Pancakes at Dawn.
Chapter Twenty.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
"GRANGER! GRANGER WAKE UP!" Theo yelled, kneeling down by her head as he tried to wake the brunette who had collapsed to the floor. His eyes were wide and full of panic as he gently shook her shoulders in an attempt to rouse her. His palms began to sweat when she didn't move an inch.
"HERMIONE!" Ashleigh rushed across the room and threw herself onto the floor, skidding across the hard wood flooring in an attempt to reach her best friend, scuffing her knees as she did. "Hermione, wake up!"
"GRANGER!"
Theo placed his ear close to her mouth and let out a sigh of relief when he felt her breath against his cheek. She was breathing. Thank fuck she was breathing.
Ashleigh was crying violently now, tears streaming down her cheeks as she felt like her heart was going crack in two. She didn't know what was happening but she knew whatever this was, it was serious. Hermione had been acting strange for days but this was not what she expected would happen.
"Theo, do something!"
"I'm trying!" snapped Theo lifting his hand up to press against Hermione's forehead. He hissed loudly when his skin burned on contact with hers. "Shit!"
"What?"
"She's burning up really bad-"
"What does that mean?" cried Ashleigh. "Healthy people don't just collapse for no reason, Theo!"
Theo huffed and his eyes ran over Hermione in her current state. Her usually pale skin held an unusual red colouring and her lips were slightly parted as her eyes remained closed, her body limp. Trying to ignore the burning flesh on the back of his hand, he reached back and tugged his wand from his pocket and flourished it out in front of him, casting a cooling charm over Hermione's body. A wave of blue mist surrounded the brunette on the floor and Theo tentatively placed a finger on her arm as he bit his bottom lip. When his skin didn't start to burn, he let out a sigh of relief and closed his hand around her wrist. He could feel the vibration of her magic pulsing through his hand just by touching her. He didn't know what was going on with her but he knew it wasn't good and it was most definitely magical.
"Come on," he said to Ashleigh while scooping Hermione up in his arms. "We need to get her onto her bed."
"Are you crazy!?" screamed Ashleigh, trying to keep her breathing under control as she swiped her fingers under her eyes to try and move her tears. "We shouldn't move her, Theo! She needs to go to the hospital. We should call an ambulance."
"First of all, I have no bloody idea what an ambulance is and second, she can't go to a hospital, Ash!" Theo yelled back at her as he carried Hermione away from her best friend and towards her bedroom.
"Why bloody not?" called Ashleigh as she chased after him, almost tripping over in the process.
"Because this is magical!"
Theo glanced down at the young woman in his arms as he rushed through the flat. She was so still and delicate that he was scared of causing her more damage but he knew it was necessary. She couldn't stay on the floor.
"Why should that make any difference, Theo? She needs to see a doctor! Don't you have magical doctors?"
"Of course we do!"
"Then why are we still standing here?" snapped Ashleigh. "She needs to see a bloody doctor!"
Theo ignored his girlfriend and hurried through Hermione's bedroom door, not looking around. He gently placed her down on the bed, her brunette curls splaying out against the pillow. He stared at her for a few seconds before an idea struck him. He let out a long breath and span around to look at Ashleigh who had rushed in behind him.
"Stay with her," he told her forcefully. "Don't leave her and don't move her anywhere."
"What? Theo, where are you going?"
"I'll be back, Ash!" he shouted back. The blonde reached out and grabbed his arm as he tried to pass her, spinning him forcefully around to face her.
"She needs help, Theo! Don't leave us alone!"
"Ash, trust me. I'll be back, I promise you," said Theo before he reached up and cupped her face between his hands, kissing her softly. A single tear slipped down Ashleigh's cheek as he stepped away from her. "Trust me."
With a crack, he was gone and Ashleigh began to sob loudly, sinking to the floor as her best friend lay motionless behind her, completely unsure what else she could do but wait.
Theo landed sharply, his black boots slamming against the wooden floors of his office. Without missing a single beat, Theo was storming forwards, waving his hand in the air. The air was thick with magic and his office door flung open, almost coming off its hinges. Theo rushed through his door and along the corridor to the room next door. He didn't bother to knock, he simply twisted the doorknob and stomped inside, the door flying open and crashing against the wall in the blink of an eye.
Draco looked up in shock at the intrusion from where he sat at his desk, quill in hand and a potion in a tiny cauldron bubbling beside him.
"Come in why don't you-" Draco began but he was quickly cut off by Theo.
