. Chapter 36, Night 6

Hermione

Harry and Ron stared at Ginny's lifeless body and my tearstained cheeks for a few moments before running to our side. Both boys had tears streaming down their own faces now.

They dropped to my side and Harry started shaking Ginny as Ron screamed at her. "Ginny! Ginny wake up! You have to wake up! Please Ginny! Please!"

Harry tried to grab the stitches supplies from my hands, "Come on Ginny, wake up. You'll be okay. Just wake up."

My heart jerked even more as the scene unfolded. I cried harder right along with them as I tried to rasp out, "She's gone. She's gone."

The two continued to cry and shake and scream until finally Harry pulled her lifeless body into his arms and sobbed harder still. Ron placed his head on his lifeless sister's back. And then we were all holding each other and Ginny.

We stayed like that forever. The sky was darkening before the sobbing stopped. We all stayed in our small huddle, completely silent until Ron stood and faced me. His form was towering over me as his expression darkened, "What the hell happened here?"

And that was the question I had been dreading. I didn't know how to answer. She had been trying to kill me, but I couldn't ruin their image of Ginny like that. The last thing they'd seen her do was run into the woods with me, laughing. That was the image I wish I still had of her. But the last thing I'd seen had been much darker. I saw her running at me with a knife whenever I looked to her lifeless body.

Ron screamed at me again, "What the bloody hell happened here Hermione!?"

"I…I don't know." It was the closest thing to the truth I could muster. I really didn't know what had happened. Ginny just suddenly attacked me. And I didn't know where Draco came from at all. He was just suddenly there. "We got separated. And…and then I found her like…like this…"

Ron started yelling again, "Why did you leave her in the first place!? You two were supposed to be together!"

I tried to repeat that we were separated, but I was cut off by Harry quietly saying, "Stop yelling at her. She never would've hurt Ginny on purpose. Or got her hurt."

Ron continued glaring at me as I spoke again, "We should leave. Maybe somehow they will get Ginny's body so that she can be buried."

Harry nodded slowly, but he refused to move. Ron and I slowly took hold of his hands and pried them away from Ginny's body. And as we all started to walk away, I took one last look at the girl who had formerly been my best friend, who had almost become my killer, and whispered goodbye.

The boys and I walked through the woods slowly, pain in each of our hearts and etched on our faces. We finally stopped when the light had faded to the point that we could see no more. And then the voice boomed through the arena for the night, "Good evening tributes. On this sixth day of the Tournament of Magic two tributes have fallen, Hannah Abbott and Ginevra Weasley. Four Gryffindors, one Hufflepuff, three Ravenclaws, and four Slytherins remain. Goodnight and good luck tomorrow."

I could barely make out the shape of Ron standing as the voice finished. Then I heard his voice screaming into the air, "Are you happy now?! Have you taught your lesson yet?! My little sister is dead because of you bastards! You want to teach people a lesson by making us the thing you're trying to tell people not to become! Well I'm sick of your little game! I'm done playing!" And then I heard him sobbing again.

I moved to comfort him, but he pushed me off muttering, "Don't touch me." I so badly wanted to tell him that I was sorry about Ginny, that I had done everything I could. But I knew I couldn't do that. It would be a bold faced lie.

As Ron continued to push me away, I made the decision to climb into a tree for the night. I finally found a comfortable limb to sleep on for the night and I fell fast asleep with my backpack under my head and my blanket covering me.

My nightmares had changed constantly since entering the arena. Tonight's nightmare featured the events of the day. Over and over I saw Ginny lunge at me. And over and over I saw the light leave her eyes. I heard my screams, and I heard my friends' screams and cries.

Finally the nightmare changed. I repeatedly heard Harry calling my name as explosions sounded around me. The ground shook and I repeatedly heard crashing. The sound was familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

As I stared at Ginny's body inside my nightmare for the hundredth time, I began to be splashed with water as Harry screamed my name louder. And then I connected it all. It was a storm, and Harry was calling for me in the real world.

I jumped awake. Sheets of rain fell from the sky. Not only was the rain cold, but the air as well. I felt little beads of hail slapping me in the face accompanied by the splashing water. Thunder resounded all around and the sky repeatedly lit up with lightning. Everywhere I looked lightning struck.

Above the roar of the storm I could barely make out Ron yelling, "We have to go Harry! She's already gone! She would've come down already! We have to get somewhere with more cover!"

I couldn't see the two. There was far too much rain to see anything. I tried to yell, "Harry! Ron! I'm here! I'm coming!" But the storm was too loud. Just as I began to climb down from the tree, lightning struck the limb I had been sitting in. It missed me by mere inches, but I came crashing down from the tree.

The landing was harsh and painful, but I rose from the ground quickly. Harry and Ron were gone, and I had no idea which way they had gone. One of my worst nightmare had come true. They abandoned me.

Lightning struck near me yet again and I took off running. The lightning was far too close and far too sporadic to stay in the open. As I ran I could feel the ground growing soggier and my feet sloshing through water accumulating on the ground. I had to find higher ground. Because the ground was flooding fast.

I continued running. The air was so cold and the water only made it worse. My limbs were going numb and my hearing already felt like it was gone from the thunder. Each bolt of lightning blinded me. The water was up to nearly my knees when I tripped over something.

A bright strike of lightning caused bright blonde hair to reflect back at me. I froze. Draco. He was unconscious and his head was barely above the water. I could see him bleeding from a gash on his forehead and blood was seeping into the water around him. It wasn't a large amount, but enough to be bad.

