Chapter 25: Love's Agony

Matthew held me forcefully to his chest as I cringed against his body, contemplating what was to come.

"Forgive me for everything that I am going to do in the next few seconds," Matthew whispered frantically in my ear. "I have no choice, Hermione, and I was hoping that you'd never have to see me like this."

I had no time to react; the panic of both the Death Eaters and the wild vampires had started before I even got a good enough look at the… the person that I loathed more than everyone else in the world and whom I was truly and utterly petrified of.

"Seize them!" Voldemort's cold voice boomed as a mass scramble broke out around us, the forest floor underfoot shaking.

I felt Matthew's hard grasp on me break as he launched forward into the air, knocking the closest of the Death Eaters to the ground.

"Stupefy!" I yelled in a desperate attempt to stun some of the other Death Eaters who were feet away from delivering me to presumable death.

"Hermione, move!" Matthew bellowed, as he knocked two of Death Eaters unconscious and flung their limp bodies in my direction.

I dived out of the way just in time and, with Ron's limited help, managed to haul Harry into standing position as unfathomable pain seared throughout his whole body, as it usually did when Voldemort was near.

"Run!" Harry gasped, still clutching his scar, his body almost crumpling to the ground once again.

"I can't leave Matthew!" I yelled, spells rolling off my tongue rapidly to try and protect the three of us.

"Run!" Volverro shouted, looking in my direction while tackling one of the Death Eaters to the ground. "We'll take care of this lot and Voldemort – save yourselves!"

It was only then that I realised that Volverro and the other four wild vampires weren't also trying to capture and kill us (it was very hard to tell as everything was happening so incredibly fast) but that they were actually helping us.

Matthew and two of the beautiful vampires were successfully fending off the Death Eaters who were still on their feet, as others lay on the ground, their limbs apparently broken. The other two vampires were closing in on Voldemort, who was grinning, amused.

Within seconds, a huge, red bubble eluded from the tip of Voldemort's wand, surrounding him and seemingly protecting him from the savage vampires.

Looking at him was like looking at Death himself; his bloodshot eyes were almost bulging out of their black sockets in concentration, his skull practically visible under the incredibly thin layer of grey skin that sat on top of it. There was a large, black cape draped over his thin, bony shoulders, his scrawny body shaking with the effort of casting a spell that appeared to be extremely dark magic – what spell in the world could stop vampires? His breath constantly rattled as he struggled to breath through the tiny slits he had for nostrils. He looked too weak and fragile to do much more than to utter spells that would undoubtedly cause mass destruction and death. This played in our favour; it wasn't as if he could run over and catch us himself – we needed to be delivered to him.

All in all, he looked more inhumane than I had ever imagined.

"We have to kill him!" Harry spat, running blindly in the direction of the fight. "I won't let him get away with this – we have to fight –"

"Stay back!" Volverro shouted, tackling another two Death Eaters to the ground. "It's too dangerous!"

Matthew appeared by my side and gripped me by the shoulders.

"For Merlin's sake, Hermione, get yourself out of here now!" he ordered angrily, whipping his head back and forth to make sure that the other vampires were winning their individual brawls. "Run to the left and I will catch up with you – we've only three more Death Eaters to defeat and then we will finish that good for nothing turnip face off! So please, leave – now, Hermione, run –"

"I can help –"

"Hermione, run that way – now! I'm not prepared to risk your death –"

"I'm not prepared to risk yours which is why I'm not –"

"And these vampires could turn on us in any second – it's too dangerous –"

"They won't turn on us! They're good –"

"Hermione, listen to me! If you don't move now –"

"Which I'm not –"

"Then I'll have to move you myself!"

He threw me aggressively over his shoulder and ran – ran like I've never seen him run before, possibly more than one hundred miles per hour – through the forest, far away from where the action was happening, thick, green foliage hitting me in the face every couple of steps.

He dropped me onto the ground, in a place that seemed like the middle of nowhere, and brushed the snagged branches and leaves off me.

"I'm sorry, I really am. The school is just down there – find a teacher – just run where Voldemort can't find you –"

He shot off like a bullet down the path that we had taken, leaving me damp and alone, unguarded.

I got to my feet, furious, and wondered what the hell I should do.

There was obviously no going back – I guessed I was several miles away from the fight, at least. My train of thought was broken before it could really begin as I heard rustling in the trees. I think I stopped breathing.

Before I knew it, Harry and Ron landed in a heap beside me.

Matthew's face was irritated, different from its usual self. He swiftly kissed me on the cheek and dashed off once more to fight a battle that I so desperately wanted to be part of.

Harry and Ron were panting and I didn't blame them; being on Matthew's person whilst he ran at such an alarming speed was enough to give anyone a heart attack. Thankfully, we were all well acquainted with danger.

"What do we do now?" I raged, kicking the ground. "How does he expect us to help kill that – that monster if we're miles away from where -"

"He doesn't want you to fight!" Harry gasped, scrambling to his feet. "He wants to protect you – don't you get it? He's acting out of love!"

"I'm acting out of love. I want him to stay bloody well away from that murderer! If they don't finish him off, he'll feed Matthew to the Death Eaters for supper and double back to collect you, like the Death Eaters said and –"

"Thanks for the reassurance," he mumbled. "But seriously, Hermione, I doubt Voldemort will be able to finish off six bloodthirsty vampires by himself. I reckon we've got him this time. I reckon they'll kill him."

"And what if that doesn't happen?!" I yelled. "Where are we when Matthew and the others need our help? We can't perform the killing curse one hundred miles away from –"

"Stop arguing!" Ron shouted, acting as an arbitrator between Harry and I. "There is a very angry man and a large number of his followers in this forest and lots of other dangerous creatures that I don't want to think about right now, and I'm pretty sure they'll hear us and finish us off if we don't shut up and try to act as calm as possible!"

My hands balled up into fists out of pure frustration and I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Well, what in the world do we do then?" I whispered mockingly.

Ron scratched his head. He looked around him, thinking calmly amidst the terror.

"I reckon," he said after a few seconds, "that we head for the school, like Matthew said, and get a teacher who can contact Dumbledore and get everyone out of this mess. There's no other option, unless you'd rather sit here and be eaten by wild beasts."

I pursed my lips tightly. I, too, could see no other way out of the situation.

"Fine," I snapped, walking a brave pace ahead of the boys. "But if my boyfriend gets killed let it be on your heads for the rest of your lives –"

I screamed.

I screamed very, very loud.

Pain which was mystifyingly coming from my left wrist blasted through my veins like a raging fire, causing me to fall to the ground in unbearable agony.

I writhed on the ground, my vision blurring, begging someone to make it go away – somehow – whatever it was – the pain.

It seared across my chest and up my spinal cord, uncontrollably, agonizingly –

A pale face came level with mine on the ground, a cruel, sadistic smile spread widely across its lower half.

Even through the excruciating pain, there was no mistaking it:

It was Draco Malfoy's face… and there was shining, crimson blood smeared all around his lips.

…Have you guessed what's just happened yet?

I guess we're sort of at the climax of the story now – It's crazy to think that I wasn't sure if I would even make it past one chapter at the start!

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Thanks for reading, as always