Hearing this, Hermione nodded and tentatively touched the bottom of the pool with her toes. The solid feeling reassured her a little.
But her body remained tense, and her hands gripped Draco's wrists tightly as he held her arm.
"Oh, so our fearless Miss Know-It-All, who dares to face even Troll and Basilisk, has moments of fear too?" Draco tried to ease her mind.
Spurred on, Hermione's defiant spirit flared up. Though her grip remained tight, her tone hardened considerably. "Who's afraid! I just haven't learned how to swim like Muggle! Wizards have the Bubble-Head Charm and Gillyweed!"
"Yes, yes, our Hermione is the most knowledgeable."
Draco said with a smile,
"Brave Gryffindor, let's begin our first lesson—holding your breath." Draco adjusted his posture slightly.
One hand moved to support the center of her back, while the other hand remained supporting her. "Come on, take a deep breath—"
He demonstrated by taking a deep breath.
"Then, slowly lower your head and bury your face in the water. Don't rush, I'll count and support you. Just focus on holding your breath; I won't let you fall."
Hermione mimicked him, taking a deep breath as if heading to battle, tightly closing her eyes, and lowering her head to immerse her face in the water with a death-defying resolve.
"1...2...3..." Draco counted steadily. However, before he could even reach 3, Hermione jerked her head up due to nervousness and off-rhythm breathing, "Cough cough... cough cough cough!"
She choked and coughed violently, her eyes instantly turning red, whether from the choking or from feeling wronged, it was hard to tell.
Her little face was all scrunched up; she looked so pitiful.
"Oh dear, slow down, slow down!" Draco felt sorry for her and quickly used his free hand to gently wipe the water droplets from her face and eyelashes, his tone softer than ever before.
"It's okay, it's okay, everyone's like this the first time, it's normal to choke on water. Come on, take a break, we're not in a hurry,"
Once Hermione calmed down a bit, Draco continued teaching.
"Let's try again, I'll hold her more firmly." Draco adjusted his grip on Hermione's back, making her lean more securely.
With his patient encouragement and steady support,
Hermione tried a few more times, though she couldn't hold her breath for long each time, and her movements were still tense.
But she gradually got the hang of it, stopped choking on water easily, and was finally able to hold her breath underwater for five or six seconds relatively steadily.
When she looked up again, although her face was still wet with water droplets, her eyes already held a small sense of pride, as if she had done it.
"Great! You passed the breath-holding test. Next is floating." Draco walked around behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her from behind.
One hand gently supported her below her sternum, near her stomach, avoiding sensitive areas but providing ample support, while the other hand firmly supported her lower back.
Draco is serious about teaching.
"Now, follow my orders," his voice was right next to Hermione's ear, his warm breath brushing against her damp neck.
"Relax your whole body, yes, relax your shoulders, and don't strain your neck... Then, slowly lean back, letting your weight fall on the water. The water has buoyancy; it will support you."
Listening to Draco's words, and leaning against his strong chest, Hermione felt a reassuring strength coming from her arm.
But the instruction to lean back and surrender her body to the water still challenged her instinctive fear of losing control.
Hermione's body was as stiff as a board at this moment.
She tried to lean back a little, but as soon as she relaxed her core, she immediately felt her body sinking, which startled her so much that she tensed up again and flailed her arms and legs helplessly.
"Relax, Hermione, relax... The more tense you are, the heavier your body becomes, and the easier it is to sink." Draco held her steadily, without the slightest impatience, guiding her again and again in the gentlest voice, adjusting her posture.
"Yes, that's it, take it slow... Imagine yourself lying on the softest cloud... or, lying on the most comfortable sofa in the Hogwarts common room..."
Under his gentle hypnosis, Hermione finally relaxed her tense muscles and nerves little by little.
She felt that when she stopped fighting back, the water seemed to gently support her body.
Although she still needed Draco's arm for support, she did indeed float up, wobbling slightly!
"I... I'm floating?" Hermione exclaimed softly in disbelief, though only for a very brief moment.
Moreover, the posture may not be standard.
But this strange feeling of being gently embraced by water filled her with a wonderful sense of accomplishment and excitement.
"Yes, my wife is really smart. She learns things in no time."
Hermione's face flushed red, but not from choking on water.
After regaining their sense of floating, Draco stood in front of Hermione again, the water level roughly up to their chests.
Then, holding Hermione's hands, palms together, he guided her and began demonstrating the most basic arm strokes.
"Extend your arms forward like this, then push them out to the sides in a large arc, and then bring them back to your chest. The movement should be slow and steady, feeling the resistance of the water against your palms."
As he spoke, Draco held her hand and led her through the motion repeatedly, as if in a duet.
Of course, Hermione studied very hard, her eyes fixed on their clasped hands, trying her best to remember every movement.
However, clumsiness is inevitable for beginners.
When she tried to imitate it herself, her arm movements were stiff and uncoordinated; either the range of motion was too small or the force was too great.
With a "splash," water splashed everywhere, not only soaking his own face but also drenching Draco completely.
" Granger... do you want to turn your man into a drowned rat?" Draco shook off the water and tossed his hair.
"You might get wet while swimming!"
Hermione chuckled.
This little incident instantly dispelled most of the frustration and embarrassment caused by my clumsiness.
That smile made her relax completely, and the tension from holding her breath and feeling floaty dissipated considerably.
"Alright, enough fooling around, let's continue, let's practice kicking." Draco wiped his face, his playful expression fading.
He then had Hermione turn around so her back was to him, and then he took her shoulders from behind, indicating that she could lean on the edge of the pool.
"Come on, relax your upper body as much as possible and float on the surface of the water,"
"Yes, just like when you were floating," Draco affirmed. "Then bring your legs together, stretch them straight back, like a frog, and push them outwards forcefully, then quickly bring them back together."
"Remember, use your feet and calves to push off the water, don't kick around with your knees." He explained while gesturing the movement to her legs with his hand.
Hermione turned around, grabbed Draco's shoulders with both hands, used the leverage to lift her upper body, and then began to try to kick.