"No time for your smart arse remarks, Draco," snapped Theo, running a hand through his tousled hair. "It's Hermione,"
The quill dropped from the blonde's hand and he forced the chair he was sitting on away from the desk making the chair legs screech against the wooden flooring. He raced around the desk towards his best friend with wide and frightened eyes. Theo's tone had immediately caused him to worry and he could feel his chest tightening and his heart began to race.
"What's going on?"
"She collapsed and she is really burning up."
"Where is she?" demanded Draco, spinning on his heels to snatch up his wand which was settled on his desk and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket that he had shrugged on.
"Her place with Ashleigh-"
With a loud crack, Draco had already disappeared.
"Theo?" Draco heard a female voice shout as he landed in the middle of Hermione and Ashleigh's living room. He glanced around wildly for the source of the noise but he couldn't see either of the girls.
"Ashleigh?" Draco called out, his voice cracking slightly.
"In here!"
Theo landed beside him, a dull thud echoing in the room as Draco took off at speed towards Hermione's bedroom where the sound of Ashleigh's voice had come from. He skidded to a stop when he reached the door, holding his hands out to grasp onto the door frame in an attempt to remain standing. He looked straight ahead and saw her lying where Theo had placed her. She looked peaceful and angelic, her wild hair spread against the pillow and around her head like a halo.
"Draco?" Ashleigh was looking up at him with a confused expression on her face, her cheeks completely tear-stained. "What are you doing here? Where's Theo?"
Theo came crashing into the room at that, bouncing into Draco and almost sending them both tumbling to the floor. He was panting heavily as he struggled to remain on his feet.
"I'm here, Ash," said Theo as he slipped past Draco and headed towards his girlfriend. He reached his hands out towards her and Ashleigh grabbed them, allowing him to pull her up to her feet on shaking legs.
"How long has she been like this?" asked Draco as he stepped into the room and walked towards the bed, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Not long," replied Theo who was pulling Ashleigh into a comforting hug. "Only a few minutes before I got to you. Care to tell me what's going on with her, Drake?"
"Not the time, Theo," muttered Draco. He glanced down at Hermione's petite body lay perfectly still on top of the bedsheets. She looked so peaceful, it almost looked like she was only sleeping.
"Shouldn't we be taking her to Mungos?" asked Theo, his chin resting on the top of Ashleigh's blonde hair.
"No," said Draco forcefully, "No hospitals."
"Why not?" snapped Theo, leaving go of Ashleigh and stomping towards his best friend, filling the space between himself and Draco in several quick steps. "She's obviously sick, Draco!"
"She's not sick!" Draco hissed back his best friend.
"Not sick?" Theo stared at him with an incredulous look. "Are you mental? She's bloody out cold!"
"I said no hospitals, Theo!" Draco spat out, his eyes darkening at his oldest friend.
"You can't make that call! You're not a healer!"
"You have no idea what is going on, Theo-"
"Because you won't bloody tell me!"
"ENOUGH!" shouted Ashleigh causing both men to spin around and look at her in surprise.
"Ash-" Theo tried but she cut him off sharply.
"No Theo!" she snapped, her eyes puffy as she glared back and forth between the two men. "Hermione is the priority right now. The most important thing is that she wakes up!"
Theo immediately shut up and watched as Draco turned towards Hermione, his hand reaching out to gently graze a finger against her cheek.
"Wait!" shouted Theo, causing Draco to freeze. "Don't touch her,"
"Why not?"
"She was burning up before I left. I cast a cooling charm but it will have worn off by now." Theo explained to his blond best friend.
Draco nodded and with a wave of his wand, he cast a second cooling charm over Hermione's body before glancing wildly around the room for something, anything to give him an idea on what to do. He had to get her to wake up.
"Think Draco, think.." he muttered to himself, his eyes darting around. He sucked in a breath when he spotted the tiny teardrop-shaped vial he had placed with care in a box and sent off. He rushed forwards to grab it and released the breath he had been tensely holding, spinning around to face Theo once more.
"Theo, I need a vial of Revive-"
"On it," With a pop, Theo has vanished.
The liquid in the potion vial in his hand sloshed around inside as he gently pulled on the cork lid until it was open.
"Is there anything I can do, Draco?" he heard Ashleigh ask from behind him and Draco shook his head.
"Not at the moment,"
"I'm so sick of feeling useless!" Ashleigh cried out in frustration.
"You're helping more than you know just by being here. She's going to need you here when she wakes up," said Draco as he moved across the room, stopping at Hermione's bedside. The blond leant down, the tiny vial of potion in his hands. He gently opened the brunette's mouth and began to pour the liquid down her throat as Theo reappeared in the middle of the room.
