Author's Notes: Thank you my dear and wonderful readers for your amazingly supportive comments for the last chapter. It was meant to be short, and only gloss over what had almost happened to Hermione. I could not bear to write an actual scene of sexual assault, so its vagueness is on purpose.
I just want to remind you all that this story will probably never be done on a predictable schedule. I might be able to push through a couple of chapters at a time, but as this story is my own form of therapy, it will write itself when the muse is there. Please follow the story to receive the updates as they come.
For all my readers who share the similar burden of mental illness, know I'm sending you all virtual hugs. The creator of this amazing universe suffered as well and it played a huge part in the aspects of the story, so to will, this story be influenced by my own struggles.
I want to encourage all of you if you don't know about it already to check my facebook group Mrsaturtle's Readers where I post additional information or pictures of a scene or anything that I think you would enjoy.
I beta'd this story myself with the use of Premium Grammarly, so if there are any rough areas that is why.
I do not own any part of the characters, locations, or any creations of the Harry Potter universe. I only own the single creation of this story idea.
16 June 1998
Lucius' eyes were glued to the brunette witch beneath him but he saw Remus Lupin rid Antonin Dolohov of his wand, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the werewolf turn his wand onto Lucius, himself. While there could be no doubt that the Brightest Witch of Her Age was in trouble, he didn't blame his old classmate for his suspicion, but he didn't have time for it. He was trying to save her life, why he couldn't really reason through, but he knew he needed to save her.
His wand was moving in furious movements, as he tried to stop the spread of the curse that the Russian wizard had cast on the small witch. A previous wound had already opened up, draining her of blood, causing her body to finally go into shock, and pass out, but now the curse was creating new lines in the witch's pale flesh and she was going from pale to white fast.
"Lupin I need help," Lucius called to the werewolf.
"I need you to say Vulnera Sanentur until the curse starts to slow down. It will not go back, but we must stop it before it reaches her spine." His voice was tight as he recalled watching wizards losing their lives to Dolohov's curse. It had only been because Theodore Nott had been set upon that he and Severus had figured out how to stop the advancement.
The two old schoolmates began the incantation, and Lucius' grey eyes watched as it slowed down, halting it's forward progress as it had begun to snake around her side towards her back. He watched her begin to stir, a soft groan escaping her lips, just as she started screaming.
He pulled back from her then, confused because that was not what had happened, and as soon as he realised that, his eyes opened wide. Lucius woke up and heard a small voice near the side of the bed.
"Master, sir, Missy Hermione is-" Meena, his personal house-elf began to say, as he moved from his supine position to standing in the blink of an eye.
Lucius Malfoy had his grey robe billowing behind him before Meena could begin speaking, but he didn't really need to know what was happening. He could hear it, the witch who's room was across from him was screaming. It was the scream that had woken him up for the past two weeks since the Battle of Hogwarts, it was the scream he was no responsible for calming.
Moving into the witch's room, he took one glance at her before he moved towards her. Hermione Granger's body was drenched in sweat, the soft cotton sheet was wrapped around her like a constrictor and her face was clenched in imaginary pain.
"Meena her dressings," Lucius muttered as he moved to the side of the bed, his wand waving as he removed the binding charm that kept her on the bed. The tiny house-elf dressed in a nightgown hopped onto the bed and wordlessly disappeared the dressings still wrapped around the witch's abdomen. With a look of pain in his eyes, Lucius reached for a calming draught on the nightstand next to the witch's bed. Uncorking it, he coaxed it down her throat, her mind still locked in what he was sure was a nightmare similar to the one he had awoken to.
Meena was now cleansing the deep wounds along Hermione's stomach and sides when the witch tensed. Lucius ducked at the same moment he heard a small pop and the tiny house-elf disappeared. From the witch's hands a bright light erupted, and with it, a tremendous heat the Lucius had only felt once before. As quickly as it had begun, it was over.
