Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.
Draco's POV
I see her shoot up, flying straight up, out of the corner of my eye and I fail to stop the bludger from clipping Blaise. I whirl around on my broom and realize that there's no way she'll regain control. I shoot a freezing charm at the bludgers since I thought it would be a good idea to bring my wand with me while flying today. Thankfully it works and I fly as fast as possible to her.
At the back of my mind I know that this is the fastest that I've ever flown before but that doesn't matter right now. All that I care about right now is getting Hermione back safely.
Even at the speed I'm flying at right now, I might be just a little too slow to reach her. She's a lot further away than I thought, and she's falling impossibly fast.
I can hear the rushing of wind in my ears and my heart is beating wildly in my chest. I'm so close now. I can hear her screams echoing; they bring me back to that night in the Manor. Her lying on floor in agony while I just stood and watched. I can't let her down now.
Just as I push a little more speed, and I reach out towards her, time slows down. I know what's going to happen before it does. I can see the fear in her eyes and I know that I've failed. In a last attempt, I reach out my hand towards her.
Suddenly time speeds up again and she falls out of range, her body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. At the speed I'm flying, and the direction that I'm headed in, I'm going to hit the ground at quite a high speed. I pull my broom up as far as possible and curl up to avoid any injuries. I fall off of my broom and roll, letting the ground absorb the force of my fall.
Once I've stopped moving and I've stabilized myself, regaining my balance, I practically sprint over to where Hermione lies. I can see the rest of our friends land their brooms a few feet away, rushing over to see what happened.
Kneeling in the dirt beside her, I can see that her left arm and her right leg are twisted at very unnatural angles. Her right arm is half pinned underneath her torso and she's sort of lying on her side. Her hair is splayed across her face and the ground, the sunlight above us somehow glancing off it in such a way to make her look beautiful in her broken state. At a first glance I can't tell if she's breathing or not, and my own becomes erratic and shaky. I lean forward and check her pulse; the soft beating of it scaring me a bit but filling me with relief at the same time. The sign of vitality comforts me. As I lean back, I can see a curl of her soft and golden hair flutter slightly, indicating that she's breathing.
I'm afraid to move her since I know she'll be in a very fragile state right now. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I caused her any more harm.
By now, our friends have caught up and I hear an array of gasps and exclamations from them.
Seemingly from far away, I hear Ginny saying that she'll "go get Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall" but when I look up, I see that she's right next to me, crouching, with tears shining in her eyes and worry etched into her face.
No one says anything. We all just wait and stare. All I can see in my mind is the image of Hermione starting to fall, followed by the look of utter terror that was so plainly shown on her face, and finally a complete sense of failure and guilt. It just repeats endlessly.
Suddenly I'm snapped out of my reverie by a sharp slap to the face. At first I'm reminded of the time in our third year when she punched me, quite solidly, in the nose. But as my vision, and head clears, I see that this time it is Blaise who hit me, much to the shock of Neville, Ron, Luna, and Pansy. I rub my jaw and glare at him.
"What was that for, Blaise?" I snap; for some reason I'm just filled with fury.
"She isn't dead mate so stop moping. Let's try to do something useful instead."
His words make sense, she's just injured from what I could see… which makes me wonder how she's still alive.
"Wait, how come she isn't… dead?" Neville flinches at my words, but now that I'm thinking more critically I don't really notice, and ignore it. "Considering how far she fell, she shouldn't have survived it. She might as well have fallen from the top of the stands, if not higher."
Ron speaks up, though he's clearly shaken as well. "Well although we were a little further away than you, I was worried about you reaching her in time. So I cast a cushioning charm on the ground below her, just before she hit it. I guess it didn't work quite as well as I had hoped." I move quickly, before my brain can process what I'm doing.
I give Ron a quick, firm hug. "Thank you so much. Thank you for saving her." I'm almost choked up when I say this and he gives me a weak smile in return, his stress and fear plain on his face.
"I loved her too once, and she never stopped being one of my best friends despite what I've done. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."
"While the beginning bit doesn't make me feel very comfortable, I'm just a little too drained to care right now. It's your lucky day Weasley." I say with a bit of dry humour. Pansy snorts in amusement but none of us really feel it.
Right at that moment Ginny arrives back, with Madam Pomfrey and Headmistress McGonagall hot on her heels.
"Oh my!" Gasps Madam Pomfrey and she immediately bends down next to Hermione and begins to examine her.
