Summer Ecstasy

Hope you like!

***

The water was ice cold. He needed air. . .

Air.

Harry surfaced and he choked for air, coughing up dark water and struggling to keep afloat. His body racked with shudders from the ice cold river. He felt drained and heavy at the same time as his body continued to keep itself from sinking. Harry couldn’t imagine how Draco was feeling being in the water this whole time, was what he absently thought. If just being in the water for a few minutes was hard for Harry, Draco might’ve already. . .

Harry shook his head. No. No, don’t think like that. Harry refused to believe that Draco was dead, floating lifelessly in the water. He had to find him, because he was still alive. He had to be. It was Malfoy, for goodness sake. The Slytherin Ice Prince. He had to be used to the icy cold, living in the Slytherin Dungeons.

But . . .

Harry bit his lip as he swam along the current, his eyes sweeping across the water for any sign of blonde hair. His body was slowly shutting down, Harry could feel it. But he couldn’t give up. He had to find Draco. He had to apologize to him. Merlin, all those horrible things he said . . . Harry knew, deep down inside, that Draco had changed. But for some odd reason, he couldn’t let the cold, hard Malfoy out of his mind. It was like he was in denial. But in denial of what?

Harry shook his head. He couldn’t think about that now. He had to rescue Draco. He had to find him, if not for the blonde’s sake, then for his own. Because he refused to let go of the blonde that easily. He couldn’t.

He looked around, trying to find Draco, but he couldn’t see him. He couldn’t see anything but the rushing water and the vague impression of the brown and black landscape blurring by him. And then Harry hit something in the water, hard. He cried out, inhaling a lungful of water in the process. He choked and coughed, and his lungs burned for air again. That and the pain in his arm from where he was hit threatened to drag him under.

And then he saw blonde hair.

Harry very narrowly kept himself from screaming with joy, which would’ve only made matters much worse. He was very much sure it was Draco, and Harry forced himself to swim faster, to ignore the iciness of the water, and erase the thought that Draco might already be dead. He plunged in and out of the river, deftly avoiding sharp rocks and debris floating around him in his hurry to reach Draco. Just a few more feet and he could grab hold of the blonde. Harry swam harder and reached his hand out, his eyes wild with determination as he watched himself get closer and closer to Draco.

And then he had him. Harry wrapped his hand tight around Draco’s limp arm and dragged him closer to him, breathing out a huge sigh of relief as he held the blonde close.

Harry had Draco. Finally. But they weren’t out of danger yet. They had to find a way out of the water. They were free-flowing with the current and Harry frantically searched the edges of the river for any loose rocks or tree roots he could grab hold of. The river was wide and the sides seemed impossibly out of reach. He tried to swim along the edge, but debris knocked hard against him. Now that he had Draco, it was harder to keep afloat and Harry was soon struggling just to keep his chin above the water.

He heard a groan come below him and Harry looked down to see Draco’s eyes begin to flutter. Harry breathed a shaky sigh of relief.

“Draco,” he whispered. “You’re alive.”

***

It was disorienting, but Draco could suddenly feel warmth around him, despite the rushing cold water that he knew had surrounded him earlier. He could hear a heartbeat too, just below his ear where it rested against a hard, smooth surface. Draco wanted to move around, but he could feel that he was too weak and drained of energy to do so. He briefly wondered where the hell he was, and just whose arms were around him, right before everything came rushing back.

“Ah!” Draco cried, his eyes opening wide and his body tingling as he finally became aware of his surroundings. He thrashed around to try and keep hold of something, and then the arms around him held tighter and a voice was speaking in low tones.

“Shh, shh D-Draco. Y-You’re alright, I-I-I’ve g-got you.”

Draco whipped his head up, the movement causing pain to lash out against his head and neck, and stared into the green eyes of his savior. Harry Potter. Of course.

“P-P-Potter. . .” Draco stammered out, the freezing water seeping into his bones. Once again. “H-How. . . .?”

“I j-jumped in a-after you,” was Harry’s stuttered and forced out reply. “W-We have t-to find . . .”

Suddenly, a dark shape emerged ominously behind them as an uprooted tree plunged along the current. Draco could see it, but Harry had his back to it.

“Harry!” Draco just had time to shout out before the tree slammed into them. Harry felt blinding pain shoot through him as the hard trunk bounced off him, the rough bark tearing his shirt and his skin as branches stabbed at his arms and legs.

Draco felt the impact through Harry’s body and heard his agonizing cry. He quickly grabbed hard onto Harry’s now limp body, his heard thudding in his chest as Harry was almost carried under. He pulled Harry against him, the brunette’s back to his chest, letting Harry’s head fall against his shoulder. Draco fought to keep both their heads above water and to avoid the swirling debris around them. He clung to Harry, protectively shielding him from any rocks or branches that floated by. His arms were going numb and losing strength, and he could feel Harry’s body become heavier and heavier with each passing second.

Yet only one thought crossed his mind in all this.

Don’t let go. Never, never let go of him.

Despite all the crashing and rushing water around them, Draco only had thoughts for Harry.

Please, please, Draco prayed to Merlin, if not both of us, then let Harry live. Please.

And then, like magic, Draco could feel the current changing, sweeping them closer to the edge of the river. Soon enough, they were inches from grabbing hold onto the earth and Draco struck out his hand. His hand clutched dirt and mud and with every bit of strength he had left, pulled.

***

Like I explained in the last chapter….sorry the updates have been slow. Hopefully I get more in this week. Cause I’m on a roll! :)

Hope you like this chapter! Even though it is short. Please review!!