AN: 3 more chapters. I have STUCK the landing on this ending though.
"Dear Merlin I am glad to see you! And you even brought me someone useful!" Blaise shouted as Hermione was thrown into cover behind a particularly large shipping container just to the left of them. She landed softly under the effects of a feather-fall charm and was able to right herself fairly quickly. Draco groaned as he rolled in behind her, firing off a powerful stunning hex over the top of the metal box.
"What did you do?" He hissed ducking back into cover just as a bright blue bolt missed his hair by millimetres. Her heart leapt in her throat at the near miss, something he didn't seem to think twice about.
"Look they started it alright." Blaise growled, turning his head to shout into the empty air. "BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING CUNTS WHO DON'T KNOW WHEN TO KEEP THEIR WHORE MOUTHS SHUT!"
The resulting spellfire had her covering her head as debris rained down on them like snow. When the attack slowed she uncovered her hair, hissing over to the dark man firing off an painful looking hex. "Do all your breakups end this way? Or are you just feeling particularly immature tonight."
"Hey-." Blaise said as an orange spell cut it's way toward them, with an impressive amount of skill it was deflected by Draco's wand. "It's not that simple, okay?"
"Sure it is." She leaned around the edge of the box spying a moving figure and shooting a quick ebulbio jinx, catching someone for only a moment before the counter was cast. "Just keep it in your trousers."
"That's not what this is about, Granger." He eyed Draco warily, the blonde skillfully deflecting more serious curses while hurling back his own fire. His jaw was clenched tightly, eyes broiling with rage. Hermione felt a sickening feeling as she realized the likely cause of the fight. With a bit more anger than she usually allowed to leak out she fired off another curse over the box. "Cantis."
"You helped lead a fucking insurrection Granger!" Blaise groaned zeroing in on a now singing twin. The jinx had been light enough to bounce off the wall behind them and give away their position. "Don't you have anything better than schoolyard hexes?"
"Fuck off. After that insurrection what makes you think I would ever want to learn anymore violent curses. Cover me." She rolled across the gap, unnoticed as spells focused on the taller wizards firing off flashy spells. She came to a stop just short of Theo.
"You two okay?" Hermione focused on pushing down the immediate terror of the minor wound that sliced across Blaise's cheek as he ducked down. It was a glancing blow so it didn't appear too deep, but judging from the sickly yellow seepage it was not exactly a standarding cutting curse.
"No." The usually sunny Theo was leaning back against the stack of boxes, gripping his leg painfully. He had paled dramatically. Draco swore as a blasting curse slammed into the metal directly overhead, forcing him to deflect the falling debris. She threw up her wand, lending an extra push to his magic causing the falling pipes to shoot across the warehouse.
"What hit you?" She questioned. A quick examination was all but impossible, the injury hidden high on his leg and under the thick cloth of his trousers.
"Bone shattering spell." He moaned while gasping through the pain.
"I don't have anything for that. You'll have to get out before you bleed to death." Hermione determined, standing quickly enough to fire a levitation spell in the direction of what was hopefully the Carrow twins. Judging from the resulting yelp she had at least hit near enough to them to knock them off their feet. "Only a proper healer can handle it."
There was a flash of flame as she helped Blaise get Theo to an upright position. Draco disappeared moments later, another incendio fired from his wand. The cut on Blaise's face was growing at a concerning rate and this close up looked even more rotted than before.
"Can you apparate?" Draco questioned urgently, popping his head up to their right to deflect an unknown ice curse that apparently hoped to skewer them where they stood.
"I will need some space." Blaise hissed, turning his own wand to the attack, firing out an uncomfortably destructive explosion spell. The metal panel that hid their attackers twisted violently flushing out the twins, forcing them to duck behind a pillar. Hermione wasn't sure what would happen if it had actually hit.
"We can give you space." Hermione confirmed untangling herself from Theo. She pulled out a bottle of her fogbank potion. While usually used as an ingredient, a few tablespoons would be more than enough to blind the attackers. Draco nodded in confirmation edging to the otherside of the boxes ready to shoot out. "Stay down until you are ready."