When she's taken the scene in properly, McGonagall turns her stern but also worried look in my direction. I know she feels more than a little shocked by what she's seen. "Mr. Malfoy, what exactly happened her? Miss Weasley was not overly informative, or even coherent, when she came to fetch Poppy and I." She says, concern evident in her voice.
"Well we were playing Quidditch after teaching Neville, Hermione, Luna, And Pansy how to fly with a bit more confidence. Hermione was Seeker so she was off a little further from the group to look for Snitch. Next thing we knew, she had screamed and she shot up before falling off the broom and then… I tried to catch up and stop her fall but I wasn't… I wasn't... " I stop and take a deep breath before I start crying in front of my professor and my friends. "I wasn't fast enough. Ron managed to cast a cushioning charm which seems to have helped, but it was still quite a drop. I shouldn't have pushed so much. It's my fault. I knew she wasn't that comfortable yet, but I let my wants get in the way and cloud my judgement."
"No Draco stop." Says Ginny. "You weren't the only one. I pushed just as hard if not more. It's not just your fault. But we also need to focus on what happens next." I smile in gratitude at her before Madam Pomfrey interrupts.
"I agree Ms. Weasley. Which is why, Minerva, I'm going to need you to levitate Ms. Granger when I say. We have to be careful not to change her position since any excess movement could cause her a lot of harm and could worsen her injuries quite a bit. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley, could you please keep on eye on Minerva and myself while we levitate Ms. Granger? We'll need you to give us directions so we don't bump into anything."
"Ms. Parkinson, Mr. Zabini, and Mr. Weasley, could the two of you clear the way for us? We would like to avoid too many students seeing this and asking lots of questions." Adds the Headmistress. "Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom, could the two of you return the Quidditch equipment to Madam Hooch as well? Thank you."
Luna, Neville, Blaise, Pansy, and Ron all set upon their tasks and Ginny and I turn to Madam Pomfrey.
"On the count of three Minerva. One, two, three!" She says. Hermione's body is slowly lifted up and thankfully nothing moves.
Ginny and I guide the two women up to the hospital wing, and the whole journey is just extremely stressful for me. Madam Pomfrey still hasn't told us anything about her current state which is worrying me since I know that she must have some guesses as to Hermione's injuries already.
Once we're in the wing, we guide them to a bed in the back corner, similar to where the two of us recovered after the airport fiasco. It seems like a lifetime ago now. It's also near where I recovered after Ron attacked us. Now I have to worry about Hermione instead of her worrying about me. I almost wish we hadn't switched roles.
Madam Pomfrey has started rushing around like usual and she sends Ginny and I outside where we find everyone else waiting. They're huddled by the door and they seem eager to find out what's happened so far.
"How is she?" Asks Ron as soon as they notice us. His head shot up as soon as he saw we were here.
"We're not really sure. They got us to leave before they did anything."
"Oh okay." He looks quite disappointed and looks down at his hands, wringing them.
We all gather on the ground by the entrance and slowly we start to chat. We're not as energetic and crazy as usual, but we talk so we don't go crazy. Ron, Ginny, and I are substantially more subdued than usual but no one comments about it.
"Guys, it's a bit late. We should get lunch. Hermione wouldn't want us to starve while we wait. Though I mean she's also happily do that in our place. But you guys know how bossy she can be. It would be better to just eat so she doesn't lecture us on it when she wakes up." I laugh involuntarily. I miss her bossing me around. Wow. It hasn't even been a day yet and I'm already making it sound like she's dead. How on earth did she cope when I was in the Hospital Wing?
"Ginny's right. Let's go get some food quickly so we don't miss anything." I say. Slowly everyone agrees, but I can see Ron is extremely reluctant to leave.
"Hey Weasley, if you want to stay I'll bring some food for you. Anything in particular you want?"
He looks up and smiles. "Thanks Malfoy. I'll just have some chicken and mashed potatoes." I nod and make a note to get a larger portion of each for him since he eats a lot.
We head to the Great Hall and get a plate of food each before going back to the hospital wing. Just as we get there McGonagall comes out looking quite weary.
"Headmistress-"
"How's Herm-"
"What happen-"
"How is s-"
She holds up her hands and shushes all of us. She glares at us and we all become silent. None of us want to mess with her when she's cranky, not matter how worried we are about our friend. Her gaze softens a bit and puts down the wand she drew when we started crowding around her.
