich variety of typical Thanksgiving foods that filled each student entirely. They ate quietly and quickly, anxious for the "fun" to begin.

The food disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and Mme. Bargs walked to the head of the table. She cleared her throat importantly before giving the boys her trademark smile. "Good evening," she began kindly. "Tonight you will each be working with your partners to develop a skill necessary among everyone here: trust." On the word her smile vanished and a strange look crossed her face. "We need trust so that we can work as a team, as a single unit. Without trust we risk chaos and danger. Tonight, you absolutely have to trust the person you are partners with."

Hermione's heart beat faster and she became aware of the dread pouring over her. I can't trust him, she thought over and over again. I cannot trust Malfoy.

Seedly took Bargs' place at the head of the table. "The exercise today is one similar to one used in the muggle world. Only here, we of course must give it a wizard's twist." He flashed the students an excited smile. "All of you follow me."

He led them to the tree's edge. They were about twenty feet up and could see nothing of the darkened ground. "In the muggle world one partner falls backwards and the other partner catches him or her. Here, however, it's a little more risky. One partner will stand on the edge of this tree, facing the dinner table. The other partner will stand on the ground. Oh, and don't worry about the darkness." He snapped his fingers and thousands of tiny, flickering white lights arose in their tree and all of the surrounding trees. "The person on the tree will fall backwards and must trust their partner to perform the immobulus spell to stop their fall. I believe you all know this one, correct?" They all nodded in unison. "Then there should be no problem. Professor Snape will be at the bottom to slow you in case your partner screws up or chooses to let you fall." He paused for effect, and then continued. "The ground is quite soft, but we must take precautions to avoid any serious injury. Do we all understand?" Again the students nodded, each fearing the ordeal they were about to experience.

Hermione fidgeted nervously. This could be his chance. He could pretend to try and save me but really want me to get hurt. What if Snape messes up and I land on the ground? Her mind was a jungle of uncomfortable thoughts.

Harry and Justin, the late arrivals, went first. They did surprisingly well and trusted each other more after the exercise. Blaise and Lisa went next. Blaise purposely said the wrong spell, scaring Lisa out of her wits. She lied, though, and claimed to have simply forgotten the spell in her excitement. Seamus and Ernie did fine, as did Padma and Hannah. Draco and Hermione were last.

"Would you like to fall or catch?" Draco asked his partner, playing off of her fear with his confidence. "It certainly doesn't matter to me."

Hermione considered the question while trying to hide her panic and eventually decided to get it done and over with. "I'll fall," she choked out, too scared to say anything more.

Draco nodded and silently headed for the bottom. Hermione took her place and waited for her signal.

"All right Miss Granger," Mme. Bargs said. "Mr. Malfoy just took his position. You may fall back now."

A million thoughts rushed through her head. Her heart throbbed in her chest, blood pulsating all too violently through every vein in her body. Her breath was shaky and she feared Malfoy. She feared what he might do to her, what "accidental" spell he might utter.

She remained in her position for a long while, too frozen in dread to move.

"Miss Granger?" Seedly tapped her on the shoulder.

Hermione jumped at his touch, losing her footing and slipping off of the tree. She fell fast, seeing the ledge she had left getting smaller and smaller, and yet it all seemed to happen in slow motion. Her many fears ran through her mind quickly, preparing her for whatever Malfoy had planned.

She suddenly stopped her descent and was floating in midair. Her chest ached and she let out a deep breath. She realized she had been holding it in for quite some time. Some pixies grabbed her and lowered her gently to the ground.

"Excellent job Malfoy," Snape congratulated him. "You have proven a trustworthy partner." The blonde boy smiled proudly and winked at Hermione, sending chills down her sweat-drenched spine.

"Your turn," he grinned, walking fearlessly to the ladder leading to the top of the tree.

Hermione had a difficult time getting her thoughts together. She was an emotional mess. When Snape asked her if she was ready, she nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the question. She became aware of her mistake all too late.

She saw Malfoy fall and, not quite prepared, held out her wand and choked on her words. She couldn't remember the spell. Malfoy's descent was horrifying her and just before he hit the ground she burst out with, "Immobulus!" as loudly as she could. But she was too late and she had let him fall. Snape slowed him down enough so that he didn't hit the earth too hard. Hermione ran to him, fearing the worst and hating herself.

"Draco! Draco are you all right?" she cried, rushing to his side.

To her surprise he stood up quickly and brushed himself off as if nothing had happened. He glared at her fearsome face with a slight twinge of anger. "So who's more trustworthy here?" he asked seriously.

Hermione struggled for a response.

"I guess you have no worries about where my head is at when it comes to your life," he sneered.

Her eyes reddened and a few salty tears dripped free. "I am so sorry," she admitted, quickly wiping away her sign of weakness. "I wasn't thinking clearly. It will never happen again. You can trust me, please. I have no intentions of harming you."

Draco eyed her, scanning her features for any sign of dishonesty. He sighed and begrudgingly said, "I know you didn't do it on purpose. Just be more careful next time I entrust you with my life." He began to walk toward the ladder, but stopped once he got there and turned back to Hermione. "Oh, one more thing Granger. Since when am I 'Draco' to you?"

Hermione stumbled on her words again, able to offer no explanation.

Draco smiled a signature mystical smile before quickly climbing the ladder to meet with the other students. Hermione followed shortly after she had gathered her emotions entirely.

When they were once again at the top, the students had a treat for dessert: cotton candy and ice cream, two American favorites. Seedly smiled abashedly as he confessed his secret passion for the light and sweet pink cotton candy. Snape unknowingly got a piece stuck in his hair, and was quite irritable when no one would tell him what was so funny.