She lobbed the heavy glass bottle overhead, sighing as she realized belatedly that she should have warned Draco about the loss of senses. The bottle shattered, a thick cloud of fog blossoming out of it, vaporized into the air of the warehouse. She forced herself not to panic as her ability to hear was replaced by complete silence. She stepped around the corner into the thick fog.
She darted off to the left, eyes carefully watching the ground in front of her to avoid tripping. Once she had put enough distance between her and the boys she fired off a showy firework charm in the general direction of the twins. The bright explosion was silent but drew their attention well enough to draw heavy retaliation. Hermione settled behind a collapsed scaffolding, her chest pulling rapid breaths as a multitude of vicious curses sailed by. Nearby an exploding curse hit the pavement showering her with cement. She hadn't dueled in ages and was horribly out of shape. In a one on one fight she wouldn't last long. A large lightning spell crackled through the fog some distance away, pulling attention to Draco.
She took a deep breath, focusing her mind as she scanned the wall of fog. "Homorevealuls." Shimmering red shapes came in to focus various distances away. With a snudden snap, the two she recognized as Blaise and Theo disappeared, leaving her and Draco free to retreat. She spotted him a bit in front of her, halfway up a stack of something. The fog was beginning to wear away, her footsteps tapping against the pavement as sound returned.
"How lovely to see you tonight Malfoy!" One of the twins hissed.
"Yes. While we so enjoy playing with your little lap dogs they aren't nearly as fun as torturing you." Hermione dove away as a flash of green shot past them. She froze, at the color her heart thudding in her chest. Her brain could rationally say that it was an evergreen not a sickly veredent green but it did nothing to quell her fear.
"Fuck off Hestia. I know you are a few selections short of the genetic pool but that is hardly an excuse." She was able to make out his form as he slid down the pile of what appeared to be newspapers dodging another curse. He slid to her right, his wand nearly twitching toward her as he looked up. He took a step forward only to be nearly pelted by spells so dark Hermione would swear she felt her magic weep.
Draco scowled for a moment before ducking behind cover as he wove toward her. Hermione did her best to distract, digging out a sound storage potion and firing it over her head. It landed somewhere in the distance with a crash, a screaming female voice shouting out lyrics with a keening electric guitar. She spotted a curse heading straight for him. Throwing up a quick protego she dove in front of him trusting the shield to deflect the worst of it. She rolled to a stop and was pulled by a summoning charm on her shirt just as an explosion of color hit the pavement behind her.
"Do that again and I will kill you." The threat in his voice was erased by the careful hand he lifted to her face, inspecting a tender spot on her cheek. His voice was low, covered by an enraged smattering of insults. "Are they out?"
"Yes." She whispered back pulling him behind a pillar, just as their presence was noticed.
"Oh? Got a girlfriend there Malfoy." Flora, probably, shouted in a higher pitched voice. "Does she know what a fucking phsycotic wreak your mother is?"
Hermione swore, shooting off a langlock jinx as Draco tensed beside her. She smirked as the murmured sounds of interrupted speech echoed in the warehouse. Unfortunately, the other one was more than happy to finish the thought.
"It's only fair you tell her. After all, madness clearly runs in the Malfoy line. If you can even get past that sterility problem." Draco rolled his eyes as a bludgeoning curse ricocheted off the metal post, vibrating down her spine.
"Let's get out of here. I'll distract them, you run." He whispered, the quite tone belong the cold rage in his eyes. Hermione entangled her hand in his, holding him back just as a nast shot of yellow fired at them from around the corner. His body shook, his breath ragged. She had grown to recognize the signs of magic depletion and he was running too low.
"We go together." She hissed, fighting off the wave of exhaustion. She was still exhausted from yesterday and didn't know how much longer he could hold out either.
He scowled, craning to shout at them. "At least I am better off than you two. Tell me Flora do you call Alecto Mum or aunt? Or both, all things considered!"
"How dare-" Hermione spun out of his grip turning low as she spiraled into the open. Her eyes met a still speaking Flora firing off a stunning hex as a deep red curse sailed just past her head, making her muscles twitch in memory. She saw the stun hit, the girl's body falling to the ground in a heap.