"I got it!" Theo called out, glancing around the room until his eyes settled on Draco, who was still hovering over Hermione.
Draco dropped the now empty vial onto the bedside table and reach out to take the revive potion from Theo's outstretched hands.
Once the second potion was in her system, Draco huffed and glanced down at Hermione's still form.
"We had better get comfortable then. That revival potion can take some time to kick in," said Draco and he slowly slumped to the ground, leaning his back against the bed and resting his head back against the mattress to stare up at the ceiling. He could hear shuffling and he knew that Ashleigh and Theo were sitting down too. The blond chewed on his bottom lip and let out a large sigh, praying that the potion would work quickly.
Twenty minutes had passed by slowly and mostly in silence. Hermione still hadn't moved and because of that Draco was starting to fidget, messing with his shirt collar.
"Something should have happened by now..." he heard Theo mutter from across the room and Draco huffed.
"Thanks for stating the flipping obvious, Theo." snapped Draco and Theo couldn't help but roll his eyes at his best friend.
"Don't you think now is the time to tell us what is going on, Drake?" said Theo. "Because it's clearly something magical."
Draco huffed once more and rubbed at his eyes with his hands. He was about to speak when he felt a shudder through the floor below.
Glancing over at Theo and Ashleigh, he could see they both looked as confused as he was.
"What the-"
He was cut off when a second, larger shudder knocked several books off Hermione's bookshelf. He watched in shock as Hermione's bedroom window shattered into millions of tiny pieces and the furniture in the room continued to shake violently. A large gust of wind flowed in through the busted up window and Draco scrambled to his feet to look down at Hermione.
"Is it an earthquake?" Ashleigh called out, her voice frightened.
Draco squinted as the wind hit his eyes, looking down at the brunette still lying on the bed. He gulped as he cast his eyes over her body. Her skin, as pale as ever except for a small red tinge, now had dark black veins that began to appear in thick lines.
"Draco! Duck!" he heard Theo yell from behind him.
"What?" said Draco, spinning around just in time to see a book flying towards his head. He ducked down with a second to spare and the large hardback flew past, crashing into the wall directly behind him.
"What the hell is going on?" Theo called to him as objects continued to fly around the room, the shaking of furniture and the whistling wind making it difficult to hear anything.
Draco span back to face Hermione, gasping out loud when he spotted the same black veins were now covering her neck and one side of her face.
"Drake!"
At the sound of Theo's panicked voice, Draco looked over to his best friend who had Ashleigh gripping his arm tightly, tucked in behind him.
"Get her out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you-"
"NOW THEO!"
Theo sighed but he began to move Ashleigh backwards, her screams filling the room as he dragged her out of the room and away from her best friend.
"No Theo! She needs me!" Draco heard Ashleigh yell as the door slammed closed.
The ground shook violently again below his feet and he yanked his wand out of his pocket flourishing it in front of him in an attempt to stop the wind that was blowing in his face. The sound of thunder rumbling above made him jump and his gaze quickly turned to the broken window. The sky had turned dark, the clouds moving quickly and he glanced back down at Hermione, shocked to see her eyes open and staring right at him.
"Hermione!"
She gasped for air, her eyes wide as she attempted to sit up and he rushed to her side, ready to help her any way she needed him.
"Merlin, you almost gave me a heart attack! Are you alright?"
The brunette said nothing and simply stared back at him, still gasping for breath. The dark black veins pulsed in her neck and Draco didn't remember ever seeing her eyes so dark.
"Hermione?" said Draco softly, reaching out a tentative hand to stroke against her cheek. His fingers only managed to gently brush against her skin before she gritted her teeth together and swatted his hand away in an aggressive manner.
"Hey-" he began, a confused expression covering his face. "Woah!"
Draco's eyes widened as he was lifted off his feet, almost as if he was floating in mid-air and slammed roughly into the nearest wall, pain coursing through his back as he crashed against it.
"Hermione!"
The brunette was standing only a few steps away from him now, her hair wild and frizzy as it framed her face. Her eyes were beginning to darken by the minute and everything fell into place in Draco's mind as he stared back at the brunette, his legs thrashing below him. Her arm was outstretched and her fist clenched shut and he knew then that the dark magic had finally consumed her. She was out of touching range yet her powers were strong, keeping him pressed against the wall. Looking at this woman in front of him, her eyes as black as coal, he felt a tear spring to his eye. It was plainly obvious now. Hermione was gone.