"She's resting now. You can all come back tomorrow. Madam Pomfrey can give you a better idea of what happened. That's all for today." When Ginny opens her mouth, McGonagall turns her sharp expression on her. "I said that's all. I'm rather tired right now so if you'll excuse me." She then walks past us.
As she walks past however, she quietly slips me a piece of paper. I slip it into a pocket in my robes before turning to the others.
"We should do as McGonagall says." I say to them. They all nod reluctantly but we all agree. It's better that we go anyway since most of us do still have homework to complete. "If you guys want, we can check on her tomorrow morning since it's Sunday." I say. I think it would be best so we can get everything finished tonight and we can look forward to tomorrow.
We decide to meet back here tomorrow right after breakfast, around 9. Once we all start leaving, I rush up to my dorm.
When I finally arrive and get through the portrait, I pull out the note that McGonagall passed me. It was very hastily written on a yellowed and crinkled scrap of parchment, though it could have easily been crinkled from being in my pocket and being passed.
Meet me as soon as possible at my office - H. M. MG.
I don't know why she wants to see me but it's already been a while and I shouldn't keep her waiting. I rush back out the portrait and hurry through the hallways yet again. I arrive breathlessly at the stairs and gasp out 'maps'. Heavy stone shifts on the ground as the griffin statue turns, revealing the stairs leading directly up to McGonagall's office.
I reach the top of the stairs and knock just as the door opens to McGonagall.
"Oh! There you are Mr. Malfoy. I was beginning to wonder if you really did get my note. Well come on in I guess, take a seat in front of my desk." She gestures to the chairs that I've frequented a number of times and I follow her in.
Now that I'm here, I feel quite nervous. I presume that she's called me here to talk about Hermione, but I don't know anything else besides that.
"I asked you here since you're the other head student and you two seem to be somewhat involved with each other." I interrupt her briefly.
"Actually Headmistress, we were but aren't anymore. We're just good friends now." She nods.
"Perhaps that is better. Romantic involvement between Head students doesn't always work very well in terms of completing their tasks and fulfilling their duties to the school and of their position. Now, as you know, Ms. Granger is in a stable condition. However she injured quite badly. Thankfully we were able to heal most of it through potions and spells, but it will take a while for her muscles to relax and for her internal organs to recover from that drop. She'll probably be a little tired and groggy for the next few days due to the potions we're making her take and her body will want her to rest so it can mend itself."
"So she's mostly okay then?" She smiles at me.
"Yes she is. I got a call from Madam Pomfrey earlier that Hermione is awake. Would you like to come with me to check up on her?"
At first I'm shocked. I didn't think that I'd get to see her today. I also didn't think that she'd be awake even if we were allowed to visit.
"Yes please. That would be great."
"In that case let's go." We both stand up and exit McGonagall's office. We walk down the griffin stairs and when we make it to the main hallway the statue shifts back into place, blocking the entrance.
We take the Grand staircase down to the hospital wing since it's the fastest and most straightforward route. When we eventually reach the first floor and then the hospital wing my feet have started to feel a little tired. When I eventually get to my room tonight, I'm going to go straight to bed and let my body rest.
McGonagall pushes open the large oak doors after knocking once and I follow her in.
The wing is illuminated by the small torches on the walls, but the flames aren't very large since it's only the afternoon outside right now and a little bit cloudy. There are two students on the cots closer to the door, each of them sporting a different set of rather nasty boils. They must have gotten into a fight.
As we get closer to Hermione, who like usual is near the back, I can hear Madam Pomfrey ranting to her. Hermione herself looks a little sheepish and tired but otherwise seems to be much better than earlier on the pitch.
"Really Ms. Granger. I expected more from you. If you and Mr. Malfoy keep this up you'll be rivalling Mr. Potter with the number of visits to my Hospital Wing in one school year. Honestly. It's like you students have nothing better to do than get yourselves hurt these days." Madam Pomfrey continues muttering to herself about how reckless we are and how she 'expected more from the Head students'.
I have the decency to blush as we're now next to her bed and Madam Pomfrey pauses what she's doing to glare at me.
When I finally muster the courage to look away I turn to Hermione.
"Hi." I say. Very awkwardly. Now that I'm here in front of her I don't know what to do. My mind is going blank and I can feel McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey staring at the two of us rather intently.
