Then... the most common beginner's mistake, the haphazard kicking like riding a bicycle, appeared; her legs flailed aimlessly in the water.
Several times, due to excessive force or incorrect direction, his feet kicked Draco's thigh or lower abdomen.
"Ah! I'm sorry!" Hermione would stop immediately every time she kicked him, blushing and turning around to apologize.
"It's nothing, minor bumps and scrapes are normal." Draco said nonchalantly, still trying to prevent her from losing her balance in her panic.
"Kick away, just get into the groove. I'm tough enough to take your kicks." He even joked, "Consider it a little training for your man to withstand blows."
"I won't kick it as much as I want!" Hermione exclaimed.
Draco's words lightened the burden in my heart considerably. I turned around and continued to practice my leg kicks diligently. Although my movements were still not perfect, at least they were no longer so haphazard.
After Draco had practiced the individual movements of his hands and legs to a certain extent, he began the most crucial step: integrating the movements.
He came to Hermione's side again, gently wrapping one arm around her waist to give her support and a sense of security, while using his other hand to demonstrate paddling in front of her, matching her movements.
"Come on, let's try coordinating our hands and feet. Listen to my commands," Draco said, beginning his demonstration.
"Paddle—" He took Hermione's arm and made a paddling motion, "—while simultaneously kicking his legs! Then, he lifted his head to breathe!"
While instructing, he supported Hermione's waist, helping her lift her head between movements, "--swipe your arms, kick your legs..."
"Follow this rhythm, don't mess around." Under his close guidance, Hermione tried out the complex coordinated movements.
At first, my hands and feet wouldn't obey my commands at all; I either forgot to kick my legs, or my legs were moving erratically while I was waving my arms.
He thrashed about in the water like a clumsy drowning animal, swimming erratically and making negligible progress.
But she repeated Draco's commands and actions.
Gradually,
During one of her attempts to coordinate, Hermione felt the power in her hands and feet seem to transfer to the water, and her body was propelled forward by a forward force, moving forward a short distance!
Although it is only less than half a meter long,
And the posture certainly wasn't graceful.
But that feeling of moving forward in the water, relying on oneself, and perhaps with a little bit of Draco's assistance...
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise!
" Draco! I got it! I got it a little bit!" She looked up excitedly, not even caring about the water on her face and hair.
When Hermione turned to look at Draco beside her, her eyes revealed immense joy and a sense of accomplishment. Her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her smile was as radiant as the sun.
"Yes, I saw it. I knew it, my Hermione, you learn it in no time. Much faster than you memorizing those complicated Ancient Runes." Draco praised her generously.
"So, brave little swimming student, how about trying to swim a short distance on your own?" Draco loosened his grip on her waist a little, but didn't let go completely.
He took a small step back, about a meter, and extended his hands to Hermione in a welcoming gesture.
"Come on, swim towards me. Just like before, stroke, kick, and breathe. Don't be afraid, I'll be right here. Swim over, and I'll definitely catch you."
"Okay." Seeing his encouraging eyes, Hermione's anxiety about swimming alone was dispelled.
She took a deep breath, recalling the rhythm and feeling she had just experienced.
Then lower your head, swing your arms forward, and simultaneously kick your legs backward... once, twice, three times...
The movements were still clumsy and slow.
Her body was stiff with tension, but she was indeed moving firmly toward Draco.
Ripples spread gently around her.
Getting closer and closer...
Just as Hermione felt her strength was about to run out and her movements were starting to Transfiguration, a pair of strong arms caught her in time, pulling her into a warm embrace.
Hermione collapsed into his arms, exhausted, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck, panting heavily, her heart filled with the ecstatic joy of "I did it!"
Draco had one arm around her waist.
He gently stroked her back to help her catch her breath.
He could feel her body trembling slightly and her heart pounding, and he could also sense her immense joy.
"Great job! My little swimming prodigy!"
Draco rewarded Hermione with a kiss on the Hermione.
"So what's next? Continue practicing swimming further? Or learn a different stroke?" Hermione looked at him with sparkling eyes, her eagerness for the next lesson filling her mind.
"Next... is training underwater breathing." Draco announced what seemed like a crucial training exercise.
"Underwater breathing?" Hermione recalled her clumsy breathing movements just now. She was indeed not very skilled and often choked on water or had the wrong rhythm when she looked up.
Her expression was serious as she affirmed, "Yes, that's very important! I felt like I wasn't breathing very smoothly just now."
"It's very simple," Draco said, tightening his arms around her waist while gently stroking the back of her neck with his other hand. "I'll demonstrate myself, and you can just follow along."
Before Hermione could fully grasp the meaning of his demonstration, Draco kissed her lips and pulled her into the pool.
"Huh?!" Hermione was suddenly pulled underwater, her eyes filled with the shimmering blue water and the sound of rushing water.
And on my lips, I felt Draco's warm touch.
He gently pried open Hermione's teeth underwater, his tongue probing inside, entwining with hers even more deeply.
The resistance of water flow can make all movements appear slow and prolonged, while the human senses are amplified infinitely.
She could feel every caress of Draco's lips and tongue, the tightness of his arms around her, and the intimate contact of their bodies as they swayed in the water.
Oxygen is being exchanged, temperatures are mingling, and it seems even the rhythm of one's heartbeat is synchronized with this tranquil blue landscape.
The underwater kiss didn't last very long, but for Hermione, time seemed to stretch on indefinitely.
When Draco finally embraced her and they resurfaced, Hermione gasped for air, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed red for some reason.
After wiping her wet lips with the back of her hand, her eyes were still a little dazed, but her rationality quickly returned.
"This isn't underwater breathing! You're clearly using this as a pretext for personal gain!" Hermione glared at Draco, who had a smug grin on his face, her eyes filled with the look of utter disbelief.
"Why wasn't it underwater breathing?" Draco wasn't in the wrong; instead, he listed the issues for her one by one.
"First, we are indeed underwater, right?"
"Secondly, you just took a breath, right? I breathed into you, and you breathed into me. Doesn't that count as taking a breath?"
"Combining these two elements—underwater + breathing—what else could it be but underwater breathing? This is the most intuitive, effective, and memorable teaching method I've ever used!"
Finally, Draco deliberately leaned closer to her, adding with a broad smile, "And it works really well! Your face is all rosy now, your blood circulation must be much better."
Hermione was rendered speechless by his fallacious reasoning.
That scoundrel!
Their skin is thicker than the walls of Hogwarts!
But that underwater kiss just now... um... She dared not think about it anymore, afraid that the heat on her face would burn her.
"Nonsense and fallacies! I... I won't learn from you!"
After saying that, as if to hide her embarrassment and excitement, Hermione suddenly turned around and, using the swimming strokes she had just learned, splashed and swam towards the other side of the pool.
Draco found her clumsy swimming style utterly adorable. The swimming lessons were a resounding success and incredibly fun.
As for the proper teaching of underwater breathing...
Hmm, let's talk about it next time.