Remington. The name pounded like a heartbeat. Perhaps it was his heartbeat, but his mind was merely playing tricks on him. It had been a long, exhausting, terrifying day after all. He hadn't seen her since McGonagall sent her off to help set the wards. That had been hours ago. He hadn't even managed to find her during the brief intermission between the two main waves. This frightened him beyond belief.
He had figured the way things had been left would be better for her if he didn't make it. But he had, and now the horrifying reality of not knowing whether she had was somehow so much worse.
Draco's urgent steps brought him towards what was once the Great Hall. It now looked more like a makeshift infirmary, and that was exactly what it was serving as. Whether she was well or injured, she should be there, and she should be alive. If she wasn't there…
"Draco!" A distraught voice called, just before he was drawn into his mother's arms. She held him fiercely, tears running down her face.
He hadn't even thought to look for his parents. If he were honest, he hadn't considered that they'd be there.
Nonetheless, he returned his mother's embrace for a moment before disengaging himself as much as he could. As he was about to assure Narcissa that he was perfectly fine, a hand came down on his shoulder. He turned his eyes to his father, who he hardly even had to look up at anymore. The look in the older man's eyes displayed all of what he wasn't showing, all of what Narcissa was.
"Are you hurt?" He turned his focus back on his mother, who was looking at him with concern that was so raw that it was almost painful to see, panic still laced her voice.
"I'm fine." He replied tersely, but sincerely, "I need to find Remington."
"I only just found you-" Narcissa began, but Lucius pulled one of his wife's hands from Draco and wrapped it in his own, nodding slightly at his son.
Not hesitating to take the chance to get away from his over-protective mother, Draco slipped past them and into the Hall.
The injured and dying were laid across the floor, placed on tables and benches when they could be, but there were just so many. Surely, St. Mungo's would be full for quite a while. Crying, speaking, even laughter permeated the air. It was plenty disorienting, but Draco fought to keep focus, even though his body hardly wanted anything more than sleep at that point.
He felt a slight pressure on his arm and turned to see Fay, who gave him a taut look before jerking her chin towards the back of the Great Hall and heading in that direction herself.
"Is she alright?" The words fell from his mouth in a rush. "Tell me she's alright." When Fay didn't make the slightest move to respond, he raised his voice slightly. "Fay, is she alright?"
Fay whipped around, looking beaten, frustrated, and most of all- tired. He could see the red around her eyes. "I'm sorry." For a moment, the words froze him, but then she turned her head to the side and looked at a figure lying on the ground. He let his gaze follow hers.
Remington could have passed for dead. She was frighteningly pale, her clothing soaked in blood, and her skin covered in a dry layer of it in most places. There were bandages everywhere, blood already seeping through some. There was no doubt in Draco's mind that she was dying.
"They say she has a doable chance, and knowing Rem, I'm sure she'll pull through." Fay murmured. "But she's- She's infected now."
"Infected, as in a-" He trailed off weakly. "Are you sure? It couldn't've just-" But even that argument withered. There was no reason to fight.
"She was protecting me." Fay pressed her hands into her eyes.
Draco touched her arm lightly, not knowing how to offer the comfort he wanted to, but the magnetism towards Remington was too strong. He moved to kneel beside her. He wanted to reach for her hand, but thought better when he saw the bandaging around her arms. Instead, he pressed his hand over her scar, hiding it from view, and ran his thumb across her cheek, just beneath her eye.
"I hope to god the bastard-" He began.
"I killed him." Fay said from where she was now kneeling at Rem's other side. "The werewolf who…. I killed him."
"So now she's…" Draco started quietly.
Fay swallowed and nodded morosely before rubbing ferociously at her eyes to keep her tears from spilling. "You'll still love her, won't you?"
He looked up at her with some disbelief and shock. He paused before speaking, "We'll be married within a year."
Fay offered a somewhat weary smile. "I think I could actually like you someday, Draco."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." He remarked, looking back down at Rem.
Remington drew in an uneven breath and her face scrunched in pain. "Snark even in the most morbid-" She began, but broke off once her point was made. It hurt too much to talk. It hurt too much to be. Between the cracked and broken ribs, and the gashes that very nearly opened her jugular. Her voice was rough and pained.
"You're awake." It sounded a bit like a question, but like a statement at the same time.
She cracked her eyes open to look up at Draco. "Have… been." She turned her head slightly to look straight at him rather than the ceiling. "Alright?"
"Just fine." He replied quietly, forcing a weak half-smile, which she returned with a smile of her own. "God," He breathed in wistful indignance. "You were supposed to be the strong one, Rem. You shouldn't be the one bleeding out like this-"
"But you were always the smart one." She disagreed. "Stay alive."
He shook his head slightly, then leaned down to press his lips against her cheek.
Fin