"Hi." She replies, looking just as awkward as myself.
"I'm sorry I couldn't reach you in time. I should have been paying more att-"
"Stop! Please Draco. Don't blame yourself. I should have known better than to push myself like that. If I really didn't want to do it I wouldn't have let you guys get that far. I was kind of curious to try flying. It is one of my goals to learn to fly. I guess today just isn't it." She looks down and stares a little sadly at her lap.
"We still shouldn't have pushed you like that though. I am sorry and you can't change that."
"Fine, but it's alright. I'm still here." She smiles at me and I feel like my insides are melting. I suddenly feel relief and pure happiness flood through me. Without thinking I lean forward and hug her as tightly as possible.
"Draco! Oh! Help... I can't... Breathe… Draco… stop…" When I register what she's saying and what I just did I immediately let go and step back. My cheeks heat up and I stare rather intently at my black school shoes.
"Sorry. That was a bit much. I shouldn't have done that. Great, and now I'm rambling and I should probably shut up now."
"It's fine Draco." Says Hermione rather exasperatedly.
I just continue blushing.
Madam Pomfrey and the Headmistress choose to leave at this point leaving Hermione and I in our embarrassment. Just as they leave Madam Pomfrey says that I can stay till 9:45, but a second later.
"So how are you feeling right now? Because surely you don't feel that great." I finally ask, in an attempt to change the topic.
She lets out a groan of frustration.
"I've been keeping my spirits up around Madam Pomfrey and the Headmistress because I don't want them to worry and I want to be out of here as soon as possible, but I feel terrible! The potions are disgusting, I can't do my homework because it's in my room, and even if I had it, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me work on it because I need to 'rest'. Right. Well she can't stop me from stressing. It's just so boring in here! How'd you survive in here last time?"
I laugh as she finishes ranting but she glares at me.
"I have no idea." I say truthfully.
"U-huh, very helpful." She comments dryly. "So what have you guys been up to? How have the others been"
"Most of them are doing okay but we all feel a little guilty about what happened, especially Weaslette. Weasley is very upset though. He saved you by the way." I say
"Oh." Is all she has to say. She does seem a bit surprised by this information about Weasley.
"Yeah, he actually saved you today." I say rather hesitantly.
"How?"
"He was flying slightly behind me like the other fast fliers. When I missed you, he saw it and tried to cast a cushioning charm. It didn't take full effect before you hit the ground, but it softened it enough for you to survive."
I can't help but feel insecure and jealous right now. I've been fighting these feelings off since she fell. Somehow I feel like Ron might come and steal her now that she's asked for a break. Even though Ron and Pansy are dating, I still feel threatened by him because, like he himself, he loved her once and she loved him too. No one can truly get over a crush. It doesn't work like that. You may be able to go back to being normal and casual around them, but there are always lingering feelings and doubts in your head. It's why I didn't want to tell her about Ron saving her, but I'd rather tell her first before someone else made him sound like more of a hero.
Looking back up at Hermione, I see her staring at me rather piercingly. I shrink a little bit in the intensity of her gaze but then it softens.
"Draco thank you for coming today. And thank you for trying to protect me. You tried as hard as you could in the situation." Her expression turns kind and she looks beautiful in this light; her hair loose and pulled over one shoulder, the curls framing her face, her eyes bright and happy, reflecting the flickering of the flames in the torches, and her smile making me feel warm but also really sad inside.
I smile back at her, trying to mirror her positivity, but it doesn't quite take hold.
"Um… it's 9:44, I uh. I should go." I say.
Her skin creases a bit and the light I saw just now fades a little bit.
"Oh. Okay" She says in a pleasant but polite tone of voice. "Goodnight Draco." Plain, simple, and completely the opposite of my bothersome emotions and the situation.
"Goodnight Hermione." I nod towards her and slowly turn to leave the hospital wing.
As I walk out into the fairly quiet corridor, I have sinking feeling that tonight is going to be a very long night.
Author's Note: So I had a great idea for the last chapter and the epilogue, and I've written almost all of it. I also have rough idea of the direction I want these last few chapter to go, but I still have to work out details. Overall though, we're nearing the end of this story. Probably about another 15 chapters or so till our last chapter. Thanks for reading guys. I really appreciate that you guys are still sticking with this. Please review! Both 'good' and 'bad' reviews help so don't hold back. Have a great week guys, till next time!