The students turned in for the night, considerably exhausted after the evening's events. Hermione had trouble sleeping; she kept thinking of Draco lying on the ground, and how she had failed him. How she had failed him. It made her feel queasy. She was not accustomed to desiring the trust of a much-hated enemy, not to mention trusting him in return. She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to a gentle rain outside. Vowing to win his trust, she finally drifted off.

Waking the next morning, Draco decided that the cove definitely needed checking out. Eating a hasty breakfast, he changed into his trunks and a black muscle shirt and headed for the water. He dived in, and then, shaking the water out of his hair, he thought lazily "I love Saturdays." He leisurely swam towards the other end of the cove, hearing the excited voices of other students approaching and wishing to avoid them for a while.

Draco hoisted himself out of the water and onto a rock in a sheltered area out of sight of the cabins. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and looked around. "Wow." he whispered. He now understood why Anne Marie Drogwell had put so many anti-muggle spells on the island. It was absolutely gorgeous, and he would have wanted it all to himself too. Draco pulled off his shirt and stretched out on his back, using the shirt as a pillow and basking in the sun's rays.

Hermione was in her cabin, reading as usual, when she heard a loud pounding on her door. She opened it, curious, to find Harry and Seamus. "What're you two doing her?" she asked.

"C'mon 'Mione, let's go swimming! The water feels amazing!" Harry said, reaching in and taking hold of her arm.

"Harry! Snape gave us homework! I don't want to get behind," she protested.

"Nope. You are not going to uphold your bookworm reputation on this island Hermione. We are here to save you," Seamus replied seriously.

"Save me from what?"

"Yourself," the boys answered in unison.

In the end, they persuaded her to come down to the beach, though she insisted on staying for only a little while. Once in the water, though, Hermione forgot her promise to herself. She aimlessly followed a group of yellow and pink striped fish as they flitted around below her. She soon found herself at a large rock near where the cove opened into the sea. Needing to rest her limbs, she started to climb onto it. She reached up, searching for something to hold onto at the top of it, and screamed and fell back when she felt something warm that moved when she touched it. A hand grabbed her arm before she fell into the water, and she looked up into the face of Draco.

"That's twice I've saved you, Granger," he said with a smirk.

He reached for her other arm and hoisted her up. "Thanks," she muttered, not looking at him.

He sat down again on the rock, and after a moment she took a seat also. Draco was looking out to sea, and when she chanced a glance at him she once again was shocked by the appearance of the scars that littered his chest.

"Would you kindly stop staring, Granger? I know you want me, but it's not going to happen, so you'd better stop making a fool out of yourself if you want to keep any dignity," he said without looking at her, but Hermione noticed the sly smile that had crept onto his face.

"You really are in love with yourself, aren't you?" she asked seriously, not amused by his remark. "You probably inherited that trait from your father."

Draco's smirk disappeared in a flash and he shot a dangerous look at Hermione. The mere mention of that man had ignited a flame within Draco that could not easily be extinguished. He moved toward the unafraid Hermione, placing his face within inches of hers. "Listen, and listen closely Hermione," he said, lacing her name with anger. "Don't mention that man in my presence ever again. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about and until you do, don't speak of him."

He leaned back and returned his gaze to the sparkling ocean that lay before him. He saw the ocean as a means of ridding himself of his troubles; a momentary morphine for stress of the mind. It had been working until she showed up, he thought to himself.

Hermione wasn't used to sitting in private with one of her worst enemies and his shifty emotions were unnerving. Why is he so touchy all of a sudden? she wondered. And why does he suddenly hate his all-knowing and wonderful father?

"You know," she started speaking to Draco's annoyance, "this is going to be a horrible summer unless we start to get along. I'm willing to forget old spats we've had if we can finally make peace, even just for these two months. I want things to be bearable, Malfoy, not necessarily jolly fun."

He snickered at her comment, agreeing whole-heartedly. After a moment of considering her suggestion, he said, "All right. Bearable. I think I can do that. Unless of course I run into Potter."

"I'm talking about you and me, Malfoy: bearable between us. Leave Harry out of this for once. Geez, you'd think you fancy him or something as much as you talk about him," she said, turning her head away to also gaze at the ocean.

Draco began to get angry, but then brushed her comment aside with a friendly laugh. "Yes, that's it: Draco Potter," he said with a smirk.

Hermione looked at him curiously. One moment he was deep in thought and grave and the very next he's laughing and smiling. She smiled with him, unsure of what to think. "See? We can get along," Hermione said, nudging him in the arm.

He looked at her and nodded in agreement. "I guess so," he admitted. "Otherwise we'll never get any of our assignments or projects done. Plus the social events would be dreadful." He began to see Hermione in a whole new light, thinking that maybe she wasn't as bad as he had thought. He was actually grateful to have someone he could work with on acceptable terms.

Hermione nodded also and then her eyes drifted to Malfoy's chest once more. Concern played on her face as she stared absentmindedly at them. They were large and jagged, symbols of obvious pain. Draco noticed her staring.

"Let me guess," he said, throwing her out of her trance. "You're either looking with lust at my body, or wondering about these beautiful little marks." His face grew slightly aggravated, but then it softened. He had no reason to be mad at her.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, turning her head away quickly. "That was rude of me."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "It's all right. If you had these I'd stare at your chest too."

Hermione shot him an offended glance.

"What?" he asked before realizing what he had said. "Oh, that's not what I meant. You have to believe me. I was just..."

Her laugh broke off his explanation. "It's okay, it's okay. I know what you meant." She started to laugh again and this time Draco joined her. This is going to be a good summer, he thought.