Raising himself back up, Meena appeared back on the bed and continued her ministrations as though nothing unusual had happened. Lucius summoned a flannel from the nearby washroom and dunked it in the basin of water beside the nightstand. He then sat on the edge of the bed and began to blot her face with it, ridding her of the sweat. Lucius put his other hand to her cheek and felt the fever burning in her blood. With a curse, he stood and walked to the fireplace, a quick wave of his wand lit the fire, and he dropped floo powder in before sticking his face into the emerald green flames.
In a fireplace across the country, Lucius Malfoy's face appeared, and when he cleared his throat a young witch in lime green robes jumped with a startled cry from the desk across from the fire.
Pansy Parkinson turned and gazed at the flames now licking Lucius' face. "Oh Mr Malfoy, you startled me, what can I do."
"Miss Parkinson, who's on call right now for Miss Granger," Lucius asked, looking thoughtful as he tried to remember the current rotation for Hermione's healers.
"That would be Healer Wittcliff," Pansy answered briskly, knowing that Lucius wasn't one for small talk.
"Please inform him quickly that she's burning with fever again," Lucius didn't wait another second before he pulled his head back out of the fireplace. He raised himself back up and watched for a moment as Meena continued to slowly stitch her wounds back together. It had been only a week since Hermione had been well enough to leave St. Mungo's and Lucius had pleaded with both the Ministry, Shacklebolt and Potter to have her brought to Malfoy Manor.
21 May 1998
Hermione's eyes opened slightly, absorbing the words that were being said to her by the healer, even as a dull ache spread throughout her centre.
"Miss Granger, you are currently well enough to begin at home care and Mr Malfoy has personally asked to be in charge of your care. Mr Potter would like to speak with you about it. We need you lucid enough to make a decision, so we've temporarily lifted your sedation so that he can talk to you and explain things."
Hermione felt someone move next to her, but she closed her eyes as the dull ache began to grow.
"Hermione, I don't have much time before we'll have to sedate you again, but since the Battle and your attack, your magic has been unpredictable and uncontrollable, by all accept Malfoy. Kingsley and I have both interviewed him under veritserum, and he's been tried by the Wizengamont for his crimes in the war, as well as making an unbreakable vow with me." Harry paused, his voice growing distant as the paint continued to rise in her.
Harry cleared his throat and continued, "Lucius has experience dealing with Dolohov's curse when it doesn't kill someone, his house-elf has also made a vow and knows how to heal your wounds. You've been releasing bursts of accidental magic, and have hurt quite a few healers, and only once we allowed Malfoy in the room have the injuries stopped. I'm not a fan of where you're going Hermione but it really does seem like the best place for you right now. I'm sure Malfoy will explain more as you heal but you're going to spend quite a few weeks -," she couldn't hear Harry anymore, as the feel of fire ripping her apart began to overwhelm all sense.
So loud were her screams that Hermione wasn't aware of the blond wizard moving forward, his wand moving furiously as he cast shield charms around all of the inhabitants in the room, even as a heat wave moved out from Hermione and hit him squarely in the chest. He continued to move, calling out for his house-elf, within seconds Meena with her large green eyes, and pristine pink dress appeared next to Lucius. She took in the scene even as her Master doubled over from the shock waves of heat hitting him, and he somehow kept the shields up around the witch.
The house-elf moved quickly, and Hermione's skin which had begun to bleed at the edge of the long wounds that crisscrossed over her abdomen, slowly began to stitch itself back together, the bleeding stopping. Lucius Malfoy stuck out his hand still doubled over and with wandless magic sedated the brunette witch again, her screams finally ceasing.
The shields fell and a healer rushed over to him, "Mr Malfoy please let me look."
"It's fine Lindt," Lucius began before he turned to the black haired and bespeckled wizard who's mouth hung open. "Mr Potter it is time to move her to the Manor before she hurts anyone else. The uncontrollable magic she's exhibiting won't be contained to this room for long, we must get her out of her before she kills anyone else."
Harry Potter nodded, his eyes locked on that of his best friend, ignorant of everything around her, but her face still clenched in pain.
To be continued . . .