I had to make a choice. I didn't have long before the lightning would strike the water and electrocute us both. I also didn't have long before the water covered Draco. I had to make my decision fast. And it hit me, why was I even contemplating this?

I grabbed Draco under the arms and wrapped my arm around him. Carrying him made it even harder and slower to trudge through the water. I knew carrying Draco was lessening my chances of making it to safety, but I had to. He had saved my life. I owed him this much.

Just as I began to grow too tired to attempt to run anymore, the lightning lit up what appeared to be a small cave. A smile engulfed my face and I felt my energy renew. I ran for the cave, pulling Draco with me.

We didn't enter the cave a moment too soon, as lightning struck the water right where I had just been standing. A wave of relief washed through me and I pulled Draco further from the opening.

I laid him down, giving him my soaked blanket as a pillow. I checked to make sure he was breathing and let out a sigh of relief. He was indeed breathing.

Both of us were shivering and shaking from the cold. I grabbed my supplies from my backpack and began to stitch the wound on Draco's forehead. As I did so, I heard a loud pop resound from behind me.

I turned to find a package. The label read "For Hermione. Mr. Ollivander." I unwrapped the package quickly and pulled out a bundle of dry firewood and matches. My hands shook as I tried to light the matches, but I eventually managed. The fire sprang to life as the match touched the firewood.

I pulled Draco closer to the fire and I moved to remove his jacket to check for any other wounds. He had a few cuts on his arms, but nothing too serious. I covered a slightly deeper cut with some wet gauze, hoping it would at least help a little.

There was a distinctively darker spot on his dark green shirt. When I noticed this, I pulled Draco's shirt up to see what had been causing the darkness. His lifted shirt revealed a rather large gash. Wood splinters surrounded the cut, and a stick was stuck in it.

I took a deep breath, trying to decide what to do. As gingerly as I could, I placed my hands on either side of the stick and pushed gently to get an idea of how deep the stick was lodged. It only seemed to be about two inches in when I decided I would have to pull it out to stitch the wound.

Draco's face contorted with pain as I pulled the stick out quickly and carefully. As I stitched.

When I finished working, I moved to the mouth of the small cave to wash my hands in the rain. It worked quickly and I retreated back to the fire beside Draco.

I looked at him as he slept and I couldn't help but wonder yet again why he had saved me. I found myself laughing in my mind. I'd swore he couldn't become my friend, and yet, here I was. Risking my safety to save his life, and taking care of his wounds, just as I would Harry or Ron.

I tried to sleep, but found it difficult. There was far too much going on in my mind. Far too much had happened in such a short time. Ginny had tried to kill me. Draco had killed Ginny. I dad Draco run. Harry and Ron left me. I had saved Draco. My mind just continued to spin and spin until I heard a slight groan beside me.

I quickly sat up and moved closer to Draco who muttered, "Where am I?"

I almost chuckled to myself, "You're in a cave in the arena."

His eyes opened slowly, "Hermione?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah." He tried to sit up and yelped in pain. I gently urged him to lay back down. "Try not to move. You got some pretty nasty wounds."

"Why are you here?"

"I saved you. When I found you, you were almost under water from the storm. I brought you here with me."

"Why?"

I paused for a moment, "I guess there are two reasons really." He stared at me expectantly, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath, "First, I owed you. You saved my life and it was only right I returned the favor. And…and you're my friend Draco."

His eyes widened in surprise for a minute before a small smile came to his lips. He gave a very light chuckle before speaking. "So much for you'll kill me if you see me again huh."

I gave a small smile back and gave a half-hearted laugh. He was right. It was kind of funny.

We sat in silence for a bit before Draco said, "Thank you. For…saving me."

I knew the words were hard for him to say. He was a very prideful person, and I knew he disliked needing to be rescued. I nodded to him before he continued, "The last thing I remember was I was in a tree. And the storm started. I was trying to climb down when I saw the lightning, but I lost my footing. I felt something stab my side and then I felt myself hit the ground. I guess it knocked me out."

I nodded, "I stitched you up in a few places. You hit your head pretty hard and got a gash. And I stitched you up where the stick stabbed you. I put some gauze on your arm scrapes too."

"Thank you Hermione. For everything. I really do appreciate it."

"You're welcome Draco."

We sat in silence again until, yet again, Draco broke it. "I…I'm sorry about your friend. I didn't want to hurt her. Honestly. I didn't want to hurt anyone in here. I just wanted to keep you safe. And when she went after you again, it was what I had to do. I'm so, so sorry."

I looked over at him and could see tears in his eyes. I knew he meant it. Draco talked with me before we came in about not wanting to hurt anybody. I couldn't resist the sudden urge to reach over and take hold of his hand. I gave it a small squeeze and he squeezed back. I whispered to him, "It's okay. I believe you. I…I trust you." And I knew it was true. I did trust him.

I finally laid back down and looked to Draco, who was already falling back to sleep. We both needed sleep. I never noticed the fact that I was still holding his hand.

Remaining Tributes: Team 1- Ron Weasley, Team 3- Draco Malfoy & Hermione Granger, Team 4- Harry Potter & Pansy Parkinson, Team 5- Anthony Goldstein, Team 6- Gregory Goyle, Team 7- Terry Boot, Team 8- Vincent Crabbe & Luna Lovegood, Team 9- Neville Longbottom, Team 11- Zacharias Smith

Author's Note: Hey guys! Don't forget to like, comment, follow! You're all amazing and thanks so much for reading! This story will finally have some more Dramione action coming up, so keep reading! But remember, plot armor is non-existent in this story! -ZutaraDramione97-