A/N- Hey guys! I've loved the response I've gotten so far! It's so encouraging, I can't thank you guys enough! And keep it coming, I love to hear anything you have to say, good or bad. So without further ado, here is the second chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter Two
It had started out as a low muffle, a sound cutting through the darkness that I had been induced into. It was soft at first, but then it grew louder and more prominent, pushing everything else in my being out of focus. It was the only thing I could hear, or feel. It was the only thing I ever wanted to feel. The darkness pushed thick around me, but I fought it off, craving the sound, needing the sound. After a moment, I could make it out as a voice. There were two voices actually, but only one of importance. As my mind became clearer, I realize that one of the voices belongs to the woman who had been here earlier. I knew her name, but it seemed of little importance at the moment, because the other voice, was heaven, and it was slowly pulling me forward.
"Well, whatever the case, I still think it's completely insane. I do wonder who his mate is, poor babe."
It was like a light switch. She spoke the word, and I knew it to be true. Mate. She was my mate. There couldn't be a truer thing in the world. It was no longer hard to fight the darkness. It all flowed away suddenly, and I was thrashing, fighting to get to it, to her, the one thing that would make my being complete. Those damn chains were holding me back, but I knew I could break them, crush them in the palm of my hand if I had to. I needed her.
And then it was like a cool oasis washed over me. It was a light touch, insignificant coming from anyone else, but from her, it was everything. My head was clear of any drug they had put in my system, because they were no longer needed. This was the only drug I needed, the only high I would ever need for the rest of my life. My hand moved, seeking out more skin, anything to attach myself to her. And for the first time I was able to open my eyes and see her form.
Red, it was all I could see, all I could take it. Her whole form was glowing in an aura of red passion and delight. She had pale skin, and a face sprinkled with freckles that could have been stars with the way they sparkled in my eyes. There was something familiar about her, but I couldn't place it in this moment in time. It didn't matter anyways. Anything in her past was over with. She was his now, his to protect, his to love, his to procreate with. Oh, he could almost visualize it now. Her form, big with belly, glowing with that same red passion, but also glowing with something else, something only he could provide, happiness, and contentment. She would feel all of those things and more.
The other woman was speaking words, but he was having a hard time hearing them through the sound of his mate's racing heartbeat. But a few words did manage to slip through. "Calm… Ginny… Not himself… nothing drastic." Only one of these words made sense to him. Ginny, that must be her name. That spark of recognition flared up again, as this time I was able to connect it to a source. Ginny, a girl he had gone to school with, a girl he had taunted, a Weasley. His heart immediately ached for the mistakes he had made in his past. No matter, though. They meant nothing now. All that mattered was his future, their future. Then as quickly as my euphoria came, it diminished. All it took was a few words.
"No." My angel spoke, in a hoarse voice, as though fighting through tears. "No, I won't do it. I can't do it, Hermione. I will not be his mate!"
The most excruciating pain I ever felt spread throughout my entire body, starting as my toes and quickly engulfing my heart. No, I had been rejected. That life, that happiness, was all gone in an instant, and now there was no need to live. The darkness crept again, but this time I knew it was not because of drugs, but because I was dying.
"Ginny what have you done?" His hand had dropped from her wrist and his whole body went limp before my eyes. Ginny backed away, putting as much space between her and Malfoy, until her back was pressed up against the very back of the door. Tears were streaming down her face, and her whole body physically shook. In normal circumstances, I would have comforted her, but with a dying patient in front of me, I couldn't trifle with silly matters such as that.
"What was I supposed to do, Hermione? I can't live that life! I can't be stuck to Malfoy! What about Harry? What about our lives together?" She was screaming too at this point, both of us frantically trying to make our points known.
"But you didn't have to do it like that, right in the moment of his realization! Didn't you read any of the information on Veela's during your healer training? There are things that could have been done, ways you could've reversed it! Now you've gone and killed him of a broken heart!"
"I didn't…" Malfoy's machines were going crazy, and the rest of Ginny's words were drown out. I would deal with her later, but for now my first priority would have to be the man who was quickly dying in front of me.
"Just leave!" I shouted at her. "Go! You're officially off this case! You speak to no one, you do nothing, until I come find you, understand! Go!" And with that she fled the room. My harsh words couldn't be contemplated at the moment, even though I felt a twinge of guilt at them already. Ginny was still an intern, and is bound to make mistakes. But I had specifically requested her on this case, entrusted her among all others, and she risked the life of my patient, by letting personal matters interfere. While the events had been shocking, within the walls of this hospital you had to be a Healer first, and a person second, and that meant being able to put your emotions aside in the face of the most shocking circumstances. Ginny had forgotten of the primary elements of medicine, and now Malfoy was suffering for that.
I moved quickly, tilting Malfoy's head back, checking his breath sounds. They were ragged at best. His hear beat was rising at a dangerous rate, and wouldn't be able to hold it's course without giving out. I had to think. None of my forms of medical magic would work, and at this point I doubted any of my muggle ones would either. Veela magic is powerful, especially concerning their mates. And if a rejected Veela was determined to die, there was not much in the world an ordinary person could do to help them. But, I'm not an ordinary person. I'm Hermione Granger. I helped defeat the dark lord. I am the youngest full certified healer in St. Mungos history. And I was going to save the life of Draco Malfoy.
If medical magic and muggle remedies could not cure him, the only options left were dark magic, or powerful old magic that is rarely used, for good reason. Back when magic was young, wizards had yet to grasp the flexibility of magic. Because it was so new, they did not trifle with small errands, like cleaning or cooking spells, but rather created incantations concerning life and death. They could stop a death, but only if extreme measures were taken. In today's society, such measures are unnecessary. However, in this situation I could think of nothing else.
I drew a deep breath in as the perfect spell came to me. I had come across it before Harry and Ginny's wedding, when researching the customs of wizarding weddings. It was going to be my first time seeing Ron in over two years, and I had wanted to be prepared as not to look foolish by forgetting something completely traditional. For wizards, it would be completely useless for preventing death, but for a Veela, it just might work. But there were heavy consequences to consider, on both her and Malfoy's behalf. But without a life, how could Malfoy even voice an opinion? And would I forever be haunted by the fact that I could have saved his life and consciously decided not to?
Malfoy took a labored breath, and in the moment I decided. I was a healer. It would be unethical for me to stand here and watch a patient die due to my reservations about a spell. Hadn't I just yelled at Ginny for doing just that? I took Malfoy's hand and began chanting, lowly at first, but as the magic coursed through me, my words began to get louder, more powerful, as if they weren't even my words any longer. I felt Malfoy's magic to, resisting, but finally conforming to the ancient words, bending to there will. And for a moment I lost myself in it all, before suddenly being snapped back into reality.
Everything was different. I hadn't been expecting that, such a drastic change so quickly. But it was. The ground I walked on felt different. The air I breathed felt different. It was as if my sensations had been let loose for the first time. And after a moment, I looked down at Malfoy, who had begun to stabilize, and our hands that were still joined together. And I couldn't help but wonder, what the hell did I just do?