Before she could celebrate a joint cracks of multiple apparitions sounded in the background. Feet slamming onto pavement echoing in the emptiness. Hermione froze as the aurors broke through the lock, blasting the door off its hinges.
"We need to go!" Draco hissed, pushing her behind him. She felt the pull of the apparition and she wrapped her arms around his chest from behind, her eyes locked on the swarming aurors. No one she recognized but it was still too close for comfort. She had decided she was most definitely not cut out for battling when she saw the still conscious form of Hestia firing off a silent curse. A yellow bolt exploding from her wand rocketing toward them. The world moved in slow motion as she felt the twisting suck of apparition start to pull at her and Draco. She saw the other witch smile as her vision spun, the world twisting away.
000000000000000000000000000000
Hermione held on feeling his muscles strain as he tried to keep focus on the apparition. They landed in an unsteady stumble,struggling for footing at the front door of his flat. Hermione barely caught him as he collapsed against her in a painful groan.
"Draco?" She questioned shakily pushing open the door with her foot. He gave no indication that he heard her. As the adrenaline wore off he made it approximately two steps before collapsing while ripping at his stomach.
"Draco! " She surged forward,falling by his side. He didn't respond as his breath deepened to heavy pants, a cold sweat breaking out on his body as he tried to purge the intrusive magic. "Are you okay? Pinky!?"
"Gone." He groaned managing to roll over onto his back. The movement seemed to incite a new wave of pain as she knelt next to him trying to remember the last curse sent his way. She opened her bag shoving her hand deep into the confines.
"Accio The Curse Collection Field Guide!" A small notepad sized book shot into her hand. Without pausing she cracked open the spine and flipped to the section on color. A rainbow color wheel appeared in the air front of her, spells categorized by shade. She jabbed her finger at the yellows, adjusting for the almost greenish tinge to it. With a quick pop the wheel disappeared, a short list of known spells in similar hues scratching along the page. Hermione felt blessed that there weren't many yellow spells to begin with and that most of them were mostly household charms. Her finger paused on one word, the worst spell out of this list, bringing up a short blurb about it. With little delicacy she ripped his shirt up, revealing a bright red circle the size of an apple. It was lanced through the center by a deep tunneling wound. She didn't have to look long to understand what it meant, Hades Bane was a popular curse in medieval history. Known for it's slow and painful death as it turned the target's blood to acid letting it burn away their insides.
"Burns." His consciousness appeared to leave his body becoming nothing but a haze of pain as she hovered over him unable to do anything. She aimed her wand towards his study.
"Accio oxynisium curse books." She cast a quick finite incantatem over the wound praying for such a simple solution. The spell fizzled out, unable to find a target just as a singular tomb came shooting into the living room. Hermione recoiled against the thing, coated as it was in such thick dark magic. It was only Draco's growing weakness that had her snapping at the book, flicking it open to the referenced spell.
"Subsisto interitus" The stasis spell settled into his skin weakly, only pausing the creeping red edges for a moment before growth slowly returned.
The resulting pages held a vile amount of information about the best place to cast the curse for the most amount of pain or the worst conditions to subject the victim to while it did its work. Hermione gagged even as she continued to flip through the pages looking for interrogation techniques. The way she reasoned it, it couldn't be an effect torture device unless there was some counter to it. Unless the counter was a quick death, which Hermione would absolutely not accept.
Thankfully, written in the smallest ink on the very last page as a footnote she found what she was looking for.
Hades Bane is a widely useful tool on a variety of mediums and enemies. It is highly recommended that the antidote is kept on hand at all times while learning the curse unless an unlimited supply of test subjects can be supplied without susciousion. The best counter for the curse is a Potion of Ambrosia.
Hermione swore, stumbling towards Draco's study, loath to leave him in his suffering. She slammed open the door, pushing toward his potions cabinet. With a careless blasting curse that likely broke half of the potions inside she ripped open the previously locked door. She had what she needed, a vial of manuka honey, pixie tears, magnolia blossoms, and a golden goblet. In a swift twirl of her wand she swirled them all into a perfectly golden liquid the consistency of nectar. All she needed was...
"Accio stardust." The small stoppered jar shot to her hand. She ripped out the stopper when her heart dove into her stomach. It was completely empty. Her eyes widened in fear, staring at the last ingredient, missing. She tried to recall if there was any in her workshop only to remember that her entire store currently sat in Draco's guesthouse, no less than a thirty minute walk away from the gates. That was even if she could successfully aparate to a place she had only arrived at once while half dead. She needed a substitute and quickly.
"Accio ambrosia recipe." She discarded any duplicates of her collection from the pile, a low moan ripping through the air. Snatching the nearest and likely the oldest example she stumbled to the living room refusing to meet defeat. She had to force herself not to stop as she took in his prone form. His skin had gone sallow, sinking into an ice cold gray. He trembled in waves of pain, hardly aware of his surroundings. Flicking open the book she found her answer, veiling in a life-altering choice. The stardust served as a catalyst, kicking the potion to activate. The only other suitable power source would be another ingredient that qualified as a 'gift from the gods'. She shuffled through her mind for any other possible source in the category but it all came up blank. As Draco shuttered beneath her she knew there was no other option. Consequences be damned.
000000000000000000000000
Fire. Draco had never known fire like he did at that very moment. His insides roiled in a burning liquid as bits of his body tore open, moving viscera into cavities that they were never supposed to inhabit. His breathing hitch as he felt his kidney slide around his stomach. He was very acutely aware he was going to die. Even as Hermione faded in and out of his vision he wished desperately she wasn't present to witness this. She had seen enough death already, they all had. And yet, he knew she was far too noble to leave him in his suffering, even at her own in return.
"Leave." He panted out as she flicked through a book, pausing on page to stare at the words. She froze for a moment, a decision made in her mind before standing up swiftly aiming her wand at the floo. He forced his eyes open as his lung burst, a horrid suffocating pain collapsing into his chest. The silvery rook shone in the dark of his flat, a beautiful reminder in his last moments.
"Malfoy's flat. Please hurry." The rook shot off in a blur. He was vaguely aware something was screaming, perhaps it was him. He hoped that neither Theo or Blaise would get that message, they didn't need to see this. They didn't need to think it was their fault. When the green flare of the floo burned against his vision the shapes began to fade.
"Hermione! You're- GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Draco felt a slice of magic on his casting hand. Barely perceivable in the haze of pain.
"Harry stop! Please! He's dying." Her voice was hysterical, he could hear the tears clouding it's clarity. He really hated when she cried, he wished he was able to comfort her enough that she would stop. "I need your help!"
"You want me to help him?!" Harry? Oh, right. Potter. She called Potter here. Well that was… a choice. He supposed it was better than either of the boys though. He felt her hand trace along his stomach, a cooling balm against the fire of his skin before the pain swallowed him back up again.
"Please! Please, Harry!"
"He took you! You don't know what you are saying!"
"He didn't! I know I have been a bad person and I know I don't deserve your help but- Please Harry. Help him. Don't do it for me. Do it because it's the right thing. He can't die! He just can't." Her sobs stung his heart in a way that made the physical pain of his body detach from himself. He cracked open his eyes, just enough to make out the concrete dust splattered chest and her stunningly caring face above him. Even in death he was still making mistakes. He desperately wished to raise his hand, to rub her cheek and let her know that he loved her more than life itself. Theo was right. He should have told her. He wanted to tell her to let him go and find happiness back with people who knew her, who loved her half as much as he did and hope it would be enough. The most he could manage was a single swipe of his hand on her palm and sickly wet cough.
"What do you need?" The voice was strained and conflicted.
He finally gave way to the darkness, his heart slamming against his chest as it worked overtime to correct the mass chaos in his body. It was selfish but he really wished the last thing he saw had been her smile. But he would take what he could get, and he was always a selfish man.
0000000000000000000000000000
"I- I need some of your blood."
She watched the emotions flicker across her old friend's face, fighting between his conscience and his distrust. Draco groaned below her, fading quickly, his head cradled softly in her lap as his pulse weakened.
"Hermione…" He trailed off, his hand drifting to the small white scar on his right forearm. But, this wasn't the same. Not even close.
"Please Harry." She was fully aware tears were leaking from her eyes and didn't bother to fight them back. Her runaway emotions could be dealt with later. "The blood of a Hero is the only thing that will finish this potion. Without it he will die."
"If I don't give it… would you take it?" He asked darkly, his eyes tracking hers. She glanced down to brush the limp hair from Draco's forehead, suddenly feeling like she had not spent enough time appreciating how soft it was. God they had spent so much time hating each other. Why?
"Hermione?"
"I…I don't- Don't make me choose."She would like to think that she wouldn't force him. She probably could if she wanted to. It wouldn't kill him after all. Sure it was for selfish reasons but isn't any life work a few inconsequential drops of blood? She sighed sadly, knowing that no matter how she rationalized it, she wouldn't ever harm Harry. "Hasn't there been enough death already?"
"I don't even know you anymore!"Harry threw his arms up and started pacing. Hermione continued to stare down at Draco until his footsteps slowed.
"Why him?" He questioned harshly. Hermione's eyes landed on his fist, curled up tightly and pressed against his legs. "You left us all Hermione. You were one of my best friends and you didn't even say goodbye."
"Harry there isn't time-"
"I would have understood!" He shouted, the sound being swallowed by the useless plush decor around them. "I have always understood! It doesn't matter why. I would have! I would have let you go if I had only known you would be alright! So it doesn't make any sense. Why him? Why is it when you finally come back to us it's in desperation over Malfoy!"
Hermione paused, wasting seconds they didn't have. She wasn't thinking, she already knew the answer. It just felt like she was telling the wrong man first. She trailed a finger lightly over Draco's cheek, noting in alarm his decreasing body temperature. She locked eyes with Harry, knowing the exact moment when he saw it too but said it anyway; if only because she demanded some sort of compensation from the universe for putting her here in the first place.
"Because love isn't logical Harry."
00000000000000000000000000
Liquid rushed down his throat, forcing him to swallow or drown. The cooling sensation settled in his chest, calming his breath and just barely edging away the pain. He came back in a blur, desperately trying to fall back into nothingness even as his body forced himself awake. He hurt, if he had died he wouldn't still hurt. If he was gone his fingertips would not be spasming against the rough carpet. With a deep growl he forced his eyes into consciousness, sending a silent prayer that the lighting was still dim.
He glanced over to see Harry Potter sitting on his chair, Hermione awkwardly dabbing a healing salve on his arm and muttering spells as a wound closed up. Heavy green eyes were trained on him, anger and confusion swirling around them.
"We will talk in the morning, Hermione. He's up." Potter didn't really have the capacity for venom in Draco's opinion. The man didn't even try to kick him in the stomach and he could barely hear the hatred in the words as the wizard stepped into the floo and the flames faded away. He must be having an off day. Hermione, for her part, rushed over instantly, her hands rubbing down his chest as she pulled him into her lap, her hands rubbing his temples, coaxing more of him awake.
Warm drops landed on his cheek, drawing his attention upward. He was vaguely aware of the sensation of flesh knitting together inside of his body. It was oddly itchy. She was crying again, he hated that.
"Hey." He rasped out. "It's fine. He just is worried for you. It will all be fine."
"It's not fine." She whispered back, bending to rest her forehead on his. The flush of warmth against his skin just reminded him of how cold he was. "There is no going back now, everyone will know. Blaise, Theo, your mother..."
Her voice trailed off into the air. Draco couldn't really identify the problem, his brain was having a hard time coming up with issues at the moment other than the fact she was still crying and he wanted it to stop.
"Shhh, it's not important. We're both alive and together. We will get through it." Something dangerous flashed behind her eyes as she pulled back, steeling herself. He would have reached out for her if he had more control of his healing body.
"We will." She reached for her wand, an apology written on her face. Draco had barely a moment of awareness to throw up his mental walls.
"Obliviate."
World building with om
Sound Storage potion:
Stores the sound of it's very short brewing process. This sound then remains bottles up until exposed to air.
Fog bank potion:
Based of of Purview Darkness power the fog bank potion is collected from the moors late at night and concentrated down into a liquid. When added to potions it can be used to add opaque effects, when released it billows out into an obscuring mist.
Ambrosia:
The drink of the gods in greek mythology. This potion is a common death curse reversal but due to the cost of the ingredients is very rarely used.